The newly formed Stewardship Commission at Sacred Heart Parish will have its work disappear if our parish closes.

In the context of this commission, our pastor, Arnold Colletti, had the idea of providing 10% of the weekend Mass collections to charity as a way to demonstrate tithing to parishioners. These monies were provided to worthy charities recommended by parishioners. The commission provided an application form to parishioners to allow them to suggest the charity for which they wanted a donation made. The form below is the product of a great deal of work and research. We offer it to anyone who might like to try to use this model to enhance giving in a parish.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE FUND

The Sacred Heart Fund is a source of charitable monies made possible by the donations of the parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish. It is created on an annual basis from funds set aside from the parish budget and administered by the Stewardship Commission.

The Sacred Heart Fund is specifically intended to be available for any parishioner’s worthy project or cause. In particular it can support projects within the scope of Catholic charity that:

· Provide Christian Service to deserving groups or individuals;

· Offer long-term solutions to the problems;

· Provide opportunities for Sacred Heart parishioner participation as volunteers and participants.

Any and all parishioners are invited to submit an application for a program. It will help evaluation of your application if you carefully read the Grant Guidelines before completing and submitting an application. Please use the attached Application Form, provide all the required information, sign and date the form.

A set of guidelines and an application is provided as a means to petition for a grant. This is needed to evaluate the fund’s applicants and because there may be more applications for worthy projects than can be funded from the money available. All projects will be evaluated on their own merits and against those for which applications are provided in any given time period within the year. Money will then be granted based on the ability of the parish to afford these donations. Funds may be limited in any given year.

Guidelines

Eligible and Acceptable Charities and Organizations

The Fund seeks to support local, national and international charities or organizations, specifically those in which Sacred Heart parishioners are personally invested. Specific examples include religious projects, social justice programs, education, humanitarian purposes, or programs that support the disadvantaged.

Priority will be given to those organizations or projects which:

· Directly involve Sacred Heart parishioners

· Allow for participation or service opportunities for Sacred Heart parishioners

Closing Dates

Application closing dates are the 1st of the month from October through June, each year. Consideration will be given to grant applications on a monthly basis in this time period. Applications not based on these guidelines will not be accepted. The attached application must be filled out in entirety.

Each grant Application must be received by Sacred Heart Stewardship Commission by the monthly closing date, so that there is enough time to research application consideration at Commission meetings. Late applications will be accepted for consideration the following month. Early application is encouraged, as meeting schedules are subject to change. The Commission will make every effort to process an application within the month it is submitted, however, this objective is not guaranteed.

The Fund does not provide grants for:

· Political organizations

· Foundations that are themselves grant-making bodies

· Mainstream schools

· Hospitals, medical centers or medical research institutes

· Endowments

· Fundraising events/campaigns

· Equipment (including computers), unless it is an integral part of an otherwise eligible project

· Commercial investment, unless directly intended to provide funding for a charitable organization

· Administrative budgets

· Debt retirement, budget deficits.

Please use the --> Word Document <– the following is for your information and for convenience in browsing / reading.

Application: Page 1 of 3

Name and address of organization or project for which funds are sought (Include Organization/Name to whom disbursement would be made):

Contact Person(s) for this application (two contacts required):

Name Mailing Address

Phone No. E-Mail Address Sacred Heart Parishioner? YES  NO 

Name Mailing Address

Phone No. E-Mail Address Sacred Heart Parishioner? YES  NO 

Signature(s)

I hereby submit that all of information provided or attached to this application is true and verified to the best of my knowledge:

Signature(s) of Contact Person(s) Date

Application: Page 2 of 3

Explain objectives and benefits of proposed project or program including any specific benefits for our parish:

Is this Organization designated as a 501C(3) ? YES  NO 

If yes, the 501C(3) No. of the organization: __________________

Attach any supportive information about this proposal: web site (print out web pages and attach), brochures, reports, etc.

Application: Page 3 of 3

Date on which fund disbursement is requested: _______________

Level of financial support requested (not over $1000): $___________________________

Explanation and itemization of how these funds will be spent:

What other sources of funding are available for this project or organization?

Application Submittal

You may submit your applications by regular mail or email.

Address: Sacred Heart Fund

c/o Sacred Heart Parish

21 Follen Rd

Lexington, MA 02421

E-mail: shepherd@sacredheartlex.org

Please note that if you submit by e-mail, you must also send evidence of your connection with the subject organization and signed Application Forms via regular mail.

Telephone inquiries for further information can be made through Claire Martin or Sr. Mary Nagle at 781 862-4646.