The Friends Meeting House Fund offers support for meetings seeking help with repairs and energy-efficient upgrades through two main granting programs: the Green Meeting House Fund, which supports meetings that want to become more sustainable and energy-efficient, and the General Improvement Grant Fund, which provides small grants for improving meeting community spaces.
Green Meeting House Grant Fund
Contributions to this Fund often come from Gathering attendees wishing to reduce the environmental impact of their travel. Tax-deductible donations to this Fund are also accepted throughout the year. Examples of supported projects include:
- The addition of solar panels to reduce reliance on fossil fuels for heating the Durham, ME, Meeting House.
- The replacement of the foundation to provide improved weatherization and to secure the structure of the Alaska Friends Conference Dickerson Friends Center in Wasilla, AK.
- The replacement of drafty windows with new, weathertight ones for the Kalamazoo, MI, Friends Meeting.
- An enhanced drainage system to protect adjacent stream and wetlands for the Storrs, CT, Friends Meeting parking area.
General Improvements Grant Fund
Gifts to this Fund have traditionally come from individuals wishing to help other Meetings, in an anonymous way, with facilities improvements they would otherwise be unable to afford. As with the Green Fund, tax-deductible donations are accepted throughout the year.
Grants from this fund have supported:
- Construction of a safe, permanent handicap access ramp at the historic Gonic, NH, Friends Meetinghouse
- Inclusion of accessible entrance features for a newly-built meetinghouse in Old Chatham, NY.
To send a gift to either Fund, make your check payable to Friends General Conference and indicate which FMHF Grant Fund in the memo section.