The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund has been established by CTE and the Snelson family with the aim of giving young adults the possibility to experience and study ecumenism abroad.
Who can apply?
- Applicants should be affiliated with a CTE national Member Church. Member Churches are listed here: www.cte.org.uk/about/whos-who/member-churches
- Applicants should be between the ages of 18 and 35 at the time of their ecumenical experience. In very exceptional circumstances, the scrutiny panel may consider applications from older applicants.
- The funding is primarily available to individuals. However, applications from a group of individuals undertaking an ecumenical experience as a group will be considered, but all individuals will need to make their own individual applications, making it clear that their ecumenical experience is part of a group.
- There are no limits to the number of times that an applicant can apply. However, priority will be given to new applicants.
Where can you go?
- Funds are not restricted to a specific type of ecumenical experience, but the project must be primarily focused on ecumenism. Projects where an ecumenical aspect is an ‘add-on’ or secondary element are unlikely to be considered.
- Ecumenical experiences must be outside of England. This could include Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Crown dependencies e.g. Channel Islands, Gibraltar etc, or further afield. Applications for ecumenical experiences to countries (or areas of countries) to which the UK government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office advise against travel at the time of application and Panel decision-making will not be considered.
Explore a list of current ecumenical opportunities abroad
How much can you apply for?
There is a total annual budget of approximately £6,000. There are no minimum or maximum amounts for which one can apply. However, the decision-making panel are keen to fund as wide a range of opportunities as possible with the budget available to them.
Application Process
- There are two funding rounds each year, where applications for future ecumenical experiences will be considered. The following deadlines apply:
- 31 March
- 31 October
- Applicants are encouraged to plan their applications a sufficient time in advance. For example, John would like to attend an ecumenical conference in Finland in February 2024, but he needs financial support to cover the conference fee, travel and accommodation. He, therefore, needs to submit his application by 31 October 2023.
- No retrospective applications will be considered.
- Applications will be made via an online application form. A step by step guide to filling in the application form is available to download. We have also provided a copy of the questions to help with drafting your application. If you are unable to fill in the online application form please contact [email protected]. In exceptional circumstances, other methods of applications such as video will be considered.
- All applicants will receive an acknowledgement of their application, along with an approximate date when they should expect to hear the results of the panel.
- All applicants will receive a written response with the panel’s decision. If an application is unsuccessful, a brief reason for this will be provided.
- The decision-making panel’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
- When successful recipients return, they must provide a written report of their experience within two months after the end of the ecumenical experience. This report should be at least 500 words and will be used to share the applicant’s ecumenical learning via the CTE website and social media channels. Successful recipients will be provided with details of how to complete their written report.
If you have any questions about applying for The Bill Snelson Young Ecumenists Fund that aren’t answered in our guidance documents please contact the CTE Office by email.