Self-Development of People Announces grant recipients

More than $200,000 awarded

Twice a year, the National Committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Self-Development of People (SDOP) program, which works towards the empowerment of poor and oppressed people in this country and around the world, gathers to make funding decisions on applications received from potential partners. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, SDOP, a part of the Relief and Development programs of the General Assembly Council, helps Presbyterians and others establish partnerships with oppressed and disadvantaged communities by providing grants to groups that create and manage local development projects. Funding decisions are made in May and November. The 31 elected committee members at their May meeting in Savannah, Georgia, awarded $241,200 in grants.

The committee visited with local community based groups including the South Carolina Coastal Community Development Corporation (SCCCDC) located in the heart of the Gullah community on St. Helena Island; the Beaufort Black Community Council in Beaufort, South Carolina; McIntosh Sustainable Environment and Economic Development (SEED) located in Harris Neck, Ga., and Women in Rural Development based in Savannah, Ga. “It was especially interesting to hear about the fresh perspectives in reinvigorating the rural and agricultural base and the local people’s involvement in developing their community including in the areas of education and the environment,” said Committee member Cornelius Blanding. In addition, there is increasing interest by local farmers to engage in organic farming. For instance, some of the farmers have started producing pork for whole food stores.  

A project that the National Committee visited and awarded a $20,000 grant to is the Youth Leadership and Development Project, the youth component of Eastside Concerned Citizens Inc. (ECCI) located in Savannah, Ga. According to ECCI President Freddie Patrick, “the grant will enable ECCI to develop youth leaders for the community for tomorrow by training youth to become more familiar with understanding how to access government services, to engage the criminal justice system and to develop an overall sense of community and neighborhood pride.”

Approximately 100 youth are involved in the program, which dates back to 1974. ECCI lists some of its successes as neighborhood beautification and crime reduction. For instance especially during the summer, youth assist senior citizens with cleaning up their property as well as cleaning right of way areas and lanes in the neighborhood and distributing flyers to encourage residents to keep their property maintained. In crime prevention they have been engaged in increased communication with the police department in reporting crimes and criminal activity and encouraging other youth to become involved in neighborhood activity rather than criminal activity. During our conversation, I ask Patrick to describe in his own words what you would see if you visited his neighborhood. He shares how when he looks out of the window he sees beautiful homes rather than dilapidated structures as in the past, seniors sitting on their porches visiting with other residents and children playing in the streets and he describes the scenes of residents cleaning their yards to maintain their neighborhood.

ECCI’s mission includes improving the quality of life of its approximately 2,500 residents by:

• moving people out of poverty,
• counseling on asset building,
• providing healthcare services,
• making skilled training programs available,
• offering youth and senior activities and
• supporting academic enhancement for youth.

Patrick, a life long resident of the neighborhood, returned to his old neighborhood after college and a career in the military, moving into the house next door to where he grew up. He felt a responsibility to enhance the neighborhood and help improve it. When requested by the residents to serve as President of East Side Concerned Citizens Inc. he accepted.

Patrick summarizes our conversation by expressing the Youth Leadership and Development Project’s gratitude for being awarded the $20,000 grant with the words, “… because of the kindness and generosity of all those persons who gave to the Presbyterian One Great Hour of Sharing, residents now have a safe place to live and raise their children as well as a place for people to return and raise their children in the future.” 

His words echo those of National Committee member the Reverend Joseph Johnson that “… community is pretty much what the church is about, that the church is a community of hope that builds on shared gifts, talents and resources and that only in that sharing does the whole come into being and people find hope, without community and sharing this may not happen.”

Other groups awarded funding during the May meeting include:

• Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Immokalee, Fla. - $21,200
• Southern Alternatives Pecan Processing, Leslie, Ga. - $25,000
• Hope Street Youth Development, Wichita, Kan. - $20,000
• Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Chicago, Ill. - $20,000
• Justicia Para Inmigrantes (Justice for Immigrants), North Plainfield, N.J. - $20,000
• Economic Human Rights Campaign at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md. - $20,000
• Wolf Creek Teen Center Project, Wolf Creek, Ore. - $15,000
• Mendocino Coast Environmental Center, Mendocino, Calif. - $20,000
• The Day Worker Center of Mountain View, Mountain View, Calif. - $30,000
• The Art Studio of the Minds Eye, Portland, Ore. - $30,000
• South Plaquemines Parish United Fisheries Cooperative, Port Sulphur, La. - $75,000 (Approved by the National Committee, to be awarded pending a final site visit).

For the next three years (beginning in 2007) Self-Development of People is engaging in a new strategy for entering into partnership with communities of economically poor, oppressed and disadvantaged people outside of the United States. We will establish (and or continue) partnerships with six intermediaries. Five have been approved; the details are being worked out with the sixth possible partner for Central America. They are:

• Ecumenical Coordination of Service (C.E.S.E.) in Brazil;
• Regional Ecumenical Center for Consulting and Service (C.R.E.A.S.) in Argentina;
• Development Promotion Group (D.P.G.) in India;
• Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (E.C.L.O.F.) in Africa minus Egypt and Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (C.E.O.S.S.) in Egypt.

A total of $200,000 so far in 2007 has been allocated to C.E.S.E.; C.R.E.A.S.; D.P.G.; and E.C.L.O.F. ($50,000 per intermediary partner).

Self-Development of People enters into partnerships with communities of economically poor people who want to change their lives and communities. The National Committee carries out its work by entering into partnerships with community groups that meet SDOP’s criteria for funding. Grants are normally not more than $20,000. Prospective applicants can apply for grants from both local and national SDOP Committees. Contact the SDOP National Office to learn if the presbytery or synod your group is located in has a local SDOP Committee and how to contact them directly or see presbyteries and synods by task force region.

Community workshops explaining the Self-Development of People program, how it works, what qualifies a group for funding and the application process are held in various regions of the country throughout the year. If your group would like further information on an upcoming community workshop in your area, would like to set-up a workshop, or would like to know more about Self-Development of People, please contact the National Office at:

Self-Development of People
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202-1396
Toll Free Telephone: English – (888) 728-7228 x5782 / 5792
Spanish – (888) 728-7228 x5790
Fax: (502) 569-8963
Email