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Overview
A central component of the mission of Faith Weavers of St. Mary is to support one another in working to build the kingdom of God through service to others in all aspects of our lives. We view support as more than supporting the members of our small faith community. It includes outreach to the greater community at the local, national, and international level.
One way we actualize our mission is through grants to charitable organizations that provide direct service to people in need. In fact, the majority of donations to Faith Weavers of St. Mary are used for charitable outreach. Our grants go to local, national, and international charities. Faith Weavers of St. Mary also has the Faith Weavers Endowment Fund. Fund assets are invested in mutual funds with dividend income and fund market appreciation used for grants to charitable organizations. Investment activity and amounts authorized for charitable grants are overseen by the Funds Board of Trustees. The Service and Justice Committee evaluates grant requests and makes grant recommendations to the Board.
The Service and Justice Committee evaluates requests for money from Faith Weavers and recommends grants to organizations meeting our criteria. A critical criteria is that a recipient must be designated by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. The Service and Justice Committee recommendations are implemented by the Faith Weavers Steering Committee or the Faith Weavers Endowment Fund Board of Directors.
The Friends of El Salvador Committee is another group within Faith Weavers that provides charitable grants. This Committee was formed to raise global and cultural awareness and to provide charitable support in a relationship guided by the Gospel message of caring for others. This objective has been carried out through a relationship of solidarity with the people of El Salvador. The Committee works closely with non-governmental organizations in El Salvador, and local community leaders to identify and fund projects to improve the lives of the people of El Salvador. Please go to the Friends of El Salvador section of this website to learn more about it.
How We Identify Grant Recipients
The Service and Justice Committee accepts grant requests from individuals or organizations looking to fund efforts that would promote service and/or justice in our local community, the nation, and the world. The committee focuses on local charities, but also considers national and international charities for grants.
Meetings are held twice a year to select recipients for grants. Grant requests should be submitted by September 15th to be considered at the fall meeting and by April 15th to be consider at the spring meeting. These deadlines may be relaxed in special situations.
Due to the Internal Revenue regulations governing Faith Weavers as a tax-exempt organization, every grant given must go to a 501 (c)(3) charity or church organization that has declared their goals and report on how they spend their money. This committee does the research to make sure that recipient organizations meet the government outline for charities. Charity Navigator is a website that lists this information.
Grant requests are studied and discussed by the committee, looking for merit and impact. They are then prioritized by importance as determined by the committee. Some criteria used include: relevance to service or justice issues, impact the funding will have on the target population, any connection to Faith Weavers community, the potential that the project will go forward if not funded by Faith Weavers, the administrative cost of the requesting organization is between 0% and 20% of donations, past grants from Faith Weavers to the organization, how successful the organization has been in their performance of their mission. There may be other criteria used that are relevant to a specific request.
When more information is needed, someone from the organization or agency may be asked to come to speak with the committee.
Funding grant requests may be affected by how many requests are received during a granting period. Requests are sometimes held over to the next period when monies are not available.
How to Request a Grant for Your Organization
Anyone can initiate a grant request for a worthy organization. You may send your request by submitting the following information to:
Faith Weavers of St. Mary
2020 South Mission Rd. # 404
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858-4425
Information to submit:
Name of Organization:
Address:
Contact Person:
Phone Contact Number:
E-mail address and website:
Amount Requested:
Organizations We Have Recently Supported
Charitable Contributions in 2022
In 2022 your generosity has supported grants of $77,500 to local, national, and international charitable organizations. This money has come from your monthly donations, and income from the Faith Weavers Endowment Fund.
$22,150 (29%) of Faith Weavers grants went to local charities. Members of the Service and Justice Committee identified several local organizations to support with grants. Giving locally is a priority for Faith Weavers. It is important to us to support local organizations that may not have access to other funding resources.
In 2022 we gave $10,000 to Christmas Outreach. The need for coats, snowpants and boots along with Christmas gifts has grown during the pandemic. This was a record year for giving through Christmas Outreach. See the related article by Eileen Jennings and Jim Hornak for more information on Christmas Outreach this year.
$2,100 was given to Christian Counseling Services to support work of providing affordable help for children, adolescents, couples, and families in the mid-Michigan area.
The Midland Community Former Offenders Advocacy and Rehabilitation Program received a $1,000 grant. The money is used to purchase bedding if needed, sponsor an Impact Weekend Financial Support program, and Sobriety House Move-In and Emergency Rent Assistance.
A $2,000 grant was given to the Mustard Seed Shelter for the women’s shelter in Saginaw.
St. Vincent DePaul Parish received $1,400. This grant is in recognition of the support the parish gives to Faith Weavers through the use of their church and parish hall for our services.
We also gave $500 to the Stitch and Prayer Group. This is a Midland based interdenominational group of over 50 people who knit, crochet, quilt, and sew items for nursing homes, hospices, hospitals, and school in our area. They pray for recipients while crafting these items.
Faith Weavers also give grants to charities in honor of the priests who preside at mass with us. The priests select the charities to receive these donations. Last year we gave a total of $4,000 in honorarium grants to: Pax Christi of Michigan, Catholic Service Relief, Sisters of St. Clare, Hidden Harvest, the Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters, the East Side Soup Kitchen of Saginaw, and the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen.
$13,750 (18%) went to national charities.
- The Ruth Ellis Center received a $5,000 grant. The Ruth Ellis Center provides trauma-informed services for lesbian, gay, bi-attractional, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth, and young adults.
- A $3,000 grant was given to Everytown For Safety Support. This group seeks to improve our understanding of the causes of gun violence and help to reduce it.
- Youth On Their Own (YOTO)received a $5,000 grant. YOTO is a dropout prevention program for students in grades 6-12.
Internationally $41,600 (54%) was given in grants.
- The Josefino Orphanage in Mexico was given a $2,500 grant. This grant was used to feed 40 children at the orphanage.
- $5,000 was sent to the Bethal Lutheran Church for Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief.
- Global Compassion was given $8,000 for the leprosy relief program. See the related article below.
- The World Central Kitchen was given $5,000 for Ukrainian Relief.
- The Friends of El Salvador Committee spent $20,600 on projects in El Salvador. See the related article in this newsletter for details on this outreach.
Global Compassion’s Leprosy Project
Empowering 40 Leprosy families to self-sufficiency with chicken distribution project.
article by Indira Oskvarek
In our Fall 2022 newsletter we highlighted the work of Global Compassion Inc. Global Compassion is a Midland based 501(C)(3) Nonprofit public charity founded by Indira and Ed Oskvarek and has been in operation since 2006. Indira and Ed are also valued members of Faith Weavers.
This article is a follow up on Global Compassion’s program to support 50 families suffering with the disease of leprosy. Last year Faith Weavers gave $8,000 to support this program.
The project is being carried out by Rural Christian Leprosy Welfare Association, a nonprofit in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India who also successfully finished the phase 1. The first phase repaired mud huts with thatched roofs that were damaged in a storm in late 2021. The affected families were also given warm clothing, bed sheets, woolen socks, food packages and some basic medicines.
In phase 2, forty families benefited from a poultry project designed to provide food and a source of income for the families. Eight hundred chickens were purchased from the Faith Weavers’ grant. Each family received 20 chickens, the feed and all the necessary training to take care of their chickens.
The families can use the chickens and their eggs for food, and they can also sell them to provide money for other needs. The project is designed to become self-sustaining with families practicing good husbandry techniques to maintain the flock for a continuing source of food and income.
Our special thanks to Faith Weavers of St. Mary, for funding this worthy project. These families were overjoyed and overwhelmed with gratitude, and we will never be able to fathom the blessings with which they have blessed us all.
Their joyful faces tell the story of your love, support, and compassion for these “Outcasts” of society. You have made them “whole” in Jesus’ love.
Thank you.
Here is a list of organizations we have supported in the past:
How to donate to Faith Weavers of St. Mary
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