Request Funding

The founders of The Business and Professional Foundation had a vision of seeing their money share the Gospel through not only offering low interest loans to churches and schools but also through awarding grants to both churches and individuals who would use the money to share Jesus in innovative ways. As a result, we offer three different types of funding. These are described in some detail below along with links to apply for each one.

Loans for Churches and Schools

We believe that the local church and church school are extremely important and we love to partner with them by providing low-interest loans to help fund special projects. Several guiding principles form the bases of our services. An understanding of these may be helpful in anticipating whether we can be of assistance to your church, school, or project.

Loans can be made only to the extent that the Foundation has funds available.
Although there is no specific limit on the amount that can be loaned to a particular church or school, at this time it is unlikely that we would consider making a loan in excess of $250,000.00
We will provide loan funds only for those projects that have been approved by the Executive Committee of the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists.
We loan funds only to those entities, churches, or schools that have no indebtedness to other lenders.
Our organization is not set-up to make long-term loans. With rare exceptions, terms for BPF loans involve amortization schedules of seven (7) years or less. Depending on the specific situation there may be some flexibility however, and we have on occasion provided longer repayment terms based on an amount the local church budget can sustain
Monthly loan payments are required and we do not send reminders or statements. We do provide receipts for payments made.
A loan may be paid in full at any time without penalty for early pay-off. Extra payments in excess of those agreed upon may be made at any time without penalty in order to reduce the principal on the outstanding loan balance.
Interest is calculated on the outstanding loan balance from month to month.
Loans are secured by all property owned by the borrowing entity, church, or school.
Loans are made on the following terms:
1. No interest is charged for the first 2 (two) years of the loan. All payments made during the first 2 years apply to the loan principal. If the loan is paid off within 2 (two) years, the loan is totally interest-free.
2. After the first 2 (two) years of the loan, interest is charged on the remaining loan balance each month. The interest rate is equal to one-half (1/2) the interest rate charged by the Southern Union Revolving Fund on loans that they make to churches within the Southern Union.
3. After 4 (four) years, the interest rate on the remaining loan balance is equal to three-fourths (3/4) the interest rate charged by the Southern Union Revolving Fund on loans that they make to churches within the Southern Union.
4. Beginning with the seventh (7th) year of the loan, interest is charged at the full rate charged by the Southern Union Revolving Fund on loans that they make to churches within the Southern Union.
We also accept applications for and fund smaller-scale grants for innovative outreach and evangelism. A total of up to $5,000 per year is available for this purpose. Grants are considered on an individual first-come, first-serve basis. See the section describing Church Grants below for more information.
To apply for a loan, use the online application form below or download and print the PDF version of the application and mail it to our treasurer:
Ervin Brown CPA, Treasurer
Business and Professional Foundation
728 S Main St.
Springfield, TN 37172

Loan Application

Name

First Name

Last Name

Date

YYYY

Church Applying

Church's Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Church's Phone Number

(###)

###

####

Pastor's Name

First Name

Last Name

Pastor's Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Pastor's Email

Pastor's Phone

(###)

###

####

Head Elder

First Name

Last Name

Head Elder's Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Head Elder's Email

Head Elder's Phone

(###)

###

####

Treasurer's Name

First Name

Last Name

Treasurer's Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Treasurer's Email

Treasurer's Phone

(###)

###

####

Brief Description of the Proposed Project

Appraised value of the building / site

Amount paid for the building / site

Appraised value of the present church building

Amount paid for church and/or construction

What is the present stage of development/construction for the proposed project?

Amount needed to complete the church, school, or outreach project

Amount requested to borrow from the BPF for project completion

Does the church have any indebtedness of any kind at the present time?

If the answer is yes, please explain

What is the requested term of the loan in months?

What is the approximate monthly payment amount?

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Church Grants

The purpose of BPF church grants is to provide encouragement and financial support to creative, cutting-edge outreach programs developed or implemented on the community level by local churches whose mission is to serve their local community in a unique and gospel-oriented manner. BPF has always been dedicated to energizing and supporting our local conference and the Seventh-day Adventist denomination.

The Outreach Grant should be considered a one-time award that does not represent a long-term financial commitment by BPF, although applicants may apply for the grant every year. The Business and Professional Foundation encourages Pastors, Youth leaders, Sabbath School leaders, Community Services and Personal Ministries leaders, Men’s and Women’s Ministries leaders, and church musicians to use their creativity in developing new ideas designed to reach their special community.

Criteria for successful grant application:

The project should be creative and unique. It should be a new or different way of connecting with non-Adventist church members in your community.
These projects should be based on the specific needs or attributes of your community.
The project should be service and outreach oriented, i.e. it must be of primary benefit to people outside the church and yet be clearly identified with the local church, Christianity, and the Seventh-day Adventist denomination in a positive way.
The unique project must have complete funding and the commitment of the local church to carry it through to completion.
Project leaders, or some other designated person, must make a commitment to provide a written report of the project’s implementation at the end of the grant year.

Only projects that meet the criteria of being unique and cutting-edge, and community-oriented will be funded even if that means no grants are issued in a given year. Additionally, because BPF encourages multiple applicants, it is unlikely that the entire amount of $5,000.00 set aside for Outreach Grants will be awarded to a single project, but rather that the money will be shared amongst several worth projects if more than one application meets these criteria. For this reason, you should consider applying for less than $5,000.00. BPF’s Outreach Grant Committee will review all applications using the above criteria and make the final decisions.

To apply for a grant, use the online application form below or download and print the PDF version of the application and mail it to our treasurer:

Ervin Brown CPA, Treasurer
Business and Professional Foundation
728 S Main St.
Springfield, TN 37172

Church Grant Application

Church Name

Your Name

First Name

Last Name

Your Email

Project Leader Name

First Name

Last Name

Project Leader Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Project Leader Phone

(###)

###

####

Project Leader Email

Contact Person's Name

The name of the person who will give progress reports to BPF

First Name

Last Name

Contact Person's Email

Contact Person's Phone

(###)

###

####

Contact Person's Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

List the Goals of the Project

Describe the Activity

Who will participate, when will this project take place, and where will it take place?

Data or Community Information Supporting This Project

Include data or community information that answers why this project will be uniquely suited to your community’s needs or special characteristics.

Total Budget of Project

Explanation of Budget

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Youth Grants

We are excited to expand our ministry vision to include the passion and energy of Seventh-day Adventist young people. We will award up to a maximum of $7,500 in grants every year to young people who successfully complete and submit the grant application.

The youth grants program has two purposes:

To provide encouragement and financial support for creative, cutting-edge outreach programs developed by young people that make an impact on their communities.
To encourage young people to use and develop business skills to grow God’s kingdom.

The Youth Outreach Grant should be considered seed money that is a one-time award.

Criteria for successful grant application:

The applicant(s) should be under the age of 24
The project should be creative and unique.
It should be a new or different way of connecting with the community outside your church.
The project should be service and outreach oriented, i.e. it must be of primary benefit to people outside the church and yet be clearly identified with the local church and/or school, Christianity, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in a positive way.
The unique project must have a business plan that takes the grant money and at least doubles it to provide complete funding for the project.
The youth involved in the project must commit to providing a written report of the outcome of their project and either appear in person or provide a video that can be shown at the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference camp meeting showcasing their project.

Only projects that meet the criteria of being unique, cutting-edge, and community-oriented will be funded. We encourage and welcome multiple applicants so it is unlikely that the entire grant will be set aside for one applicant. The money will be shared amongst several worthy projects if more than one application meets these criteria. For this reason, you should consider applying for less than $7,500.00.

To apply for a Youth Grant, use the online application form below or download and print the PDF version of the application and mail it to our treasurer:

Ervin Brown CPA, Treasurer
Business and Professional Foundation
728 S Main St.
Springfield, TN 37172

Youth Grant Application

Name of Applicant

First Name

Last Name

Email of Applicant

Phone of Applicant

(###)

###

####

Address of Applicant

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Names of Joint Applicants

Partnering Church or School

Church or School Representative

First Name

Last Name

Representative's Email

Project Name

Website

If one has been created for this project

http://

Purpose of Grant

One paragraph

Start Date of the Project

YYYY

End Date of the Project

YYYY

Amount Requested

Recommended to be one third of total cost. Another third should come from the partner church or school with the final third coming from either either the business plan or other forms of fundraising.

Total Project Cost

Geographic Area Served

Business Plan

What business / community project will you be in?

What will you do?

What is your mission statement?

Many companies have a brief mission statement, usually in 30 words or fewer, explaining their reason for being and their guiding principles. If you want to draft a mission statement, this is a good place to put it in the plan (Not a requirement for the grant, but a good exercise).

Project Goals and Objectives

Goals are destinations—where you want your business to be. Objectives are progress markers along the way to goal achievement. For example, a goal might be to have a healthy, successful company that is a leader in customer service and that has a loyal customer following. Objectives might be annual sales targets and some specific measures of customer satisfaction.

Business Philosophy

What is important to you in business (this project)?

To whom will you market your products or services from this project?

Example: A specific part of the community like youth between the ages of 13-18 years old or individuals over the age of 65 or people that drive red corvettes.

Describe Your Community

Is Your Community Growing?

What areas are positive and negative as it relates to your community?

What changes do you foresee in the community, short term and long term?

How will your church / school / project be poised to take advantage of these changes?

Describe your most important project team strengths and core competencies

What factors will make the project succeed?

What do you think your major strengths will be?

What do you think the major weaknesses are?

What background experience, skills, and strengths do you and/or your team personally brings to this new venture?

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