Does your Conference have to turn down urgent requests for direct aid, due to lack of funds? You may be eligible to seek up to $5,000 through the Friends of the Poor® Grant Program.
Generous donors to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA, want their gifts to be used by local Vincentians — directly for people in urgent need. Through the Friends of the Poor grant program, local Conferences in good standing can request funds to be used over the next six months to meet specific needs of the poor in their community.
Who Can Apply for Friends of the Poor Grants?
- Aggregated SVdP Conferences in good standing may apply if they have:
- Filed last year’s annual report
- Paid their current solidarity contribution to the National Council, and
- Are in compliance with IRS 501(c)(3) status.
- Those who receive a Friends of the Poor grant may not apply during the two fiscal years that follow their grant award. This offers more Conferences the opportunity to receive funds.
- If you are unsure about your eligibility, you can talk with your District Council or contact membership@svdpusa.org.
- Please Note: Only SVdP Conferences are eligible to apply for the Friends of the Poor grant program.
What Can Grant Funds Be Used For?
- Rental, housing, or utility assistance to prevent homelessness
- Food/clothing/children assistance
- Medical assistance
- Transportation assistance
- Other kinds of direct aid to individuals in need.
Grant funds cannot be used for Twinning, Extension, building projects, staff costs, or any other purpose beyond urgent, direct aid to those in need. To fund programs that address a root cause of poverty in your community, consider applying for a Systemic Change grant.
Grant Awards and Reporting Requirements
- Grant awards may vary from the application amount, but will not exceed $5,000.
- All funds awarded should be fully disbursed within six months.
- A grant report must be submitted within six months, including a full financial accounting of how grant funds were spent, plus impact numbers and a success story.
How to Apply
- Find your Region on this chart, and apply only during the submission period dates for your region. Early or late applications cannot be considered. Each region has one opportunity to apply in each fiscal year.
- Download and read through the fillable application form that helps you tell us about the needs in your community, how you would use any grant funds you receive, and about your Conference.
- The application is a fillable form in Adobe Acrobat Reader format. If you do not currently have Adobe Reader program installed on your computer, please visit https://get.adobe.com/reader/ to download the program for free.
- Are you worried that you “don’t know how to write a grant”? We encourage you to try. Download and read the Tips Sheet. It will help you understand what’s being asked in the form, and it describes the grant process.
- When your grant application is filled out, and your submission dates are here, you’ll email your application to grants@svdpusa.org.
- Your fellow Vincentians who serve on the national Grants Committee will read your application with empathy, then rank and fund as many grant requests as they can with the funds available at the time. You’ll be notified of the grant decision by email.
Click here to download the grant application.
Click here to learn about filling out the application and what to expect.
Click here to download the grant reporting form.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact grants@svdpusa.org, or Gerri Sample at gsample@svdpusa.org or 314-576-3993, ext. 212