Presbyterian Historical Society surpasses ambitious #GivingTuesday goal
Funds raised through its successful 2024 campaign will support six Research Fellowship grants in 2025
PHILADELPHIA — Despite the host of financial pressures facing prospective donors in 2024, the spirit of giving that characterizes the Christmas season was evident in the unparalleled generosity of faithful Presbyterians.
On #GivingTuesday — a global day of giving which in 2024 was observed on Dec. 3 — the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) mounted a successful campaign that well exceeded its original fundraising goal.
In keeping with its mission and its well-known watchword, “history (PHS) matters,” the national archives of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) chose to dedicate all of the funds it raised on #GivingTuesday to helping researchers and scholars through PHS’s Research Fellowship Program.
“Although our 2024 goal was to raise enough funds to award four $2,500 Research Fellowship grants, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we exceeded that goal and are thrilled to be able to offer a total of six grants,” said Luci Duckson-Bramble, PHS’s director of development “This is the largest number of grants we’ve been able to award in one year since the program began.”
For 20 years, PHS’s Research Fellowship Program has awarded annual research and travel grants to eligible scholars, students and independent researchers who wish to use its rich holdings. The program has supported scholarships in a broad range of fields including mission history, social justice movements and ecumenism. Fellows submit reports to PHS and are encouraged to publish their work in the Journal of Presbyterian History.
“Since the program was launched in 2004, we have hosted 55 Research Fellows,” said Nancy J. Taylor, PHS’s executive director. “We are grateful to PHS’s friends, board members, staff, visitors and others, whose generous support, in large part, has made so many researchers’ dreams a reality.”
Each grant of $2,500 is awarded through a competitive application process and can be used to cover travel, lodging and other research expenses. Consideration is given to those whose primary residence is more than 75 miles from Philadelphia.
Applications are due by Feb. 3, with awards to be announced by March 17.
Dr. Emily Conroy-Krutz, Associate Professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was one of four Research Fellows to receive a grant in 2024. Conroy-Krutz’s project, "Around the World with the Browns” — which she hopes will be her third book — was focused on mission workers Arthur and Jenny Brown, and their world tour of Presbyterian missions from 1901 to 1902.
“PHS has been absolutely transformative to my work,” said Conroy-Krutz in a video interview recorded last year. “What I really appreciate about what I get here is the mix of [the] institutional and [the] personal — [it’s] a one-stop-shop in getting all kinds of different perspectives … It’s incredibly generous of PHS to be able to support this kind of research.”
Crucial to reaching — and exceeding — this year’s goal was the anonymous donor who provided a $5,000 challenge gift.
“This incredibly generous supporter has stepped up to lead the challenge for several years,” said Duckson-Bramble. “We are grateful for their faithful support and join them in looking forward to the selection of the 2025 recipients and their projects.”
PHS will be accepting applications for its 2025 Research Fellowships through its Feb. 3 deadline. To learn more about the program, application instructions, eligibility, selection criteria and what the awards cover, click here.
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