Granting Committee last week invited members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Granting Groups – along with Administrative Council members, Young Adult Friend consultants, and staff – to gather online to celebrate those involved in the care and stewardship of the Yearly Meeting’s granting funds and to reflect on their work in the past year. “Celebrating Our Granting Witness” offered Granting Group members from different groups the chance to build community and learn from one another. To begin, Ken Park, clerk of the Granting Committee, led us in a period of grounding worship before passing the spotlight on to Friends presenting on their granting group.
Rose Ketterer presented on the history behind the Greenleaf Granting Group, which makes grants from the Greenleaf Fund, established from the sale and funds of the former Greenleaf Boarding Home to maintain the values that guided that organization: caring, compassion, confidentiality, and respect for all residents of the home. The fund provides financial assistance to individuals of modest means. The group has an upcoming deadline for applications on May 1.
Miyo Moriuchi shared the story of the Travel and Witness Granting Group; how brick and mortar buildings, land for stabling horses, and foreign mission work have evolved into funds that can be used to provide financial assistance to sustain Quaker witness today.
Lee Garner and Paul Sheldon then provided a summary of the long-standing Fund for Sufferings with roots in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting going as far back as war tax resistance during the revolutionary war.
Following these presentations from granting group members, Friends present divided into smaller groups to share grant-making success stories and consider the query: “What does PYM’s grant witness look like a hundred years from now?”
A theme of the ensuing conversation was the importance of making the availability of granting funds widely known and normalizing seeking assistance when needed. The evening ended with worship and appreciation for all the work done by those present.
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