Church of the Epiphany - Grant Application
Fiscal Year 2016 - 2017
To be considered for a grant, please answer the following questions about
your organization and limit your response to three pages. The application
must be received by the Church of the Epiphany no later than Tuesday,
January 5, 2016.
1. Contact information
Name of organization: Virginians for Alternatives to the Death
Penalty_
Address: P.O. Box 12222 Richmond, VA_ 23241
Telephone: # 434-960-7779
E-mail: office@vadp.org
Contact person: Michael Stone, Executive Director
Signature: Michael E Stone
2. Please share the Mission Statement of your organization and how it
relates to Epiphany’s Human Concerns Mission:
The mission of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP) is to
“end the death penalty in Virginia through education, organizing, and
advocacy.”
VADP’s mission relates to the parish Human Concerns Mission in several
ways:
We resolve to... INCREASE awareness among community members of the
need to respond generously to any of God’s people who are suffering,
whether it be from physical or emotional illness, deprivation of basic needs,
loss of dignity, or separation from meaningful relationships.
First, capital punishment is contrary to essential human dignity as
articulated by Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) and
affirmed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2266 & 2267).
Second, death row inmates are held in solitary confinement for years at a
time, depriving them of any relationships. This practice has serious negative
consequences and has driven one death row inmate insane. A recent court
case has forced the Virginia Department of Corrections to improve conditions
for death row inmates.
Finally, VADP has a close partnership with the Virginia Catholic Conference
in developing educational resources and legislative strategy at the General
Assembly. Feel free to contact the Conference Executive Director Jeff Caruso
about VADP at # 804-225-8565 or <jeff@vacatholic.org.
3. Grant amount requested this year: $ 2,500
4. If you received a grant last year, please explain specifically how
Epiphany funds were used. Please limit your response to those funds,
not all funds received by your entire agency. How many people were
served by these programs?
Not applicable. VADP did not receive funds from Church of the Epiphany last
year.
5. What is the purpose of requested grant funds? Please be sure to
outline how your project specifically benefits clients in the areas of
food, housing, health and welfare.
VADP is requesting funds for its general program operations to educate the
public about capital punishment and to organize citizens to seek an end to the
death penalty in Virginia
The organization convenes VADP supporters in northern Virginia,
Charlottesville, Richmond, Norfolk, and Roanoke. These gatherings will take
place twice a year - in the spring and fall.
VADP has been actively reaching out and organizing political conservatives. The
recent abolition of capital punishment in Nebraska with strong Republican
support shows how conservatives are increasingly questioning the effectiveness
of the death penalty as a public policy.
Mark Earley - a former Republican Attorney General who oversaw 36 executions
in Virginia - recently wrote about his conversion on the issue and declared his
opposition to the death penalty. Mr. Earley was the keynote speaker at a recent
VADP awards luncheon.
In addition, VADP is working with the Virginia Catholic Conference and ACLU of
Virginia on a strategy for the 2016 session of the legislature to consider a bill to
ban the execution of people with serious mental illness
6. How are Epiphany parishioners currently involved in your
organization? Who are they?
Individual members of Epiphany are supporters of VADP. We do not keep
records of church affiliation in our database. However, we do know that at
least two parishioners are VADP members - Molly Smith and Laurie Weeda.
7. Epiphany’s Human Concerns Ministry offers a “Gift of Service”
opportunity in late-May for its parishioners. Are there any specific
“one-time” volunteer service projects you could offer to our
parishioners during this timeframe?
Given the nature of this work, volunteer opportunities are limited. VADP
needs people primarily to become members of its legislative advocacy
network and to help expand the number of Virginians opposed to capital
punishment.
One possible activity would be staffing a VADP information table before and
after Masses at Church of the Epiphany on that weekend. They could help
distribute educational materials on capital punishment in Virginia.
8. Please supply the following information from your current budget and
submit a copy of your most recent IRS Form 990, excluding
attachments.
Total Budget (2016) $ 100,285
Grant Request $ 2,500 % of Budget
2.5%
Cash Balance $ 52,683 % of Budget 52.5%
Salaries $ 55,000 % of Budget
54.8%
Reserves $ 0 % of Budget
0.0%
Fundraising $ 7,000 % of Budget 7.0%
Capital Expenditures $ i} % of Budget
0.0%
REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS
* Copy of appropriate IRS Form 501(c)(3) or 509(a) - Attachment A
Your most recent IRS Form 990 - Attachment B
Past two years’ Financial Statements (audited, if available) - Attachment C
A description of Income Sources- Attachment D
List of current Trustees, Directors and/or Advisors- Attachment E
A description of any Endowments, their purpose and the current amounts held in the
Endowments - None
