The Christian Sharing Fund (CSF) was established in 1968 by Archbishop Leo C. Bryne in response to the requests of Catholic lay people, priests of the archdiocese, and the people throughout the urban and rural communities of the 12-county archdiocesan area. CSF is an activity of the Office for Social Justice, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Funds for CSF grants come from two sources: the one-fourth local share of the annual parish collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and money contributed by Catholic parishes and individuals. All grant recommendations are made annually by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development Local Advisory Board, composed of parish representatives and community representatives. The Archbishop gives final approval for grants.

CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES

Projects submitted to the Christian Sharing Fund (CSF) for funding consideration must fulfill the following criteria and guidelines.

1. INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE

A project applying for funding must demonstrate that it is working for institutional change. Institutional change refers to a permanent restructuring of society, which affects large numbers of people. Specifically, projects funded by CSF empower low-income people to bring about changes in legislation, law, administrative practices and other institutional policies affecting their lives. CSF’s definition of “institution” refers to policies and operational structures of government, corporations, or private agencies which create poverty, keep people oppressed, or impose injustices on poor people.

The following examples are frequent interpretations of institutional change, which DO NOT fit CSF’s definition of institutional change:

• advocacy for an individual or many individuals resulting in a more just situation for the individuals but not changing the structure or the official policy of the institution;
• changes in attitudes of persons who provide services to poor people, but not affecting the government, corporate, or agency policies and structures.

Other examples of projects which DO NOT meet the criteria:

• Projects primarily focused on social/human services,
• Research projects, surveys, planning and feasibility studies.
• Projects controlled by government , educational or ecclesiastical bodies.
• Individually owned for profit businesses.
• Projects engaged in partisan political activities or projects sponsored by organizations whose major focus is partisan political activities.

2. LOW INCOME FOCUS AND CONTROL

Low Income Focus: Low-income people should be the primary beneficiaries of activities funded by CSF. At least 50% of those benefiting from the project must be from the low-income community.

Low Income Control: Low-income people should be the primary members and decision-makers of the organization. At least 50% of those who plan, implement, and make policy (e.g. Board of Directors) of a project should be persons who are involuntarily poor. (Clergy, students, VISTA volunteers are considered to be voluntarily poor. Control according to CSF also means the ability to hire and fire, make policy decisions and have ownership over the development and implementation of the project.

For projects which do not presently meet this criterion, applicants must document the following in their proposal. Failure to do so will negatively affect the evaluation of the proposal.

• Why members of the poverty group do not have the dominant role in planning, implementing and policy making at the time of application.
• How members of the poverty group were involved in determining their need for the project.
• What time schedule is planned for the poverty group to assume leadership and control of this project.

3. SELF SUFFICIENCY

Projects should be able to demonstrate that they have been able to raise additional funds, and that they have current and future plans for increased support of their project during and after CSF funding. This ability to become self-sufficient is demonstrated by internal and external fund raising. External fund raising refers to money that is received in the form of grants from other foundations of federal, state, local sources. CSF will not fund an individual project for more than three years. A different project from the same organization may be submitted. However, preference will be given to organizations and projects who have not received repeated grants in the past.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Funding will not be considered for projects which can be adequately funded by monies available from the private or public sector. However, proposals which call for “seed money” or “matching money” will be considered. In such cases, applicants must present reasonable assurance that they will be able to obtain additional funds from public, private or internal sources.

The applicant should demonstrate a track record of organizational competency to carry out its goals.
CSF will not fund projects whose purpose or activities are in opposition to the established teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

FUNDING POLICIES

CSF funds projects. A project is eligible for up to three (3) annual CSF grants. Grants are awarded on an annual basis and there is no guarantee that a project will be subsequently refunded. CSF funds projects which are often separate and distinct activities being carried out under the sponsorship of an organization. In some cases, an organization may request funding from CSF for its general operating expenses. In these cases, the organization then becomes the project.

For an organization to be eligible for a new project, it must demonstrate that the new project endeavors to address activities which are distinctly different that those previously funded by CSF.

It is the policy of the Christian Sharing Fund to allocate funds only to projects of organizations which are incorporated and where the organization has an Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) tax exempt designation. If the applicant organization is not incorporated and federally tax exempt, CSF may allow use of a fiscal agent to receive the grant funds and distribute them to the funded group. To qualify, the fiscal agent must be incorporated and must have current 501(c)(3) designation. A fiscal agent does not direct a funded project.

CSF will consider proposals requesting grants no more than $20,000. Amounts granted may differ from amounts requested. Payments begin July 1 and are released on a bi-annual basis after receipt of satisfactory progress reports.

All projects not currently funded by CSF are required to submit an eligibility quiz. The purpose of this “quiz” is to determine funding eligibility. This process is intended to help potential applicants determine whether or not it is advisable to complete the full application. Pre-applications must be submitted by February 20th.

CSF funds projects within the twelve (12) counties of the archdiocese, which are: Ramsey, Hennepin, Carver, Washington, Dakota, Scott, Rice, LeSueur, Goodhue, Wright, Anoka, and Chisago.

CSF funds projects without regard for the race, sex, color, creed, place of national origin, age, or sexual preference of applicants.

CSF PRE-APPLICATION AND FULL APPLICATION TIMELINE

Note: A project is eligible for up to three (3) years of funding. Grants are awarded on an annual basis and there is no guarantee that a project will be subsequently refunded. A project must satisfy all the criteria and guidelines simultaneously and, due to limited financial resources, eligibility does not guarantee funding.