Do you know of a charitable or social service agency that could use some funding? The St. Ignatius Parish Mercy & Justice Commission, through its Social Ministries Funding Committee, distributes grants to charities that help the neediest among us in our city community. The Social Ministries Funding Committee would particularly like to support the most effective religious and/or non-profit organizations in which our parishioners are actively involved, and which reflect the advocacy and social justice values and priorities of our faith community. The funds are drawn from the endowment earnings of the Social Ministries Endowment Fund which was established in 1988 by the Loyola House Jesuit Community in order to create funds to support the social ministry activities of St. Ignatius Parish.
Grants are distributed based on requests, historical precedent, current needs and seasonal programs. General guidelines are that 70% of the funds are spent on efforts in which the parish and/or parishioners are actively involved, Jesuit programs, advocacy and social justice programs; 10% on national/international efforts; and 20% are at the Pastor’s discretion. The minimum grant is $500 and the average grant is $1,000. The Pastor approves all grants with input from the Commitee. Applications are solicited twice per year, in the Spring and Fall. All applications for consideration for Spring 2023 must be submitted by February 28, 2023.