"But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." — Jeremiah 29:7
-
Project X is a competitive grant program inviting local nonprofits to pitch to a panel of judges to win proceeds from a pool of $100,000. The program was started and funded by First Baptist Mount Olive with one goal in mind: being the presence of Jesus Christ in the Town of Mount Olive.
-
At First Baptist Mount Olive, we seek to be the presence of Christ in the world fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
-
Spiritual Formation. Invests in people to live out their faith.
Impact on Mount Olive. Addresses poverty and other social challenges in Mount Olive.
Connecting First Baptist. Provides a way for First Baptist Mount Olive to connect and support the initiative.
Sustainable Growth. Includes a plan to live beyond the initial investment from First Baptist.
-
Project X is looking for entrepreneurs and business people who want to address and solve social problems in Mount Olive, North Carolina, and members from the First Baptist community who want to support their work.
Applicants: If selected, recipients could receive up to $100,000 in funding based on the scope of the project, access to the expertise and resources of the First Baptist community, and spiritual support and mentoring. Recipients will provide regular reports to the review committee and congregation.
Skills Coach: First Baptist members can coach Project X recipients. Skills Coaches provide spiritual, legal, financial, general business advice, and specific support for each applicant’s project.
Eligibility
Project X is gospel-minded. Qualifying projects should:
Embody the empathy of Jesus
Be holistic in nature and as such, should understand and attempt to tackle the root causes of the problem it is trying to solve
Be meaningful
Be long-lasting in both impact and vision and should create a systemic solution to systemic problems
Project X is faith-based and Christian values will inform and be applied to the screening and judging process.
Applicants in all stages of their project, from the idea stage to fully established, are welcome. However, weight will be given during the review process to new and innovative solutions or programs. Project X is not risk-averse and welcomes idea stage ventures.
The impact of the proposed idea or program must be local to and target social challenges in distressed neighborhoods within the town limits of Mount Olive, North Carolina.
What Are We Looking For?
How the model has the ability to create a clear social impact.
How the model has kingdom-minded implications and impact.
The impact thesis (theory of change) and how the impact will be measured (specific outcomes).
How the model is innovative in character.
A thorough understanding of the problem being tackled as well as the landscape of others working on the same issues.
Technical Criteria Categories
The judges will use the following criteria to evaluate your proposal:
Degree of overall innovation
Degree of overall social impact
Kingdom-minded inspiration
Personal capacity of individual and team
Learning / Problem understanding
Time to scalable growth
Clear articulation of obstacles and risks
Funding model and sustainability plan
Degree of personal commitment
What You Will Get
A chance at receiving awards from a pool of $250,000
Access to mentorship and Skills Coaches
Prayer Partner support
Business plan development and pitch practice
Labs designed to facilitate community, fellowship and the integration of your venture and faith
Community and networking opportunities with other entrepreneurs
Potential partnership possibilities with First Baptist Mount Olive