On October 1, we were humbled to hear about the ways God is furthering his Kingdom here in Lane County through the 5 organizations who have been selected as our grant finalists for the 2024-2025 granting cycle. We left encouraged and inspired to make each of their grant requests a reality! Below you will learn more about each specific grant application request and what is financially needed to make all 5 of these requests happen. The amount needed to fund all of the requested grants is $70,540.
Grant Summaries
Eugene Mission $12,837 Grant Requested
Last year, Brighter Days Giving Circle provided a grant to the Eugene Mission to refresh their main chapel, located in the Men’s Center. This year, we hope to complete a refresh of the chapel located in the Women’s Center. The smaller women’s chapel (900 sf) is located on the NE corner of the Women’s Center. The current project is to remove the torn & stained carpeting, install new flooring, and install a storage and shelving system on the West Wall.
The Women’s Center currently is home to 80 women, with 60% being over the age of 65. We have many guests who “have no one left.” These precious women are cared for by Eugene Mission staff and volunteers while working through the residential program with case management. The average length of stay is 2–3 years before safe and appropriate senior living and handicapped accommodations can be secured. Many women in the Women’s Center have significant health and mobility barriers, and it is difficult for them to navigate the trip across campus to the main chapel and cafeteria. For these women, food is brought over, and chapel & Bible study classes are held in the Women’s Center chapel.
This grant will enable us to begin this project in March 2025 and have it completed quickly. We have a skilled in-house maintenance team lead by contractor Luiggi Rossi, a master of craftsmanship. This internal team will save time and money, as opposed to an outside construction company, enabling us to stretch our funds to do more with greater impact.
FCA – Fellowship of Christian Athletes $15,000 Grant Requested
FCA has the privilege of being present on every University of Oregon athletic team, providing regular chapels for any coaches and athletes who wish to attend. We have freedom to teach scripture and present the Gospel without reservation in chapels. Over the past few years, our weekly Monday night All-Athlete Huddle has grown significantly, as we are seeing a hunger in student-athletes to go deeper with their faith. We delve into scripture and Jesus’ teachings in Huddle (which often serves as a church service due to Sunday practices and competitions). Five years ago, FCA became part of the Oregon Athletic Department Mentor Program which connects student-athletes with mentors to provide guidance for post-collegiate careers. We were invited to offer spiritual mentoring and connect student-athletes with an FCA mentor to provide spiritual guidance during their college careers which has resulted in up to 30 mentor matches each year. FCA’s influence among Oregon coaches has also greatly grown. We have 7 of 16 head coaches involved and partaking in a Bible study to encourage them to integrate their faith into coaching. Two teams have the entire coaching staff meeting for regular FCA Bible studies. Several other assistant coaches and support staff are being discipled as well.
Our request will enable us to successfully recruit and train a female chaplain, prior to the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Since submitting our grant application, we have successfully hired our female chaplain, Mo Fuiava to fill this role. The grant will support Mo’s 1st year new staff training regimen and support as she ramps up raising her own support for future years. Her addition to the staff will greatly increase our ability to mentor, influence and encourage female UO athletes in their faith and pursuit of Christ. We anticipate that these athletes will serve as role models for our community, pointing others to Christ through their testimonies and community service.
Love for Lane County $20,000 Grant Requested
Love for Lane County’s vision is to transform lives and strengthen our community through prayer, education, and gap-services. We are committed to equipping individuals, especially teen parents and survivors of domestic violence, with the tools and resources needed to overcome life’s challenges. By offering comprehensive programs like Aspire Lane, we aim to:
- Equip families – Provide education in financial management, trauma recovery, and substance abuse prevention to foster healthier family environments and break cycles of hardship or generational poverty.
- Enhance Employability – Equip participants with job readiness and career development skills, helping them secure stable employment and advance in their careers.
- Promote Higher Education – Encourage and support participants in wisely pursuing educational opportunities, creating pathways to a brighter future.
- Impact the Community – Partnering with the local Church to address critical issues such as financial instability, trauma, and unemployment by reducing the number of struggling households and improving the mental and emotional well-being of our community members.
Through classes on career development, financial literacy, and personal growth, we integrate biblical principles that encourage participants to trust in God’s provision and seek His guidance in all areas of their lives. Additionally, our volunteers serve as mentors, offering not only their time and skills but also their testimonies and encouragement. This relational aspect of our ministry fosters discipleship, as volunteers model Christ-like love and service, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. In every aspect of our ministry, from practical support to spiritual mentorship, we are actively engaged in evangelism and discipleship, helping to transform lives and communities in Lane County through the love of Christ.
We are humbly asking for $20,000 in grant support to help fund and expand our Aspire Lane Project. Aspire Lane is an ambitious and transformative initiative by Love for Lane County, in partnership with Youth for Christ, aimed at broadening our services to reach a wider audience and address unmet needs in our community. We intend to provide vital education in the fields mentioned above through experts who love Jesus and are committed to supporting attendees struggling with poverty by addressing its roots with knowledge and truth. Target Population: Our classes are designed to serve low-income individuals and families in Lane County, with a particular focus on teen and young parents, as well as survivors of domestic violence. Many of our participants are former foster youth, with a significant portion being young mothers who face numerous barriers to achieving financial and personal stability.
This project will offer critical educational opportunities, including career development, financial literacy, mentorship, and personal growth workshops. By providing stipends, we ensure that participants can attend without the burden of lost wages. Offering childcare services allows parents to focus on their learning, while Spanish translation services make the classes accessible to non-English speakers. The grant will directly impact our ability to deliver these services, ensuring that every participant has the resources and support they need to succeed. Your support will help us create lasting change in the lives of these parents, equipping them to build a better future for themselves and their families.
Overflow Hope (A ministry of One Hope) $9,203 Grant Requested
Overflow Hope has three components: 1) local people sharing their testimonies about Jesus through social media videos and 2) billboards proclaiming scripture. The videos and billboards point to 3) a website with the Gospel, basic apologetics & a linked list of local churches. Since May 2022, 55 testimony videos have been shared by people from 28 churches. The average reach of each video is approximately 7,300 people. Thirteen billboard messages filled our community from HWY 99 to HWY 126 in Springfield, Coburg Road and 7th Avenue/Jefferson Street. It is estimated that 135,000 cars drove by the billboards daily. At present time, we have one billboard on Coburg Road, proclaiming, “I am making all things new.” In 2023, our website – overflowhope.org – had 12,000 visits, where people could explore the Gospel, the beauty of the Bible and find a local church.
Our goal is to film and release at least one new Overflow Hope testimony video a month. Our request includes cost of staff, video production, and digital marketing for 12 videos. By sponsoring twelve testimony videos, Brighter Days funds would ensure we reach our goal for the next year, which will significantly propel Overflow Hope forward. Every video filmed increases the variety and diversity of the stories, along with the likelihood that people will be reached with the Gospel. Watch more videos at overflowhope.org!
Public School Connect; Boys & Girls Groups of Lane County
$13,500 Grant Requested
We are a recently formed non-profit project. We have been operating for the past year with out-of-pocket funding from involved parents, but have now formed as a non-profit under the umbrella of Helping Hands Ministries. Our vision is to equip parents with the tools to navigate the challenges of this world and public education while being salt & light for the Gospel. The goal is support & encourage believer parents to be actively involved on campuses all across Lane County where students are reflecting Jesus, loving their peers, and inviting kids to church. The goal to equip parents with support and resources to disciple their kids through public education while also seeking opportunities to serve a school in supporting their overall climate and culture, by the following:
- Meeting with families 1-1 to help them navigate being a Christian in public schools.
- Meeting with larger groups (events) and facilitating conversations around the vision and mission of the ministry.
- Supporting Kids Clubs as a way for families to connect, support and bless schools and the kids involved in those specific communities (example: kids discipleship groups currently taking place in Gilham, Pleasant Hill, and Thurston communities).
- Students inviting their peers to Kids’ Clubs for their school and grade, and to church.
- Families inviting non-Christian peers to Parent School Connect
- Families inviting their school peers to church.
$3,500 of the funds will primarily be used for Parent School Connect (Parent Support) meeting Expenses, such as facilities rentals, food for the events, and resources for parents (books). Parents and families with kids in public school are the target population.
$10,000 of the funds will be used to support parent-led elementary school boys and girls clubs, such as the ones already created in Gilham, Pleasant Hill and Thurston. We want to provide T-shirts, curriculum for monthly group gatherings, as well as reimbursements to parent leaders for food and supplies for these monthly gatherings. We estimate annual expenses of $1,000 per club, so $10,000 would support 10 kids’ clubs for a year.
Our hope is that this project will equip, encourage, and inspire parents with children in public schools. For the kids, our hope is that they will be able to navigate the challenges of school with a sense of community, and an avenue to love and share Jesus with their peers.