Faith Friday: The Catholic Foundation Awards $1.4M in Grants

June 2, 2023June 2, 2023 Staff Report 0 Comments

The Catholic Foundation recently awarded $1.4 million to 30 Dallas-area Catholic schools, churches, and community organizations, during its 2023 spring grant ceremony.

Funded by the Foundation’s unrestricted Philanthropy Fund and funds established by individuals and families, the grants will support various projects, including HVAC repair, tuition assistance, liturgical music, facility renovations, a new school van, and more.

The grants also go toward the Dallas Bishop’s Burse, which can be used at the bishop’s discretion to assist local charitable organizations. In addition, the grants assist the Foundation’s President’s Discretionary Fund, which serves local organizations and projects in need, the Work of Heart Awards that recognize full-time employees at Dallas-area Catholic schools, and a designated high school tuition assistance program in which funds provide preference to students whose parents work in some capacity for the Diocese of Dallas.

“The Catholic Foundation takes great pride in the generous philanthropy displayed by our donors, both past and present, who invest in the future of local churches, schools, and nonprofit organizations,” said Matt Kramer, president and CEO of The Catholic Foundation. “Each year, Foundation grants help to fund key projects that involve everything from facility repairs to other projects that help churches, schools, and nonprofits prepare for growth, and that’s what makes the grant distributions so impactful in the fast-growing North Texas region.”

The Catholic Foundation distributes community grants to local Catholic churches, schools, and nonprofit organizations twice per year. Grant requests are reviewed by the Board of Trustees’ Distribution Committee, followed by documented site visits by trustees through which the recipients and funding amounts are determined.

The Catholic Foundation has provided more than $267 million in grants to religious, charitable, and educational organizations. In 2022, The Catholic Foundation awarded 2,400 grants totaling more than $19.4 million.

The 2023 spring grant recipients are as follows:

Bishop Lynch High School: Café & Library Renovations
Catholic Charities Dallas – Brady Center: Senior Services (Funding from the Louise Emma Buhrer Endowment Fund, the Harper Senior Citizen Fund, and the Cardis & Grace DeLee Stubbs Fund)
Catholic Music Initiative: Liturgical Music (Partial funding from the Bernard Bradley Endowment Fund)
Catholic Schools Office – Diocese of Dallas: Educational Programs (Partial funding from the Joe & Hazel Fechtel Fund)
Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church: New Pews (Partial funding from the Osborne Family Endowment)
Holy Trinity Seminary: HVAC Repair (Partial funding from the Roper Fund)
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church: Security for Parish Campus
Notre Dame School of Dallas: School Van
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church: Church Renovations
Regina Caeli Academy: Mobile STEAM Program
Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ Catholic Parish: Church Expansion
St. Mark Catholic School: Gym Bleachers
St. Mary of Carmel Catholic School: School Furnishings (Partial funding from the William & Mary Jane Jaspersen Fund)
St. Monica Catholic School: Security for School
St. Patrick Catholic School: Auditorium Renovations
St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church: Church Renovations
The Homiletics Institute at the University of Dallas: Support for Start-Up
Ursuline Academy: Construction – West Campus

The tuition assistance recipients received funding from either the Louise Emma Buhrer Endowment Fund, Dorothy Irving Memorial Fund or Michele McCusker Memorial Fund and are as follows:

Good Shepherd Catholic School