Announcing Employment Transitional Assistance Grant For Non-Believing Clergy

February 12, 2013

The Clergy Project is proud to announce the addition of the Employment Transitional Assistance Grant, thanks to a generous grant from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation.

Todd Stiefel, founder and President of Stiefel Freethought Foundation said, "With this donation, my foundation hopes to help formerly-religious clergy find secular employment. These clergy men and women will no longer have to put the priority of feeding their family above their desire to stop preaching what they no longer believe.” Stiefel continued, “Additionally, this is an investment in the next great leaders of the freethought movement because of the incredible skills such as community building, support, and management that these clergypersons bring with them.”

This project will provide crucial support to Clergy Project Members leaving active ministry. The program, offered by RiseSmart will provide 6 months of assistance
including, skills assessment, resume prep and connection with a recruiter in their area to help them to find sustainable employment.

Dan Barker, President of the Clergy Project board said, “I wish there had been a service like this when I left the ministry in the 1980s. I spent a long time floundering, searching for a way to make a meaningful living as a nonbeliever. Eventually, we all have to solve the problems of life on our own, but just knowing there are resources from sympathetic organizations can be immensely helpful.”

The program is scheduled to officially begin in March 2013.