Sacred Discoveries microgrants for faculty, administrators, coaches support imaginative projects that surface and share authentic and compelling stories of Christian faith and flourishing among young adults. These grants are intended to seed both curricular and co-curricular storytelling efforts that align with the goals of Sacred Discoveries and Lilly Endowment’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life. These storytelling projects also steward Augustana University’s mission to “integrate faith with learning and service in a diverse world.”
These stories will be shared with wide and diverse audiences through podcasts, video, written materials, live storytelling events, service experiences, and artistic expressions, in order to inspire others to know and love God. Stories that reflect the rich diversity of young adult experience across race, gender, sexual orientation, physical and intellectual ability, geography and culture, political ideology, and socioeconomic background are welcomed and encouraged.
Augustana University faculty, administrators, and coaches may apply for microgrants of up to $12,000 to fund projects that capture narratives that illuminate God’s faithfulness and explore the questions, curiosities, and convictions that shape young adult faith. Microgrants may support curricular or co-curricular storytelling projects. Projects may range in size from a one-time event to a year-long (11-month) program.
Stories outside of young adulthood and Christian tradition may be captured as a part of these projects, but Sacred Discoveries and its funder, Lilly Endowment Inc., are particularly interested in young adult stories of Christian faith, and project deliverables should reflect such stories. “Young adulthood” is traditionally defined as the time between the ages of 18 and 30, but projects may also include older teens (16 to 17-year-olds) who are navigating significant transitions toward adult faith and life.
While the hope is to widely share all stories via the distribution channels of Sacred Discoveries and Augustana University, discretion will be exercised around stories that are especially vulnerable or sensitive. Confidentiality and anonymity will be honored when requested.
The Sacred Discoveries storytelling initiative commits to supporting microgrant recipients in the following ways:
In recognition and appreciation of time and energy invested in these projects, project directors (up to two per project) will also receive stipends (faculty) or bonuses (administrators and coaches) of up to $3,000 upon successful completion of projects and microgrant reporting. These stipends and bonuses are given over and above the amount of the microgrant.
Two virtual informational sessions will be held for those interested in learning more about microgrant opportunities for faculty, administrators, and coaches:
Fill out the registration form to receive a calendar invite with a Google Meet link for one of these sessions.
Fill out the form below to apply for a microgrant and a member of the Sacred Discoveries team will follow-up with more information.
The Augustana University God Pod wants to come to your community to capture and share stories of faith in your congregation, town, synod, or campus! Fill out the form below to request a visit. The God Pod will be available for scheduling beginning in August 2026.
Bringing the God Pod to your community gives Sacred Discoveries permission to share any stories that are collected.
Sacred Discoveries is collecting stories from anyone and everyone who has something to share about God’s work in their lives. Record your own short video response or offer a written reflection on one of our storytelling prompts.
By submitting this form, you acknowledge that Sacred Discoveries has the right to share and distribute your story.