Total for first three months of 2026 surpasses Q1 of 2025 by more than $50,000
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 14, 2026)—The Grant Administration Committee of the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas (MFA) Board of Directors has awarded a total of 10 grants across its monthly meetings of the first quarter, bringing the committee’s granted funds to $185,215 for the year to date—more than $50,000 ahead of last year’s first quarter total.
“The Foundation is grateful to be able to use its profits to assist ministries and nonprofits all over the state,” said MFA President and CEO the Rev. J. Wayne Clark. “Investments rooted in decades of careful management provide crucial support so that needs can be met today. Thanks to careful stewardship of these funds over the long haul, MFA can make grants that work for the good of Arkansas congregations, the people they serve, and the communities that surround them.”
Grantees and the amounts awarded to them during the third calendar quarter are:
- Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation: $15,000
These funds will provide support for an intensive formational experience that is open to up to 50 laity and clergy from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The Foundation is one of several organizations collaborating for this effort. - Oaklawn UMC of Hot Springs: $3,500
Support for a joint project between Oaklawn UMC and Hot Springs World Class High School to create a bridge between generations and cultures by bringing together members of the church and a diverse group of student-athletes. Through shared meals, mentorship, and game-day fellowship, church members seek to break down barriers, build trust, and demonstrate the love of Christ in action. - Asbury UMC of Little Rock: $18,500
Funds will be used to provide diapers, wipes, and financial support for families who come to the church’s twice-monthly neighborhood feeding ministry. - Camp Aldersgate: $54,905
Providing funds to replace camp mattresses and to hold pilot camps geared toward potential additional constituencies. - Casa Lupita: $8,000
Casa Lupita currently serves 140 families in the Little Rock Hispanic community, providing adult education, life skills training, and a food pantry. - Trinity UMC of Little Rock: $3,000
Trinity UMC’s Lunch Box Ministry provides meals to approximately 156 children during school breaks (Spring Break, Thanksgiving Break, and Winter Break). - ARUMC 200,000 More Reasons: $30,000
This grant will provide sub-grants to local UMCs in the state, as well as educational assistance to local church leaders and participation in a feeding ministry event at the 2026 Assembly held by the Arkansas Conference Council on Youth Ministries. - Fischer Street UMC: $7,200
In partnership with three other churches, the Passmore summer feeding program will provide a daily lunch meal for 150 persons a day, four days a week, for 11 weeks. - Prairie Grove UMC: $20,110
This grant enhances the church’s “We Feed People” ministry by providing funds to construct and maintain a greenhouse and raised-bed garden system. - Project Transformation: $25,000
Project Transformation (PT) Arkansas transforms communities by engaging children, college-aged young adults, and churches in purposeful relationships. Through summer day camps hosted in United Methodist churches, children in underserved communities receive literacy-based instruction, social-emotional skills development, and profound relationships with young adult leaders and church-based volunteers at little or no cost to families. The camps operate Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., filling gaps for academic enrichment and relationship building while supporting working families and addressing food insecurity during the summer months. This grant supports operational costs for PT Arkansas in the summer of 2026.
Additional Grants Beyond Committee Action
In addition to the grants summarized above, the Foundation has made other disbursements beyond the committee’s purview, including support for programs that began receiving approved funding before the current fiscal year, and smaller disbursements that do not require committee action according to the MFA Board of Directors bylaws.
Like the Grant Administration Committee disbursements, these gifts span MFA’s six grant priority areas: 1) Food Security, Homelessness, and Poverty; 2) Clergy and Laity Education; 3) Community Health; 4) Evangelism and Discipleship; 5) Diversity; and 6) Environmental Awareness and Energy Education. Examples of such disbursements include funds to help maintain the Little Free Pantry movement’s online locator map; scholarship funding covering 50% of tuition for students attending Camp Tanako and Ozark Mission Project in the summer of 2026; and sponsorship of a Spring Break service-learning mission experience for more than 50 college students active in United Methodist campus ministries across Arkansas.
MFA welcomes grant proposals from United Methodist and Pan-Methodist churches and organizations, as well as non-church-related community nonprofits that pursue goals aligning with one or more of the priorities listed at methodistfoundationAR.org/grants. Churches and organizations planning to request funds from MFA should also visit this link to establish a login for the Foundation’s Grant Portal. Addressing food insecurity in Arkansas remains a top priority of the Foundation’s grant program.
About the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas
With a mission to establish and manage charitable funds to strengthen and expand Methodist ministries across Arkansas, the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas manages over $250 million in endowment funds and other charitable assets that benefit local churches and other United Methodist ministries. Founded in 1963, the Foundation has grown into one of the largest United Methodist foundations in the country, managing more than 800 funds that support Methodist ministries. To learn more, visit methodistfoundationAR.org.
