To support the Vincentian Family’s focus on systemic change, a foundation has offered $100,000 (US) per year for at least two years in order to help launch projects. Robert P. Maloney, C.M. writes…
March 1, 2008
To those responsible for various branches of the Vincentian Family:
Marina Costa, President, AIC (1617)
Sr. Evelyne Franc, Superioress General, Daughters of Charity (1633)
José-Ramón Diaz Torremocha, President, Society of St. Vincent de Paul (1833)
Fr. Yvon Laroche, Superior General, Religious of St. Vincent de Paul (1845)
Yasmine Cajuste, President, Vincentian Marian Youth (1847)
Fr. BenjamÃn Romo, International Coordinator, Association of the Miraculous Medal (1909)
Mari Carmen Lupiañez, President, MISEVI (1999)
My very dear sisters and brothers,
May the peace of the Lord be with you in this Lenten time!
I am writing today, as I promised when we were together in Rome, to announce officially the offer of start-up grants for systemic change projects.
Since the Vincentian Family has decided to focus on systemic change for at least two years, a foundation has offered us $100,000 each year for two years to help begin such projects. It is also willing to extend this offer for an additional three years (that is, up to 5 years) if the Family wishes to continue to focus on systemic change for that long. The foundation has asked the Commission for Promoting Systemic Change to work out the details about how the grants will be awarded.
I am attaching a list of the criteria that the Commission will use for deciding which projects will receive the grants, as well as the procedure and calendar to be followed as members of the various branches apply.
Please feel free to communicate this information to your members in any way that you judge appropriate. As you see in #5 of the procedures described
below, members should not apply directly to the Commission. Rather, the head of each branch will receive the applications from the members of his or her
branch, will evaluate them, and will select up to three applications. We ask that the head of each branch then send these applications, by email, to the following
address: startupgrants@gmail.com. It is important that they be sent by email by September 1st. I will then forward them, for evaluation, to the members of the
Commission, who, as you know, are Rev. Norberto Carcellar, CM, Sr. Ellen Flynn, DC, Rev. Joseph Foley, CM, Mrs. Patricia Nava, AIC, Rev. Pedro Opeka, CM, Rev. Mr. Gene Smith, SSVP, and I.
With you, I pray that the Lord will bless the poor, and us as we serve them, through this offer which the foundation has so generously made.
Your brother in St. Vincent,
Robert P. Maloney, C.M.
START UP GRANTS FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE PROJECTS
Criteria for Giving the Start-Up Grants
1. The grants will be given to projects that:
a. Involve the poor themselves, including the young and women, at all stages: the identification of needs, planning, implementation, evaluation and revision.
b. Have a holistic vision, addressing a series of basic human needs – individual and social, spiritual and physical – especially needs like jobs, health care, housing, education, and spiritual growth.
c. Place particular emphasis on self-help and self-sustaining programs that have a special view toward addressing the root causes of poverty.
d. Foster transparency, inviting participation in preparing budgets and in commenting on financial reports, while promoting good money management and maintaining careful controls over the use of assets.
e. Construct a shared vision with diverse stakeholders: poor communities, interested individuals, donors, churches, governments, NGOs, the private sector, unions, the media, international organizations and networks, etc.
f. Are new or introduce a new, systemic change approach into an already-existing project.
2. Collaborative projects involving several branches of the Vincentian Family will be viewed favorably when evaluating the proposals submitted.
3. The grants will not be given for:
a. Financing projects that focus only on the relief of immediate needs (good though such projects may be).
b. Covering the ongoing costs of already existing projects.
PROCEDURE AND CALENDAR TO BE FOLLOWED IN APPLYING FOR START-UP GRANTS
1. On March 1, 2008, the members of the Commission for Promoting Systemic Change will send out a letter to the international heads of the various branches of the Vincentian Family, announcing that a foundation is willing to offer start-up grants for systemic change projects.
2. The letter will describe the criteria for judging who will receive these grants. Information about the procedure to be used in applying for the grants will also be attached to the letter, as well as a calendar.
3. These grants will be for up to $100,000 each year for the next two years, and perhaps for the next five years.
4. Proposals will be received from the following branches of the Family: AIC, the Daughters of Charity, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, AMM, JMV, MISEVI, and the Religious of St. Vincent de Paul
5. Each of the international heads of the family will inform the members of his or her branch about the funds and will send them the information about how
to apply. Subsequently, the head of each branch will receive applications from the members of that branch, will evaluate them, and will select up to
three applications. Individual members should not send applications directly to the Commission. Rather, they should send their applications to the head of each branch, who will select up to three applications and will forward them, by email, to the Commission for Promoting Systemic Change.
6. The Commission should receive the applications from the heads of the branches of the Family no later than Sept. 1, 2008.
7. After that, the Commission will meet and will make a decision about which proposal(s) will receive the start-up grants. It will also decide how many grants will be given in 2008; for example, one grant for $100,000, or two grants for $50,000 each, or four grants ($25,000), etc.
8. The announcement about which proposal(s) will receive the grants will be made in the latter part of October 2008. At that time, the recipient(s) will be asked to supply further details about how the money might best be transferred.
9. After the systemic change project(s) has been functioning for a period of time (the length of which will be determined in October too), the Commission will ask the recipient(s) to submit an evaluation of the project and how the grant has been used.
FORMAT FOR SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL ASKING FOR A START-UP GRANT
Please submit no more than 7 pages, plus the budget, as follows:
PAGE ONE – Contact Details [one page]
Please include:
• Name of applicant
• Branch of the Vincentian Family to which the applicant
belongs
• Position in the Organization (e.g., president of local SSVP
conference)
• Address
• Telephone
• E-mail
• Name given to the Project (e.g., “Clean Water for Palo Altoâ€)
PAGE TWO – Summary [half page]
Summary of the proposal
PAGE THREE – Needs analysis [one page]
Statement of need; why is this project necessary?
PAGE FOUR – Project Plan [one page]
Project Description; how will the project be implemented?
PAGE FIVE – Finance – [one page summary, plus budget]
• What will the start-up costs be?
• In terms of money and personnel, how will the project continue in the future?
• What other funding sources are there for the project?
• How will the grant, if received, be used?
• Is there a time-line for the use of the money? When will it be needed?
• Please attach the overall budget.
PAGE SIX –
Evaluation [half page]
How, when, and by whom will the project be evaluated?
Governance [half page]
Please describe the Governing Structure of the project.
PAGE SEVEN – Systemic Change Criteria [one page]
How does the project meet the criteria given above (under the heading “Criteria for Giving the Start-Up Grantsâ€)?
