Foundation – St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena Foundation

Apply for a grant

The St. Catherine of Siena Foundation is an endowment fund created by the Drake Newman Community parish. The parish provides ministry to the Drake University campus through the St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Student Center and provides grant opportunities to registered members. In 2023 our foundation provided $19,200 in funding for financial literacy, ministerial programs and projects, and physical improvements.

Eligibility

Grant applicants must be a member (student or non-student) of the St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church and Student Center. Grant proposals must address one (or more) of the foundation priority areas.

Timeline

The Foundation Grant Committee accepts grant applications during its annual grant cycle. Applications received outside of the grant cycle may not be accepted.

November 1 – Foundation announces that the application process is open.
December 31 – Application deadline is 5:00 p.m.
February – Grant recipients are notified. Announcement is made to the parish. Funding is made available to successful applicants.

Funding Priorities

The Foundation’s funding focuses on enhancing the faith life of the St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church and Student Center within the context of the three funding priority areas:

Campus Ministry
Community Outreach
Education

Funding

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry projects should primarily benefit Drake University students. The Foundation’s grant funding can assist innovative approaches to providing ministry to Catholic and non-Catholic Drake students.

Examples of projects that could be considered responsive to our request for proposals include, but are not limited to:

Engaging students in community service projects on the Drake campus and the surrounding Des Moines Area
Connecting students with established community projects in the Des Moines area
Connecting students with established national and international service projects
Initiating faith-related study groups
Sponsoring speakers

Community Outreach

Community outreach projects should be consistent with Catholic social teaching, “building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society” (usccb.org). Examples of focus areas for outreach that could be considered responsive to our request for proposals include, but are not limited to:

Serving the needs of the less fortunate
Seeking justice
Overcoming oppression
Promoting peacemaking

Education

Educational projects should help the parish build a faith community to become growing, sharing, and witnessing Christians in the Catholic tradition. Examples of projects that could be considered responsive to out request for proposals include, but are not limited to:

Sponsoring speakers
Coordinating retreats
Planning liturgical and/or musical events
Encouraging religious vocations
Initiating faith-related study groups
Attending conferences

The Grant Committee, at its discretion, may fund other parish needs/projects.

The Foundation believes that projects based in the parish have the best opportunity to make a real difference in the faith experience of Drake University students and non-student parishioners. We look for projects that are grounded in the parish, involve one or more parishioners, and preferably, engage Drake students. Projects should be completed within the funding cycle, though we look for projects that can have a lasting effect on enriching the spiritual life of our parish.

Funding Guidelines

The Foundation will not fund a project’s full operating budget. The Foundation expects applicants to supply contributions to the project. Contributions may be cash donations, participant fees, or in-kind donations such as services, supplies, equipment, facilities, etc.
The Foundation does not intend to fund multi-year projects; however, repeat requests for funding will be considered.
An organization/individual may submit any number of projects for Foundation funding. Each project must be submitted as a stand-alone project and will be reviewed by the Foundation as such.
Parish activities may be funded through the standing committees of the parish. Please consult with the ministerial staff if you believe your project could be funded through the parish operating funds.
Current Foundation Grant Committee members may not submit grant requests.

Proposal

Each application must include:

1. Grant Application

2. Narrative Section:

Description of the project or program and how it addresses one or more of the Foundation’s funding priority areas
Project/program objectives
Description of how the project/program will be accomplished
Timeline
Description of how the project/program will enrich the faith life of the parish
Description of how project/program experience and accomplishments will becommunicated to the parish

3. Budget and budget narrative

Provide details for the project including items such as salary, supplies, equipment, contracts, travel, etc. Indicate the amount requested of the Foundation, the amount of matching funds, and the source of the matching funds. Matching funds may be cash donations or in-kind donations such as services, supplies, equipment, facilities, etc.

4. Letters of support/commitment

Submit at least two letters of support from key individuals who are collaborating on the project.

5. Other attachments relevant to the project

Reporting

Grantees are required to submit a written report to the Foundation by November 1, by submitting the report to one of the email addresses below. Repeat projects or new projects from previous grantees will not be considered by the Foundation without a written report detailing the use of Foundation funds for their previous project(s). The report shall include detail on how the grant funds were used, how many people were directly benefited by the funded project, the amount of project funding that was supported by the organization/individual through its own funding, the amount of “free will” contributions, and a brief summary of the benefits experienced by the project.

Assistance

Members of the Grant Committee are available to have pre-submission discussions to explore your proposal’s possibilities. The committee members are also available during your project’s implementation to provide assistance and suggest resources.

Direct any questions to the following Foundation contacts:

Mike Stamper, stampermr@icloud.com, 515-333-1294
Bobbi Segura, segurab1023@gmail.com, 515-240-7883

Apply for a Grant

Foundation Board Members

Father Protas Okwalo
Pastor

Mike Stamper
Chair

Jennifer Anderson
Board Member

David Collier
Board Member

Charlie May
Drake Student Representative

Bobbi Segura
Board Member

Manny Toribio
Board Member

Raelynn Trigoutis
Board Member