• Spiritan confreres may submit one mission-related grant application every two years. A maximum of three grant applications will be accepted over a 12 month period from any circumscription, meeting the requirements that follow, when they are approved and forwarded through the conscription's development office.
• Acceptance of an application is not an indication that funding will be approved, rather that it will be considered along with all others submitted for each review cycle.
• Eligible circumscriptions must be in full compliance with all requirements of the SRL, and be in operating harmony with the United States Province.
• The maximum individual grant is $10,000.
• Applications are accepted only for project works that the Congregation owns or has a contract to manage.
• Funds are wired only to recognized provincial accounts under the supervision of the superior and bursar.

1. Requestor completes the application report and submits to SOMA, along with a letter from the circumscription provincial acknowledging and approving the project Where a development office exists in a province the application should originate from that office.
2. SOMA reviews the application and provides comments for clarification
3. For large projects beyond SOMA'S funding capability, the requestor will be referred to possible other funding sources
4. Applications to be considered for funding will be reviewed as discussed above
5. Successful grantees provide banking information
6. Successful grantees sign and return the funds use terms and conditions agreement
7. Successful grantees provide progress and completion reports as required; reports with images of those the grant is benefitting and brief videos are encouraged. Every well framed picture tells a story that can be shared with donors.

Applications are reviewed by the Funding Approval Committee in June and December each year.

• Submissions for review in June must be received by May 15th.
• Submissions for review in December must be received by November 15th.

SOMA will withhold an administrative fee equivalent to 6% of the dispersed grant. This also applies to instances where we act as your fiscal agent. Additionally, SOMA will withhold the cost of the bank wire transfer which is presently $45.

Example: on a $10,000 grant, the administrative fee would be $600 and the transfer fee $45. The grantee would then receive $9,355.

In addition to responding to natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, crop infestations, draughts, famines, and viral infections such as Ebola and COVID-19, SOMA’S mission priorities include:

• Evangelization

• Education

• Economic & Community Development

• Health & Wellness

• Priest Formation

• Social Justice

Related projects: women's and men’s rehabilitation center; cots for prison detainees; orphan care; refugee settlement camp counseling

SOMA also can act as a "fiscal agent" when a province is making an application to a funding foundation or agency. In those cases the potential funding entity will ask the applicant to direct them to the body acting in this capacity.

Definition: a fiscal agent is an established Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that agrees to accept donations on behalf of a group that does not have IRS tax exemption. Under this arrangement, a charitable group can get more funding to perform its mission. Many people won't contribute to efforts that don't provide them with a tax exemption for their deductions, which 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status provides, and most private foundations won't make grants to non-tax-exempt organizations. While a nonprofit acting as a fiscal agent can offer numerous services as part of the arrangement, it must at least retain supervision and control over funds, making sure they are used strictly for the sponsored group's charitable work; keep records proving that funds are used for tax-exempt purposes; and insure that funds are used in a manner that furthers the fiscal agent's own charitable work.

IRS Update: the IRS now requires that all charities show a personal relationship between the applicant and the fiscal agent, and how they verified the project. This regulation is in response to the extent of fraud through email with international applicants.
The IRS will eventually audit our connections to international applicants requiring us to prove that we can verify both projects and persons.

Koch Foundation: requires SOMA know the applicant and to to indicate how the project was "verified"; short of visiting the project site, a Zoom or Whatsapp call initiated by the applicant to SOMA will serve that purpose.

SOMA will withhold an administrative fee equivalent to 6% of the dispersed grant.

• projects not directly supervised by Spiritan confreres
• vehicles
• personal requests
• loans
• circumscription requests
• projects from applicants who have not provided the necessary documentation of progress, compliance with requirements, and follow up on previous projects
• construction and renovation projects that do not reflect a realistic means of providing continuous maintenance to a structure and thus sustainability.
• administrative projects (salaries, office equipment and supplies, communications equipment, offices, etc.)

Complete Your Progress Report Online

• Aid to Church in Need
• C.S. Lewis Foundation
• Conrad Hilton Foundation
• Kibanda
• Koch Foundation
• Loyola Foundation
• Roskob Foundation
• Papal Foundation
• Missio Crowdfunding
• Mission Works, Donors, Challenges
   

Spiritan Office for Mission Advancement
1700 West Alabama St.
Houston, Texas 77098
713-522-2882

Ray Sylvester

Grants Coordinator [email protected]

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