Renewal applications for existing Conference Advance Specials should be received by March 1. Applications for new Advance Specials will be accepted each year by that same deadline and will be good for the remainder of that quadrennial period. An application received by the chair of Conference Board of Global Ministries will be screened by the board and, if it meets the requirements, is then sent on for approval at Annual Conference.
Send applications to the Secretary of Global Ministries
When submitting your application, please email/attach/enclose a financial report or budget to illustrate how the amount requested is part of a larger funding strategy. Please also include a project brochure, photos, or other materials that are pertinent to this application.
All supporting documents should be sent to the Conference Board of Global Ministries by mail at the above address or via email. Please reference the program agency/ministry name and provide your contact information.
Advance Special giving is “second-mile” giving. This means the churches need to pay all apportioned conference benevolences before making contributions to a Conference Advance Special.
Having New England Conference Advance Special status permits an agency or ministry to solicit donations from all churches in the Conference. Without Advance Special status, this type of fund raising is not allowed.
Advance Special donations are to be used for program funding only. These donations cannot be used for capital improvements.
Advance Special status is approved by the New England Annual Conference at the recommendation of the Conference Board of Global Ministries. Agencies/ministries must apply for Advance Special status by completing the request form (attached) and by signing the covenant.
Approval will be for the quadrennial years (2020-2024) or to the end of the quadrennium (2024). The Conference Board of Global Ministries reserves the right to remove an agency/ministry that is not supported by churches. The more an agency/ministry works to solicit funds, the better its chances of receiving donations and retaining its Advance Special status.
Agencies requesting an amount for an Advance Special are not guaranteed that the amount will be raised and available. It is not budgeted by the Conference. The amount raised depends on “second-mile” giving by churches or individuals. An Advance Special is not part of apportionments or mission shares.
An Advance Special is assigned a number and churches receive mission credit if they donate by the Advance Special number through the New England Conference Treasurer. The numbers assigned are New England Conference Advance Special numbers. General Conference grants their own Advance Special numbers, which are approved by the General Board of Global Ministries. This is a different application process and the two should not be confused. Agencies and ministries within the New England Conference can make application and obtain Advance Special status at either or both levels.
Agencies/ministries need to recognize that Advance Special donations are raised only through the effort and hard work of such agency/ministry. It is up to the agency/ministry to promote its programs in order to obtain financial support from the churches. The goal is to encourage churches to give.