Self Development of People

Community Meeting schedule 2013: April 25, May 1, May 2. Click here to view flyer

What is Self-Development of People?

The Presbytery of Chicago’s Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) enters into partnership with people who:

• are oppressed by poverty or by social systems;
• have organized to do something about their own conditions;
• have decided what they are going to do, in order to produce direct, long-term benefits;
• will control the projects that they initiate and the funds for those projects.

The Committee normally provides small grants ($500 to $5,000). Its work grows out of the Civil Rights movement and a desire to support groups who are empowering themselves. The Committee’s work is based on a belief that these groups—not other people—know what they need to overcome the conditions of poverty, injustice and oppression.

In addition to the Chicago Presbytery’s SDOP Committee, there is also a national, PCUSA Committee, which funds larger projects.

Mission Statement

Self-Development of People is a ministry that affirms God’s concern for humankind. We are Presbyterians and ecumenical partners dissatisfied with poverty and oppression, united in faith and action through sharing, confronting, and enabling. We participate in the empowerment of economically poor, oppressed, and disadvantaged people seeking to change the structures that perpetuate poverty, oppression, and injustice.

Am I Eligible?

Any group of economically oppressed or disadvantaged people in the Chicago metropolitan area is eligible. The Committee is eager to receive and to fund projects initiated by and controlled by groups of economically oppressed people who are trying to improve their own circumstances. Neither the Presbytery’s Committee nor the National Committee on the Self Development of People ordinarily fund proposals presented by existing social service organizations or groups which plan to “do things for others.”

Application Process

Download the application.

The group must write the application in its own words. (No professional grant-writers!) It may be hand-written if no computer is available.

The application asks the group to write a proposal describing their needs, the goals of the project they propose, and their plan of action. The proposal should contain a full financial plan (an income and expenditure budget, with indication of the use intended for SDOP money), and a list of all other resources that are available for the project. The proposal should identify the people who are planning the project and tell how they will be involved in doing what they propose. Please include a list of project leaders (or Board of Directors) with names and addresses. The proposal should indicate how the project will be reviewed and evaluated by the group and by the larger community.

Should your group choose to apply, the application is due on Monday, June 10, 2013. Please email your completed and saved application to sdop@chicagopresbytery.org. If you do not have access to email, please mail two (2) hardcopies to SDOP, Presbytery of Chicago, 815 W Van Buren St, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60607. Questions can be directed to sdop@chicagopresbytery.org or Juanita Holley (contact information below).

Project Criteria

A project will:

1. Be presented, owned, and controlled by the group of people who will benefit directly from it.
2. Address long-term correction of conditions that keep people bound by poverty and oppression.
3. Describe, in detail, its goal (the point of the project), its objectives (the specific steps the group will take to accomplish the goal), the way the direct beneficiaries will be involved in all stages of the project, and the methods to be used to achieve the goal and objectives.
4. Be sensitive to the environment while accomplishing its goal or objectives.
5. Not advocate violence as a means of accomplishing its goal or objective

Timeline

• Applications must be submitted by Monday, June 10, 2013.
• Should your application meet the above criteria, a member of the Committee will contact you to schedule a site visit.
• Funding decisions will be made by late August.
• Funds will be disbursed in the Fall upon receipt of all necessary documentation

Examples of previously funded projects

• The Latino Union of Chicago began in 2000 as a local group of day laborers organizing to protect themselves against the injustices that immigrant workers face.  SDOP Chicago was one of the Latino Union’s first grantors. They later applied for and received national grants from SDOP.  From small beginnings the organization has developed to become both a local and a national catalyst for immigration reform.
• Austin Childcare Providers’ Network is a group of home childcare providers who organized to professionalize their businesses, gain licensing and education for themselves while improving the quality of home childcare for low-income working families in Chicago. This group has over 125 members currently.
• Team Builders on Point Crew is a group of ex-offenders teaching themselves construction skills for self-employment and financial literacy with the goal of financial self-sufficiency.
• Connections 4 Life is a group of women affected by HIV/AIDS advocating for services on the South Suburbs of Chicago for themselves and family members and working to overcome feelings of stigma.

For More Information

National Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People

People Investing in People from Our Common Ministry 2009.

Contact the Chicago SDOP Committee

by email:  sdop@chicagopresbytery.org
Juanita Holley, SDOP Consultant
Presbytery of Chicago
312-488-3005