KEY BISCAYNE, FL – The Executive Committee of Leadership 100, meeting on January 31 at its 27th Annual Conference in Key Biscayne, FL, unanimously accepted the recommendations of the Leadership 100 Grant Committee, with one addition, and approved a total of $2,668,663 in grants, according to Chairman George S. Tsandikos.

The Grant Committee, chaired by John Sitilides, along with members Maria Allwin, Michael Bapis, Justin Bozonelis, and Patsy Kouvas formally reviewed 25 new and prior-approved grant requests.

The new grants for 2018 totaled $1,283,263 and included:

Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries – $429,400 as follows: $270,000 for the Metropolis Camping Ministries program; $94,400 for the first-year salary for a new Youth Safety Coordinator, to help coordinate minimum youth protection training and screening for all youth workers across the Archdiocese; $45,000 to support the “Alive in Christ: Living Orthodoxy” conference for young adults across all canonical Orthodox jurisdictions and $20,000 to fund a season of the “Be the Bee” retreats which offer youth retreats and programs for parents, youth workers, and young adults in at least eight cities across the United States.

Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University – $250,000 for a five-year grant for international research initiative to publish analyses of Orthodox Christianity’s engagement of human rights issues, and to develop constructive proposals affirming an Orthodox Christian theology of human rights.

Ionian Village -$193,263 as follows: $101,402 for the “Next” program, to have 45 young adults, beyond summer camp or GOYA age, continue to interactively experience Orthodoxy and Hellenism by traveling to Ionian Village and visiting the campgrounds; $75,000 for a five-year “On-the-Go” program to organize ten retreats that seek to replicate the Ionian Village experience in parishes within the United States; and $16,861 for an Alumni Staff Lenten Getaway, hosted at the Saint Iakovos Retreat Center outside of Chicago.

National Archdiocesan Finance Committee – $144,300 for the continuation of the Orthodox Software Initiative, to continue creating and distributing a parish-based software management system facilitating more consistent and accurate reporting, financial tracking, and communication at the Archdiocese and Metropolis levels.

Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations – $96,200 as follows: $30,000 for the Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue Series; $36,500 for the Evangelical Lutheran Education Series: $20,000 to attend and participate in the Selma March 50th Anniversary events at the African-American Museum in Washington, DC; and $9,700 to participate in the “Religious Pluralism in the Middle East” program.

Center for Family Care – $67,000 as follows: $50,000 for a Clergy Couple Retreats program to promote healthy marital functioning for clergy and their spouses, including prevention and containment of marital crises, and various marital enrichment opportunities and $17,000 over two years for the Family Ministry Webinars series.

Department of Stewardship, Outreach and Evangelism- $55,800 for the Home Mission Parish Program, to provide monthly supplemental support for the compensation of full-time clergy assigned to eight (8) mission parishes nationwide, until each parish becomes self-sufficient.

Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF)- $47,300 to expand and strengthen the Summer Leadership Institute of the Campus Ministry program, to further develop the next generation of Orthodox leaders in America through leadership training, as well as continuing to expand the number of OCF chapters at colleges and universities nationwide.

Prior Grant Commitments totaled $1,385,400 and included Hellenic College/Holy Cross Scholarship Program – $1,000,000 annually (through 2018), Digital Typikon Liturgical and Library Project – $270,000, Small Parish Program- $110,000 for the third year of the program, and Retired Clergy in Need – $5,400 annually.