Randall County Grants for Nonprofits

 Enriching LivesSince its inception in 1957, the Foundation has provided grants and a variety of other services to strengthen nonprofit organizations and the services they deliver. In 1988, the Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation was restructured to be a public supporting organization of the Amarillo Area Foundation.The Amarillo Area Foundation and the Don and Sybil B. Harrington Foundation award discretionary grants 4 times each year. In the first 3 rounds of the year, the foundation will accept applications for any of the three strategic impact areas (Each area has specific priorities for impact):

• Education 
  • Literacy
  • Higher Education and Workforce
• Healthcare
  • Behavioral and Mental Health
  • Food Insecurity
• Economic Opportunity
  • Broadband
  • Arts and Culture

Goals

To meet the facility needs of evolving or growing Catholic communities through construction, expansion, or renovation of critical facilities.

Summary

Catholic Extension funds the construction, expansion, or renovation of churches and facilities that enable the dynamic practice of faith and promote the experience of church community. In this category, Catholic Extension will consider the facility needs of a diocese, to help ensure that spaces are adequately-sized, safe, and that they meet the needs of the local populations. Catholic Extension will favor those projects where the communities have urgent facility needs, a convincing funding strategy and business plan, demonstrated strong local support for the proposed project, and evidence of their limited means to raise all of the funds themselves. Catholic Extension only supports active building and renovation projects and does not give funds to service debt on projects where work has been completed. Therefore, the ideal point at which Catholic Extension should be engaged for this funding is when a parish/organization is still actively raising funds and the project is within one year or less from starting.

Qualifying Funding Areas

Catholic Extension will consider funding minor and major facility requests only for the following types of facilities:

• Church Buildings - places that regularly celebrate the liturgy
• Community Space - places where a community can convene outside of the liturgy (i.e. parish halls and parish community centers)
• Program Space - facilities that provide religious education and other church ministries
• Residential Facilities for Ministers – modest housing for leaders in extremely under-resourced communities
• Temporary Structures - for faith communities in transition due to population changes, recent disaster, etc.

Minor Funding Requests

Catholic Extension will fund up to 100% of the following minor projects (under $5,000) only for the most under-resourced applicants:

• Repairs - periodic improvements that are necessary for a fully functioning space 
• Equipment/Small Furnishing Needs - audio equipment, chairs, other basic furnishings etc.

Major Funding Requests

Catholic Extension will consider funding a portion of a major building project’s (over $5,000) total budget, the amount of which is determined on a case-by-case basis. Funding amounts generally are not able to exceed $100,000. The following building projects will be considered for all applicants in Extension dioceses:

• Renovation - major enhancement or restoration of existing church building or facility space due to age, weather-related needs, updated safety-code requirements, or natural disasters
• Expansion - enlargement of a church building or facility space, necessitated by community growth
• New Church Construction - a new church building or facility space, justified by the needs of the community

Major funding requests will be offered in the form of a matching challenge. After presentation and approval of the request, funding strategy and church business plan, Catholic Extension will pledge a specific amount and lay out the matching challenge benchmarks and conditions. The matching challenge duration, funding amount and aggressiveness will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Such factors will be considered: parish financial capacity, fundraising to date, and the actual building project timeline. The qualifying matching dollars must be raised after the matching challenge approval date. Any fundraising and pledges made prior to the matching grant approval date will not count toward the matching challenge. However, these savings and funds will be noted as a demonstration of the project’s momentum and feasibility. If the intended recipient fails to raise matching dollars in the agreed upon period of time, the matching offer will be rescinded.

Catholic School Leadership Development Grant Program

The purpose of this initiative is to enable your diocese to develop and retain its Catholic school system’s most promising leaders.

Catholic Extension has engaged in a partnership with Loyola Marymount University’s Catholic School Leadership Academy to offer a graduate level virtual online Certificate in Catholic School Administration program to novice and prospective leaders in Catholic schools in your Extension Dioceses. Although leadership development is often identified as a strategic concern for Catholic Schools in Extension Dioceses, these schools often lack opportunities for professional development due to barriers of cost and distance. This agreement covers 80 percent of the cost of tuition, as well as funding for travel and accommodations for the introductory course on campus at Loyola Marymount University in late July 2023.

This unique and successful educational program professional development that is specific to the Catholic school administration context. The one-year (4 course/10 graduate level units) program is designed to address three major themes in Catholic school administration, mission effectiveness, operational management, and instructional leadership. All of the certificate coursework will count toward a Master of Arts in Catholic School Administration at LMU.

Students will be asked to commit a minimum of 2 years of service to a Catholic School in their diocese after they successfully complete the certificate program. Additionally, at the conclusion of the program students will be asked to apply their new skills by implementing a specific project that will enhance their local Catholic school in a strategic area identified by the principal. 

• Duration: 1 year
• Value to Participating Diocese: $14,120 per student, or $42,360 per group of 3 students

Desired Outcomes

• Building Leadership Capacity: Dioceses and individual Catholic schools can retain their most promising leaders and can eventually promote some to leadership positions or offer increased responsibilities in their current position.
• Knowledge and Skills Applications: Catholic school professional educators can apply the administrative knowledge and skills attained from the program to their current and future work as leaders, therefore strengthening their local Catholic school.

Southern Plains Grassland Program

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals to conserve and restore grasslands and wildlife species in the Southern Great Plains. The Southern Plains Grassland Program seeks to work closely with nonprofit and government partners and the ranching community to provide important financial and technical resources for voluntarily improving grassland ecosystem health and resilience to climate change in the Southern Great Plains. These actions will boost the vitality of this often-overlooked ecosystem, providing benefits to wildlife and to rural, ranching-based communities. These actions will aim to increase the ability of grasslands to store carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide other key benefits to address climate change. The Southern Plains Grassland Program anticipates awarding approximately $3 million in grants. Major funding partners include Sysco, Burger King, Cargill, Walmart Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).