Federal Association Grants Program

Mindful of the Order's 900 year mission of service to the poor and the sick, the Grants Committee supports deserving agencies (both domestic and international) which provide direct and meaningful service to the poor and the sick. The committee attempts to leverage its financial, material and organizational resources as much as possible. Over the years, millions of dollars of food, medicines, medical equipment and other relief supplies have been sent all over the world.

A member of the Federal Association must sponsor all of the requests considered by the Grants Committee. The sponsor(s) must be involved with the project and must be able to vouch for its effectiveness in serving the poor and the sick. The committee gives preference to projects where members of the Order are actively involved as volunteers.

Because the shipping is less expensive and the Association has excellent relations with members of the Order in the area, nearly all of the international grants are made to countries in the Caribbean Basin and Central America. In nearly every instance, members of the Order who live in-country will serve as the official consignee of the goods shipped, and are responsible the storage and distribution.

Sponsors

A member of the Federal Association must sponsor all grant requests. The sponsor should be actively involved with the program. The sponsor will be required to submit a letter with the application citing his or her involvement and attesting to the worthiness of the program.

Grant Principles

The primary mission is to provide direct assistance to the poor, the sick, the elderly and the victims of natural disasters. Requests for this type of direct assistance will receive highest priority. The grant principles follow:

• Grants that will provide direct assistance to the poor and sick will receive the highest priority.
• Where possible, in-kind contributions of food, medicines, medical supplies and other relief supplies will be made. Matching grants are highly desirable and should be encouraged.
• Normally, grants will not be made to provide routine operating funds for established programs.
• Repeat requests from organizations are appropriate, but no organization should be led to believe that successive grants become entitlements. Where the Board wishes to give an amount of money over a period of time, it will be so specified.
• The programs selected for assistance should ordinarily be church-related and must be consistent with the spirit of the Catholic Church and the purposes of the Order.

Grant Request Processing

All proposals for grants should be submitted to the Federal Association office for submission to the Grants Committee. The committee will study the proposal and make a recommendation, which will be forwarded to the Board of Directors for action.

©2008 Order of Malta, Federal Association, U.S.A.
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