Purpose
The Christmas Appeal is an opportunity for New Community to Serve Our World by responding to a specific need and activating our community toward matters of justice, as reflected in the teaching and example of the Prophets.
Christmas can be a particularly self-focused time of year. The Appeal seeks to encourage our church family to look beyond ourselves, stand with others, and participate in meaningful and lasting change.
The Christmas Appeal should therefore seek to:

• Respond to a genuine and clearly demonstrated need.
• Promote justice, dignity, participation and opportunity.
• Build connection between New Community and communities beyond ourselves.
• Create meaningful and lasting impact rather than simply meeting an immediate individual need.

Project Criteria
Projects considered for the Christmas Appeal should meet the following criteria:

• Alignment: The project aligns with New Community's vision, values and commitment to Serving Our World, particularly matters of justice.
• Genuine need: There is a clear and demonstrated need, with an identifiable community or group who will benefit.
• Grassroots connection: Preference will be given to projects that arise from a genuine relationship or connection between New Community and the community or organisation involved. A grassroots connection means more than simply knowing about an organisation or having encountered it online. The New Community connection should provide meaningful insight into the identified need, the people affected, the proposed response and the local context. This may come through a New Community family member's personal relationship, previous involvement, professional or community connection, or an established relationship with a trusted partner.
• Community ownership: The people or community being served have identified, participated in and/or have ownership of the proposed response.
• Cross-cultural: Cross-cultural projects are preferred, providing opportunities for New Community to learn from and stand alongside people from different cultural contexts.
• Christian connection: A Christian connection is preferred but is not essential. The history and purpose of the Appeal allow for projects that strongly align with New Community's values and commitment to justice even where there is no Christian connection.
• Lasting impact: Projects should have an ongoing or lasting benefit. This may include capital purchases, building projects, development initiatives or appropriate operating costs. Projects should not normally provide direct financial assistance to a particular individual.
• Sustainability: Consideration should be given to what will happen when New Community's funding ends and whether the project can be sustained locally.
• Feasibility: The proposed project should have a realistic budget, timeline, responsible leadership and a credible plan for implementation.
• Accountability: The partner must be able to demonstrate how funds were used and provide an appropriate report on the outcomes of the project.
• Safeguarding and risk: Appropriate consideration must be given to safeguarding, financial integrity, legal requirements and other significant risks associated with the project or partner organisation.
• Team connection: Opportunities for New Community people to visit, participate or build relationship with the project are encouraged but are not a requirement.

Projects will generally not be considered where there is no accountable partner, insufficient evidence of need, inadequate financial accountability, significant safeguarding concerns, or where the project primarily benefits the nominator or a single individual.
 
Initial Expression of Interest
Before preparing a formal Christmas Appeal proposal, a New Community family member who has identified a potential project should first speak with an appropriate New Community staff member.
This initial conversation is intended to:

• Explore the nature of the relationship or grassroots connection.
• Clarify the need and proposed response.
• Consider whether the opportunity aligns with the purpose and criteria of the Christmas Appeal.
• Identify any obvious concerns or risks.
• Determine whether it is appropriate to proceed to a formal proposal.

The staff member may recommend that the person proceed, seek further information, or not progress the proposal at that stage.
 
Nomination & Assessment
Once encouraged to proceed, the nominator will prepare a proposal for consideration by the New Community Mission Team.
Nominations should provide enough information for the Mission Team to assess:

1. The need and who will benefit.
2. The proposed project and amount requested.
3. The local partner and nature of the New Community connection.
4. How the community is involved and has ownership.
5. Expected outcomes and longer-term impact.
6. Project timeline and budget.
7. How the project will be monitored and accounted for.
8. Any significant risks or safeguarding considerations.

The strength of the grassroots connection should be demonstrated through the nominator's ability to explain how they know the partner, how the need has been identified, and why they have confidence in the people leading the response.
The Mission Team will assess proposals against the criteria above, considering the strength of need, justice impact, grassroots relationship, community ownership, lasting impact, feasibility and accountability. No single criterion will necessarily determine the outcome.
Anyone involved in proposing or assessing a project should declare any personal, financial or organisational conflict of interest and, where appropriate, take no part in the decision.
 
Vetting & Approval
All projects must be appropriately vetted before being recommended. This may be undertaken through an New Community representative visiting the project in person or through a trusted and reputable individual or organisation with appropriate knowledge of the project.
The Senior Pastoral Team will recommend the Christmas Appeal project, subject to final approval by Church Council.
The Mission Team will determine whether the appropriate partnership period is one, two or three years, based on the nature of the project, its longer-term plan, the strength of the partnership and the ongoing need. Multi-year appeals should be reviewed annually.
 
Funding & Accountability
The proposed budget should clearly identify how Christmas Appeal funds will be used. Where appropriate, projects may be co-funded with other partners.
Funds must be used for the purpose approved by New Community. The project or partner must provide appropriate financial accountability demonstrating that funds have been spent as agreed, together with a brief report on the project's outcomes and impact.
The project should normally be completed within the approved year unless a multi-year partnership has been agreed. Any significant change to the project's purpose, partner, budget or use of funds should be discussed with the Mission Team and, where necessary, referred back to Church Council.
The Christmas Appeal should conclude with an opportunity for New Community to hear how the funds were used and what difference they made.

Guiding Question
Does this opportunity enable New Commnunity to stand with others in a way that reflects God's concern for justice, responds to genuine need, honours the dignity and agency of the community, and creates meaningful and lasting impact.