Guidelines applied to Synodical Global Hunger and Development
Appeal (GHDA) Project Grant Applications

Mission
The Global Hunger and Development Appeal (GHDA) is a program of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) which is designed to raise
funds and awareness in support of the hungry and disadvantaged of the
world. The GHDA mission is to engage the sustained commitment of ELCIC
members and congregations in alleviating hunger, understanding the causes
of hunger and poverty and walking with the poor to find solutions.

National Objectives of GHDA
a. To provide funds for the immediate relief of hunger and other emergency needs;
b. To assist people to deal with the causes and effects of poverty through longrange
development;
c. To help the synods and congregations to understand and confront the causes of
poverty;
d. To promote social and economic justice as it relates to poverty, including
support of and advocacy for government policy and programs;
e. To support ecumenical/inter-agency efforts and coalitions where possible.

How GHDA achieves its mission and objectives
To achieve this mission GHDA:
• Provides funds to Canadian Lutheran World Relief in support of its relief and
development work worldwide;
• Develops and distributes educational and interpretive resources for
congregations and synods;
• Works for justice with government and non-government organizations;
• Provides local emergency needs; and
• Allocates funds to synodical GHDA committees to support poverty alleviation
and education programs on the synod territories.

Criteria for Assessing Project Proposals
The synod committee assigned to allocate synodical GHDA project funds will review
written project proposals giving priority to projects, programs and activities which:
1. ead to an awareness of the issues of hunger and poverty as well as to solutions;
2. are related to one of the following areas:
o food production, distribution, acquisition, nutrition;
o employment (ie. job training, counseling, placement, day care centers,
health);
o development (ie. primary health care, sanitation, water supply, economic
self help, land use, literacy, housing, social structures);
3. build on resources and energies of the poor and their communities;
4. promote self-reliance in the shortest time possible (normally assistance should
not be planned for more than five years);
5. enable persons to deal with those elements of social, political and economic
situations that cause and reinforce poverty and that encourage all people to
confront those aspects of their personal lives that prevent people from breaking
out of the cycle of poverty;
6. operate in collaboration with ecumenical or inter-agency partners;
7. are planned in a way that fits the local situation so that the specific objectives of
the activity are fulfilled.

Guidelines for Funding Proposals
Written project proposals will be accepted twice a year by March 1 and September 1.
Decisions regarding allocation of funds will be made in April and October. Requests
for emergency assistance may be considered at other times of the year.
Applications must include:
• statement of the purpose and objectives of the project;
• rationale indicating how the project is related to the goal and objectives of
GHDA;
• clear description of the implementation strategy;
• a timeline for implementation;
• detailed project budget including other sources of funding (from co-sponsors,
community groups etc); and
• projection of anticipated outcomes or results
More information may be requested from applicants prior to final decisions. The
synodical committee will have absolute discretion in the granting of all or any portion
of the funds requested. All funds will not necessarily be expended in any given year
and ongoing programs must reapply annually.
Project applicants will be expected to submit a report with full details of expenditures
to the synod committee within two months of the stated date of completion of the
project, or annually upon reapplying for funds at the end of the current year for
ongoing projects.

Applications are submitted to the appropriate Synod Office for consideration
and processing. These guidelines are provided for synod councils to adapt to
their own use. Synods may wish to add additional criteria particular to their
ministries.

June 2004