MET Grant Program

The generous support of our members allows the Memorial Endowment Trust to make grant funds available to the UUCC on an annual basis. The amount available is determined in January each year based on a formula specified in the Memorial Endowment Trust Agreement.

Grant Guidelines
Grant Application

Grant awards for 2023-2024

The Trustees of the Memorial Endowment Trust of the UUCC are pleased to announce this year’s grant recipients and award amounts:

• The UUCC Staff and Worship Teams received $12,500 in funding for new cameras in the Sanctuary.
• The UUCC Staff and Worship Teams received $13,750 (partial funding) for new audio equipment in the Sanctuary.
• The Building and Grounds and Open Door School Managing Teams received $20,000 in funding for the installation of new fences around the three playgrounds on our property.

Past Grants

2022-2023: 7 grants

• Membership Team requested $5,500 to produce a 2 to 3 minute video to help visitors learn more about our community.
• Our Professional Staff requested $2,500 to develop an audio/visual design plan for the sanctuary
• Building and Grounds Team requested $4,400 to add subtle lighting to our landscape to increase visibility for evening events
• Building and Grounds Team also requested $4,800 for awnings over the main entrance doors
• Open Door School and CYRE Teams requested $18,000 for 3 new outdoor sheds replacing deteriorating and unsafe current storage
• CYRE Team also requested $3,700 to provide shelter in inclement weather and life-saving devices in case of emergency
• The Intersectional Justice Team requested $5,000 to aid our community partner The Reentry Housing Alliance

2021-2022: 6 grants

• Outdoor Gathering Area with a Fire Pit located near the Memorial Garden and CYRE Classrooms. This is sponsored by the Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE) Team and cost $3,000. Tracy Hickman and her husband Scott (who owns a construction company) are donating their labor. Our Middle and High School Youth will now finally have an outdoor space for gathering and hanging out (adults are welcome to use it too!)  The firepit will be surrounded by four 12 foot benches and four Adirondack chairs.
• Updating Interior Signs and Banners.  This is sponsored by Building and Grounds and the Communications Team. This is sponsored by the Building and Grounds and Communications Teams and will cost $2,000.  This will include the total makeover of interior signage to align with new name, logo and branding efforts and will include banners that can be used to identify us as a group at various meetings and marches.
• Technology Upgrades to Create Hybrid Meeting/Learning Opportunities.  This is sponsored by the entire Professional Staff and will cost $15,000. The objective is to convert the three most used spaces (Bernstein Room, Conference Room and Freeman Hall) into areas that functionally blend in-person meetings with the virtual world.
• Updating the Aesthetics of the Worship Experience.  This is sponsored by the Worship Team and will cost $2,500.  This includes the purchase of five faux flower arrangements, three decorative vessels, sculptures or crafts, and refinishing the credenza in the vestibule.
• Upgrades to allow for Internet/WiFi access throughout the building.  This is also sponsored by the Professional Staff and will cost $4,700.
• Marketing Grant. This is sponsored by the Communications and Membership Teams.  This grant is a contribution of $11,800 to aid our marketing efforts which includes hiring a media consultant who will advise us on optimizing our media buys to help us make ourselves known to those in the community who share our vision.

2020-2021: 4 grants

• Communications Team: Digital bulletin board in the UUCC foyer to alert members and guests to current and upcoming UUCC activities. $3,000
• Membership Team: Hearing Assistance Loops that broadcast directly to hearing aids and cochlear implants for members and guests attending services and events in the sanctuary and the Bernstein Room. $10,000
• Building and Grounds Team: Freeman Hall roof repairs, which follows the Freeman Hall interior makeover grant project from 2019 and addresses window and exterior structural issues on the oldest part of our building. $12,000
• Open Door School Managing Team: Challenge grant to increase the school’s scholarship resources so that ODS can serve a more diverse population. The Endowment Trust grant will provide up to $10,000 in matching funds to be obtained from ODS supporters to increase the principal balance of Sue Riley Scholarship Fund.

2019-2020: A $33,000 grant was awarded for the “Re-Branding and Outreach” project, sponsored by the Communications, Building and Grounds, Membership and Coordinating Teams. A multi-phased project with multiple objectives. First, it has allowed us to reconsider the name of this institution, which led to the change from “Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte” to “Unitarian Universalist Community of Charlotte.” Next we are refreshing our “branding components” (tagline and logo) so that they are consistent with our name, vision and mission. Then, we will update our exterior signage. And, finally, we will do some outreach, or marketing, in an effort to make ourselves known to those who share our vision of transformation and who might be looking to join a justice-seeking community or who might be looking for partners in the work of justice. The full project budget is $40,000.

2018-2019: 3 grants

• Freeman Hall Makeover – $20,000: Sponsored by the Building and Grounds Team. The Freeman Hall makeover included new flooring, repainting and new chairs;
• A second Dismantling Racism workshop – $11,000: Sponsored by the Adult Religious Education and Spiritual Development Team. Provided the opportunity for 40 more members to participate in 3-day anti-racism training.
• Redesign ideas for the Sanctuary platform area – $4,000: Sponsored by the Worship Team. The Sanctuary redesign grant was to allow the Worship Team to engage professionals to provide design ideas for a more functional, flexible and aesthetically pleasing sanctuary platform area.

2017-2018: 4 grants

• Dismantling Racism Workshop – $10,000: Forty members were given the opportunity to participate in an intensive workshop led by experienced facilitators.
• Making Our Vestibule a More Welcoming Space –  $3,800:  The goal of this project was to make our vestibule a more welcoming space that better accommodates traffic and communication, while making an appropriate first impression for our visitors.
• Interior Signage Upgrades – $2,500:  The goals of this project were to 1) upgrade and standardize all of the “permanent” interior signs in the UUCC facility and 2) to create new “temporary” signs that would be used on Sunday mornings and other times when there are large numbers of visitors in the building.
• Meeting Rooms Furnishings – $2,500:  Furnishings in Schweitzer and Priestley have been upgraded. The goal was to improve the appearance and functionality of our meeting rooms.

2016-2017:  A $4,000 grant was awarded to Open Door School to purchase new chairs for use in the ODS classrooms. The ODS Parent Council raised additional funds so that eighty chairs could be purchased at a total cost of approximately $6,000. Most of the chairs that were replaced were more than twenty years old. The UUCC Children and Youth Religious Education program uses the same classrooms and also benefits from the grant award.

2015-2016:  A $27,500 grant was awarded to purchase and install a sanctuary projection system that includes a high-intensity projector and large screen for the sanctuary as well as a closed circuit television system with future live-streaming capability both to other parts of the building and over the Internet. The proposal was sponsored by four teams: Worship, CYRE, Adult Religious Education, and Membership.