First Baptist Mount Olive Announces $100,000 Gratitude Project to Fight Local Poverty

  • Gratitude Project launches Gratitude Grants to fund community development and fight poverty in Mount Olive.
  • Program development and launch was unanimously approved by the church’s congregation as a gift to the community out of “gratitude for God’s abundant blessings over the years.”

MOUNT OLIVE, NC – March 21, 2022 – The First Baptist Church of Mount Olive today announced the Gratitude Grants program as part of its Gratitude Project initiative to fund an open-access grants program for alleviating poverty in the poorest neighborhoods of Mount Olive, North Carolina. Unanimously approved by the congregation, selected recipients will receive operating funding from a total pool of $100,000.

“The $100,000 Gratitude Project is targeted at community development in the Mount Olive area— alleviating poverty, improving affordable housing, strengthening educational opportunities for children and youth, and encouraging economic progress among the poor,” said Dennis Atwood, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Mount Olive. “This project is our gift to our community out of gratitude for God’s abundant blessings over the years. It is another step in fulfilling our mission to “be the presence of Christ in the world,” and is inspired by Jeremiah 29:7 which states:  “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you… and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Eligible grant proposals must address the root causes of poverty. Qualifying proposals must also align with at least one of the seven impact areas of the Gratitude Project : healthcare, education, housing, digital connectivity, financial health, access to capital, job creation and workforce development. In addition, applications are limited to projects within the town limits of Mount Olive, North Carolina.

The application process opens April 4, 2022 and all eligible applicants are encouraged to submit their application through the Gratitude Project website at www.fbcmountolive.org/gratitude.

The Gratitude Project builds on First Baptist’s continuing efforts to be faithful stewards of their assets and resources for the benefit of the surrounding community.

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More About First Baptist Mount Olive. The First Baptist Church of Mount Olive is located in Mount Olive, North Carolina, “seeking to be the presence of Christ in the world fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.” First Baptist is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), CBF of North Carolina, and various local, state, and national ministries.