The United Church of Christ’s Global H.O.P.E. team announced on April 14 that it has received a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s “Hope After the Storm: Capacity Building for Faith-Based Disaster Relief Organizations” program. The UCC is one of 30 faith-based groups awarded grants between $500,000 and $5 million.
This new funding follows a previous $50,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment last fall, which was used to gather information and identify ways to strengthen disaster response networks within Global H.O.P.E.’s Disaster Ministries. The team held a think-tank in December 2025 as part of this effort.
Andrew Long-Higgins, minister and team leader for Global H.O.P.E., said, “This group included Disaster Ministries staff, local clergy serving churches in areas impacted by major natural disaster, and others involved in organizing post-disaster volunteer efforts.” He also said ongoing discussions have continued into this year with Conference Disaster Response Coordinators meeting at the Cleveland national office during the week of April 13 for their annual gathering. Long-Higgins said it was an opportune time to “engage in further conversation around where we can build capacity to better prepare for and respond to disasters.”
Long-Higgins added that onsite conversations with local churches in Florida are being planned along with a virtual meeting involving former UCC disaster response volunteers “to seek their perspectives and input.” After completing these information-gathering activities, the new grant will be used to implement strategies aimed at improving disaster response capabilities.
He said what excites him most about the funding are “the opportunities it affords for the wider church.” According to Long-Higgins: “Central to our proposal is the understanding that our capacity to respond to disasters begins and ends with local efforts that are augmented by the generosity and care of the wider church…we look forward to working with conferences, associations and local churches as we together increase our capacity to accompany communities impacted by major disasters.”
The Rev. Shari Prestemon, Associate General Minister & Co-Executive of Global Ministries at UCC—which marks three decades of partnership with Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)—said: “When we accompany our churches and communities whose lives have been upended it is a concrete expression of love for our neighbors. This generous grant from Lilly will allow us to strengthen this ministry of healing and care across the life of the United Church of Christ, and that is an amazing blessing.”
