Enable dioceses to take steps toward supporting themselves by growing their financial and operational capacity.
"Building Capacity" funds initiatives that help dioceses operate more efficiently, increase financial stability and fundraising capacity, promote effective fiscal management and transparency, as well as institutionally strengthen Catholic schools. While all funding categories help a diocese build its capacity in some way, this particular category is designed to directly help dioceses fund specific initiatives that will enable them take steps toward becoming a more self-sustaining community.
Qualifying Funding Areas
Catholic Extension will consider support through "Building Capacity" funds for the following programs and activities:
CATHOLIC CHURCH FUNDRAISING DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
To help dioceses improve overall development efforts through:
- Salary subsidies for fundraising and grant-writing professionals
- Support for the professional development training of fundraising and church stewardship professionals through conferences and certification courses
- Subsidies for the implementation of fundraising software or technology
OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY INITIATIVES
To support investments that will result in improved operational efficiency over time, such as:
- Funding operational assessments/studies, to ensure the efficient use of resources and identify ways to reduce overhead, including the following:
- Energy efficiency study
- Operational efficiency assessment
- New staffing solutions
- Potential cross-diocesan partnerships that would leverage economies of scale.
- Funding for pastoral or strategic planning in a mission diocese
- Funding for technology that results in cost-effective, long-distance conferencing or improved operations
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
Catholic Extension funds the following opportunities:
- Funds for financial audits or other internal financial controls/support systems that are not already in place
- Opportunities for professional development of fiscal managers, such as financial conferences
- Support for Catholic Schools*, which includes:
- Capacity-building programs that ensure sustainability and excellence in Catholic school management
- Analysis for the feasibility of opening new Catholic schools
*Catholic Extension does not currently accept unique funding requests for schools.
*Catholic Extension does not offer support for the building, maintenance, or operating expenses of new or existing Catholic schools and does not offer tuition assistance for students.
Funding Request Document Requirements
- Begin A New Online Funding Request
- Letter of endorsement from the diocesan bishop (one letter is sufficient for simultaneously submitted requests, but a copy of that letter should be attached to each request)
- Financial statements from the program, department, parish or ministry seeking funding
- Literature on the technology, project, program, research initiative or conference, including cost estimate breakdown
- Project budget for the funding year, and breakdown of expenses and other sources of revenue, if applicable
- Project budget for future years, with breakdown of expenses and other sources of revenue, if applicable
- Resume or qualifications of employee/individual (i.e. seeking temporary salary subsidy for Catholic Church fundraising or development initiatives), if applicable
- An explanation of how Catholic Extension’s investment will help the funding recipient build its capacity and advance stewardship