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Church of the Epiphany - Grant Application
Fiscal Y ear 2017 - 2018
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 Wednesday, February 8, 2017. Please send the application to the
attention of Laurie Weeda
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
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: $ 2,000
4. If you received a grant last year, please explain specifically how Epiphany funds were used.
How many people were served by these programs? Please include a testimonial or example of
the impact the grant has made on the organization, a program, individuals or families.
VADP recently received $600 from Church of the Epiphany in early December 2016. These funds
were placed in our organization’s general operating funds.
I want to share a recent example of VADP’s impact ona family. Ricky Javon Gray was executed
on January 18, 2017 for the murder of the Harvey family in Richmond. His mother and two
young nieces wanted to be with him for the last three days of his life, but could not afford housing.
Since Greensville Correctional Center is in a remote area of Virginia, VADP was unable to find a
host to accommodate these family members. So the organization paid for a four night stay at
nearby hotel so that these women could be with their loved one for the last days of his life.
These women and other family members who came for the execution attended a vigil that VADP
organized outside of the prison. A Presbyterian minister who is a former VADP board member
led the vigil and provided pastoral care to the grief-stricken members of the Gray family.
Few people consider the trauma that the Commonwealth imposes on a family by the deliberate
killing of theirloved one. VADP is the only organization that provides care for these people.
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.
During 2016 VADP presented public education events on the death penalty to a coalition of
conservative activists in Richmond as well as Catholic, Episcopal, and interfaith audiences in
Roanoke, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. In 2017 education events are already scheduled in
Fredericksburg, Dale City, and Richmond.
VADP is working with the Virginia Catholic Conference, the ACLU of Virginia, National Alliance on
Mental Illness Virginia, and other mental health organizations to build support in the 2017 session of
the legislature for a bill to ban the execution of people with serious mental illness. The patron in the
House of Delegates is a tea-party Republican from Chesapeake, Del. Jay Leftwich.
6. How are Epiphany parishioners currently involved in your organization? Who are they?
How may we be more involved with your organization? How would you like to be involved at
Epiphany?
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.
Parishioners would be most welcome to join the VA DP network so that they can receive
legislative action alerts, updates on our work, and invitations to regional meetings and education
events. We can send VADP sign-up forms to the church if you are interested.
VADP would be happy to present a public education event on capital punishment at Epiphany or
to participate in a parish ministry fair or similar event. VADP could also staff an information
table before and after Masses at Church of the Epiphany on a weekend to 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 (2017) $ 107,310
Grant Request $ 2,000 % of Budget 1.9%
Cash Balance $ 63,908 % of Budget 59.6%
Salaries $ 60,500 % of Budget 56.4%
Reserves $ 0 % of Budget 0.0%
Capital Expenditures $ 0 % of Budget 0.0%
Fundraising
Income $ 72,500 % of Budget 67.6%
Expenses $ 6,000 %ofBudget s/s 56%
Have there been significant changes in your operations or in your goals in the last year that have
affected your financial situation? If yes, please explain.
No. VADP’s operations, goals, and financial situation have not experienced any significant
change within the past year.
However, VADP has an outstanding $25,000 grant application with the Bon Secours Sisters
Mission Fund. If this funding request is granted, VADP would use that grant and its existing cash
balance to hire a full-time field organizer to work in the districts of conservative legislators who
have privately expressed doubts, concerns, or opposition to capital punishment.
This field organizer would meet with business, faith, and political leaders in those districts to
educate them about the death penalty and to build support for abolition. Without this kind of local
support, no conservative legislator will vote to end capital punishment in Virginia.
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