Spring Harvest Seed Fund

Anyone seeking to apply for the seed funding will need to/ be:

• An attendee of Spring Harvest in 2023 - Minehead, Skegness or Home
• A committed Christian and an active member of their local church
• Able to assent to the Evangelical Alliance’s Basis of Faith
• Seek funding between £500 and £2500 as an individual, or churches working together but not an organisation
• Seek funding for a brand-new project, not an existing one
• Able to provide two character references to attest to their Christian faith and character

For the 2023 event, the criteria will centre around the theme of Flipped: Life in the Upside-Down Kingdom. Therefore, this year, we are inviting projects who are focused on prioritising the next generation, reaching children and young people, and meeting their spiritual, emotional or physical needs. Secondly, we would like to invite applications from projects seeking to support their local church to work together with other churches to love your neighbour both locally or globally.  Finally, Jesus, in his teachings on the upside-down nature of the Kingdom, centred on those who often found themselves on the outside of society. Therefore, we are inviting projects whose heart is to serve the marginalised.

Successful projects will need to demonstrate how they meet at least one of these three criteria above, a breakdown of which is outlined in further detail below:

Prioritising the next generation: Projects in this stream will have a particular focus on reaching children and young people. Projects could include work that looks to meet the physical, emotional or spiritual needs of children and young people in their locality, and could include work that seeks to encourage children and young people to faith, particularly those from unchurched backgrounds. Projects in this stream could also include social action projects such as ‘make lunch projects’ to tackle holiday hunger or projects meeting a particular pressing need affecting children and young people in their locality.  

Working together to love our neighbours: Projects in this stream will deliberately prioritise collaboration with individuals from other churches to love and serve their community.  Applicants in this stream will seek to work with others from other churches on specific ways to reach out to their communities and neighbourhoods as ‘the church’ in their locality. Projects in this stream could also include those wishing to reach out in a similar way beyond their local communities. E.g. projects reaching people outside their localities or outside the UK, etc…

Serving the marginalised: Projects in this stream will have a particular focus on social justice or social action projects reaching the marginalised and vulnerable in their communities, such as (but not limited to): people experiencing poverty in the UK, refugees and asylum seekers, people with disabilities etc.


Notes: Any technical equipment to be purchased by a grant from the seed fund will be agreed on a case by case basis, and the purchase of equipment should not be seen as setting a precedent for all applications.

Process: A panel of Spring Harvest team and external advisors will meet on a regular basis to review applications.  They will then contact the successful applicants to further discuss the proposed project.  Once the review process is completed, applicants will be contacted, and those successful will be advised of the next steps. Spring Harvest will maintain contact with successful applicants in order to support and encourage, and where appropriate, share stories of the project with the Spring Harvest community.  We do ask that a written report of the project’s progress is submitted to Spring Harvest six months after the award of a grant.