When an urgent financial need arises for a Plan member or his or her immediate family that personal and other resources cannot meet, the Assistance Program may be able to help. Several programs are available: shared grants, emergency assistance grants, adoption assistance grants, and transition-to-college assistance grants.

Shared Grants

These are generally intended to assist with a one-time need. Shared grants help active and retired church workers and their spouses with special financial needs or in emergency situations. The need may be extraordinary medical or mental healthcare expenses, a family emergency, or any number of special situations.

Shared grants are initiated (recommended) by a governing body or an employing organization that is willing to share equally with the Board in the cost of providing the grant. Grants also may be shared between the Board and two or more other bodies of the church. Each case is reviewed on its merits as determined by the applicant's need and resources.

To apply for a shared grant, pastors should contact their presbytery and church workers should contact their employing organization.

Normally, the Board of Pensions and a governing body of the church or an employing organization jointly meet the emergency needs of members with shared grants. From time to time, however, a governing body or employing organization cannot participate in a shared grant because of insufficient funds. In these instances, an Emergency Assistance Grant may be awarded to provide financial support to persons who otherwise might not receive it. Emergency Assistance Grants are funded by the Board's Assistance Program and are subject to certain limits.

Before an emergency assistance grant will be provided, the following requirements must be met:

• The applicant must commit some personal resources toward the expense and make every effort to obtain funds that may be available in the community.
• Application for a shared grant must be made, and the sponsor of the grant (the presbytery or employing organization) must verify in writing that no funds to share in the grant financially are available.
• Governing bodies and/or employing organizations will be consulted to confirm the need and that the resources for a shared grant have been exhausted.

Lump sum payments to the applicant cannot exceed $5,000, and total payments to the applicant during any year cannot exceed $15,000. Each case is reviewed on its merits as determined by the applicant's need and resources.

To request an application, you should contact your presbytery. Be sure to return your completed application to the presbytery, not the Board of Pensions.

Adoption Assistance Grants

A family adopting a child may be eligible for $3,000 for each child to help with the following adoption-related expenses:

• medical expenses not reimbursed by the Benefits Plan
• adoption agency and placement fees
• attorney’s fees
• eligible travel expenses
• home study fees

To be eligible for a grant, the parent must be an active member of the Benefits Plan and employed by a local church, governing body, General Assembly agency, or an organization under the control or operation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at the time of the adoption.

A grant of $3,000 for each adoption will be available when the Board of Pensions receives the final legal adoption decree. The program is effective for adoptions that occur on or after January 1, 2006.

In addition to other funding, the Adoption Assistance program is supported by the funds from the Relief of Conscience program.

For those Plan members whose expenses exceed the available tax credits and adoption assistance grant, shared grants may be available at the discretion of the governing body or employing organization and the Board of Pensions.

Transition-to-College Assistance Grants

Freshman year of college is a time when students incur significant one-time expenses, such as the purchase of a computer, dorm room furnishings, and the like. The Transition-to-College Assistance Grant program is intended to help mitigate these transitional expenses for eligible families of college freshmen.

Under this program, a one-time grant is available to qualifying members of the Benefits Plan for each dependent child entering his or her freshman year of an accredited college or university. The grants range in amount from $500 to $1,000, depending on total family income. Eligibility criteria relate to financial need, Plan participation, and enrollment of a dependent child as a full-time freshman in an accredited college or university.

Unlike the Benefits Plan, which is funded by dues, the Assistance Program relies on other funding sources, including half of the Christmas Joy Offering, gifts, legacies directed to the Board of Pensions, and income from endowments. more