Legacy Gift
Purpose
"The purpose of the Legacy Gift Funds is to support the ministries of New England Yearly Meeting Friends, both within and beyond our region.
“Guided by our living testimonies, we seek to strengthen our Witness through the funding of public and released ministry, beginning with attention to Racism and Climate Change and understanding that this is a starting point and concerns beyond these may also be funded.
“We seek to nurture our beloved community through the support of education, outreach, released ministry and meetinghouse projects. The Legacy Funds will serve as potent seeds to help Friends answer God’s call in our time and to strengthen the new life that is already rising up in our Yearly Meeting." Minute 2015-27
The purpose of the Legacy Gift Committee is to fulfill this Minute by distributing the funds that are in their care, and to seek additional ways to release and support ministry in New England and beyond. Its role is clearly defined in Minute 2014-62.
Procedures
The Committee sets application deadlines and processes in accordance with Minute 2014-62. A detailed Application Process appears on the NEYM website at https://neym.org/legacy-gift/legacy-grants-apply-now. The committee meets regularly throughout the year, for the purpose of soliciting and reviewing grant applications to two funds. The NEYM Future Fund, available to individuals and meetings, is to be released until all of its money is expended. In the case of the NEYM Witness and Ministry Fund, the Committee distributes only the available income from the relevant funds, as determined by current NEYM investment policies. This entire process will be reviewed by the Yearly Meeting in 2024, or sooner, depending on need and as approved by Sessions.
From time to time, the committee may invite guest reviewers to participate in the review process.
The Legacy Funds are not limited to existing balances but can receive additional donations to support the work.
The committee is required to report back to Sessions directly every year during a Meeting for Business and is encouraged to offer workshops to promote the work of the committee, the relationship of money to our spiritual condition and to highlight the ministry and witness of the recipients of these funds.
Legacy Gift Fund recipients are expected to report annually to the committee for the duration of their grant, and to consult with the committee if there are significant changes to their budget or schedule after approval.
Committee Resources
Past Work
Composition
- The committee consists of up to nine members, named by the NEYM Nominating Committee and approved by the Yearly Meeting. Members serve for renewable, staggered 3-year terms. Friends may be appointed for a second term, after which they should take a year off.
- The Yearly Meeting Presiding Clerk and the Permanent Board Clerk serve as ex-officio members.
- Yearly Meeting Nominating Committee, in consultation with committee members, names the clerk or co-clerks of Legacy Gift Committee. This nomination is approved by the Yearly Meeting.
Members of the Legacy Gift Committee may include Friends who:
- bring gifts in spiritual discernment
- bring experience in grant writing or awarding
- are previous recipients of the Legacy Gift funds
- are able to commit to the time expectations of the committee's work
- can actively reach out to applicants, and whenever possible meet them in person
- will respond to applicants in a fair, timely and supportive manner
- are able to help the group make decisions about competing priorities
- share a bold vision of the possibilities of what these funds could support.
