Young Clergy Debt Assistance Program 2023
As many of you know, the Young Clergy Debt Assistance Program (YCDAP) was created by the late Bishop Martin D. McLee to provide financial support for clergy 40-years-old or younger and in need of assistance to help relieve the burden of accumulated educational debt.
I am pleased to announce that we are accepting applications to the 2023 YCDAP Program.
To be eligible for a grant, the requirements noted below must be met:
- Clergy must be forty-years-old or younger and appointed as an ordained Elder, Deacon, Local Pastor, Provisional Member or Resident-in-Ministry in the United Methodist Church. All applicants must be under appointment or beginning an appointment in the New York Annual Conference and agree to provide five years of service for receiving this grant.
- Grants will be awarded based on current and active academic debt.
- Grant recipients are expected to develop a long- term financial plan, using the resources of the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits and with help from Sally Truglia, our NYAC Human Resources and Benefits Administrator. Additional resources—such as Ernst and Young Financial Advisory Services, the United Methodist Personal Investment Plan, IRA or college savings programs for dependent children, and websites such as, www.creditkarma.com—will be made available as well.
Grants will be awarded on a one-time basis. However, clergy with excessive academic debt may reapply in succeeding years.
Go here to complete the YCDAP application 2023. The application deadline is Tuesday, August 1, 2023. You will be asked to upload supporting documentation along with your grant application.
All applications will be reviewed by the committee, but those received after the deadline will not be considered. Applicants who qualify according to the guidelines will be contacted within 90 days after the application deadline.
My prayer is that in some small way this program helps relieve some of the pressure placed upon committed servants of Christ, allowing them more time and energy to focus on the calling God has placed on their lives.
Peace & Joy,
Thomas J. Bickerton
Resident Bishop
