Our mission calls us to devote a portion of our funds to responding to our community needs.
Since its inception in 1851, the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine has sought to help and provide services to those living in poverty. As a ministry of the Sisters, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland offers Good Samaritan grants.
The Good Samaritan Grants Program was the first initiative founded by the foundation after it was established in 1996. Good Samaritan Grants are to be used to provide for the basic needs of individuals living in poverty.
The Good Samaritan Program responds to our community’s challenge of ensuring that its residents can meet their basic needs. Inspired by the parable of Jesus calling us to be good neighbors, this program’s particular purpose is to support non-profit organizations for which a modest grant would make a difference in continuing to provide necessary and immediate goods and services to individuals living in poverty. The program expresses the important value of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine of respecting the dignity of every individual.
Updated June 2023:
There will be one grant cycle in 2023. Applications will open August 1, 2023 with funding awarded in mid-November.
Eligibility
Organizations must be tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations that primarily serve residents of Cuyahoga County. While we welcome applications from all eligible organizations, priority is given to organizations that primarily serve or are based in Cleveland's Central neighborhood.
NEW in 2023: Organizations must have an annual operating budget of under $2 million.
Basic needs are primarily defined as food, clothing, emergency shelter, and transportation to access services. As we have learned studying the social determinants of health, we also recognize the basic needs of utilities & hygiene products, identification, stipends, and short-term medications and/or medical supplies. We also consider support of physical and mental well-being, self-sufficiency, relationships and social connection, internet access, cash assistance, and narrowing our geographic focus as essential to the wellbeing of our community.
Application
Applications will open on August 1, 2023 in the grantmaking portal.
Review Process
Applications are reviewed by a committee of SOCF staff and board members designated to make funding decisions outside of the regular quarterly grants schedule. Before applications go to this Fast Response Team, a Community Response Team reviews the submissions. Made up of residents and stakeholders in the Central neighborhood who are more closely connected to many of the issues facing the community, the Community Response Team offers feedback to help board members make better-informed funding decisions.
The Community Response Team reads and ranks applications and submits recommendations to the Fast Response Team, who make a final decision. Community Response Team members develop experience in sharing presentations, reviewing grants—and in turn, understanding different and better ways to write applications—and collaborating with leaders and strategic thinkers from across greater Cleveland.
Questions?
Contact Christine Baker, cbaker@socfcleveland.org