“Charity is certainly
greater than any rule.
Moreover, all rules
must lead to charity.”

Funding Priorities, Eligibility Requirements and Limitations

Organizations must meet our Funding Priorities as well as our Eligibility Requirements and Limitations in order to be considered for funding. See details below.  

Funding Priorities

1. Nonprofit organizations where Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati serve as staff, board or committee members, or as volunteers.
2. Nonprofit organizations with national, regional, or local efforts whose missions are congruent with the mission of the Sisters of Charity.

The Foundation considers grant requests from organizations demonstrating good stewardship and measurable outcomes. Areas of particular focus include education, healthcare, social services and empowerment of women in today’s world. Examples of issues recently supported by grants include:

• Care for Creation
• Immigration Reform
• Abolishment of the Death Penalty
• Abolishment of Human Trafficking
• Community Redevelopment of Price Hill, Cincinnati

Eligibility Requirements

• Funding is restricted to organizations who can provide evidence of their tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.
• The mission, programs and services of the organization requesting funds must be consistent with the mission of the Sisters of Charity.
• We look for programs which avoid duplication of services, have multiple funding sources and demonstrate financial sustainability.
• Annual grant requests must provide evidence of past success and a plan for measuring the ongoing impact of the program.
• Annual grant requests for new programs that require adding staff, or that result in significantly increasing organizational expenses, must include a business plan that demonstrates sustainability

Limitations

Requests for funding from SC Ministry Foundation are usually not considered for the following:

• Major capital expenditures such as construction, acquisition or renovation of facilities, equipment or major technology.
• Operational deficits or debt reduction.
• Grants to individuals, endowments or scholarships.
• Projects where the Foundation would be the principal source of support.
• Programs within units of government or government agencies.
• Programs in public schools including colleges and universities.
• Annual appeals, membership drives, fundraising campaigns or fundraising events.
• Partisan political advocacy and lobbying.
• Programs or projects that result in duplication of services.
• Projects or programs that fall outside the ethical and religious directives of the Catholic Church.

SC Ministry Foundation reserves the right to approve or decline all requests.