Everence provides $200,000 in pastoral financial assistance grants in 2022
Nearly $2.09 million awarded since 2016, helping pastors address financial needs
GOSHEN, Indiana – Everence® awarded 45 financial assistance grants in 2022 (totaling more than $200,000) to assist pastors facing significant financial and debt burdens.
The grants, offered through the Everence Pastoral Financial Wellness Program, provide financial assistance to pastors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those serving small churches and/or congregations of color.
“The intersection between race and ethnicity, religion, and money is complex and fraught with systemic disparities,” said Leonard Dow, Everence Vice President of Community and Church Engagement and Pastoral Financial Wellness Program Manager. “The pandemic further brought these disparities out of the shadows, for individuals and churches alike.”
Of the financial assistance grants awarded in 2022, 64% went to pastors from Spanish-speaking congregations and 21% went to pastors of other racial/ethnic (i.e., non-white) backgrounds. The grants were made possible, in part, by a third round of funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of their National Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders.
Everence was one of the initiative’s original grant recipients, receiving an initial $1 million grant to establish the Pastoral Financial Wellness Program in 2016 and a second $1 million grant to expand the program further in 2019. The latest funding from Lilly included an upfront gift of $250,000 for 2022, with the possibility of another $250,000 in late 2023 if matching funds are raised.
Since the Pastoral Financial Wellness Program’s inception in 2016, Everence has awarded some 372 financial assistance grants totaling nearly $2.09 million, to help pastors address immediate financial needs related to medical debt, credit card debt, educational loan assistance, or other financial concerns.
The program also offers financial education and wellness events to help pastors think through issues related to personal money management, clergy taxes, retirement readiness, cultivating generous congregations, and more. Since 2016, Everence has hosted 99 of these educational events, with nearly 2,800 participants in total.
Additionally, pastors can receive a subsidy toward the cost of a first year Everence comprehensive financial plan. From 2016 through 2022, some 284 pastors have taken advantage of this opportunity to work with an Everence financial professional to develop a plan to meet their short- and long-term financial stewardship goals.
“This transformational work requires an intentional and active commitment to engaging and standing with the pastors, churches and communities we serve, from all walks of life,” said Madalyn Metzger, Everence Vice President of Marketing and Pastoral Financial Wellness Program Director. “The Pastoral Financial Wellness Program is one way we can work together to build a healthy and equitable financial stewardship culture, while also helping our pastors and faith communities experience greater spiritual growth and vitality.”
The Everence Pastoral Financial Wellness Program is open to active and credentialed pastors from the 30+ Anabaptist and like-minded denominations and church networks Everence serves. More information about the program is available at everence.com/pastoral-financial-wellness or through your Everence stewardship consultant.