Summer Giving Challenge

Dear ACPE Members and Friends,

In these extraordinarily difficult times, we are bombarded by heartbreaking news—locally, nationally, and globally—that challenges our values and can leave us feeling helpless and overwhelmed. And yet, after returning from the powerful ACPE National Conference and Centennial Celebration, I’m reminded that our mission at ACPE is more vital than ever.

At Cedars-Sinai, as in many of your centers, we just completed summer CPE orientation. I continue to be inspired by the courage and vulnerability of our students as they step into the sacred work of spiritual care. They wrestle with disorienting dilemmas, stay present in discomfort, embrace difference, lean into conflict, engage feedback with curiosity, and deepen their understanding of connection. Through it all, they grow into more authentic, whole human beings—learning from the “living human documents” they encounter in ways that are rare in other settings.

Each student who completes a unit of CPE becomes a force for healing and transformation in the world. This is how ACPE changes lives—one student, one encounter, one moment at a time.

This is what gives me hope.

And this is why your support of the Foundation for ACPE matters. Your gifts allow this work to go further and deeper. Together, we are expanding access, growing our reach, and deepening our impact.

Here are just a few ways your donations are at work:

Christopher Brown CEC Ignite Grant

Recipient: Urias Beverly, ACPE Center at Ecumenical Theological Seminary (Detroit, MI) Award: $120,000 over 3 years This grant supports the training of new educators and expands access to CPE in underrepresented regions. The Detroit-based program showed strong institutional commitment and a clear strategy for recruiting diverse candidates.

Innovation in Research and Spiritual Care Grant

Recipient: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Award: $30,000

Project: Health Equity Education, Practice, and Research for Chaplains Serving Youth with Chronic Illness and Their Families

Led by Rev. Dr. Megan Visser and Rev. Dr. Dagmar Grefe, this project centers equity-focused chaplaincy and promises meaningful contributions across research, education, and care.

Total Awards Available: Up to $12,000. Provides up to $750 to support ACPE Annual Conference or CoP attendance. To Date: 19 recipients (14 for REM CoP Invitational, 5 for Annual Conference)

Fall Funding Deadline: Apply by September 1 Boisen Scholars Application – 2025

Total Awards Available: $44,000 Up to $2,000 awarded to 22 CPE students to support housing, debt, and living expenses.

Total Awards Available: $8,000 Supports travel for ACPE members presenting original research in palliative care education, with a focus on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Still Available: 3 awards

Apply here for funding: Palliative Care Research Travel Award Application - 2024

Available Funding: Up to $14,000 Supports spiritually integrated psychotherapy projects aligned with ACPE’s mission.

Apply by October 15, 2025: MAP Fund Application – 2025 

We proudly celebrated the following individuals at the CPE Centennial Celebration:

• Distinguished Service Award: Rev. Rod Seeger
• Helen Flanders Dunbar Award: Alexander (Lex) Tartaglia
• Inspiration Award: Rev. Dr. Betty White, BCC
• Emerging Leader Award (2024): O’Donovan Yarde, M.Div., APC-BCC
• Emeritus Educator: Rev. Mary Martha Thiel
• Inaugural Champion for Spiritual Care Award: Mike Mullender, PhD, BCC

At our Annual Donor Reception in Minneapolis, your generous support was deeply felt. Your gifts will go on to fuel innovation, empower students, and advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in spiritual care.

If you haven’t yet made your gift this year, we warmly invite you to contribute before summer’s end. Every gift makes a difference. You can donate in honor of a colleague, a cause you believe in—or become a monthly donor and sustain this work year-round.

MAKE A GIFT TODAY!

No matter how you choose to give, thank you. Your generosity fuels the mission and extends the reach of ACPE’s healing work in the world.

With gratitude,

Pam Lazor Chair, ACPE Foundation Board