By Sarah O. Hanley • Posted September 6, 2023

At The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia we are celebrating our 10^th Anniversary. This milestone has provided countless opportunities to reflect on our service to the Catholic community and precisely what that means. Not only do we work to support nonprofit organizations and ministries that demonstrate sustainability and impact but we also align with our Catholic faith through trusted relationships.

We strive to inspire and foster Catholic philanthropy through education, collaboration, and meaningful stewardship. These pillars that define us, combined with a passion for serving others and serving Christ, proactively impact the future of the Catholic church in our local communities.

One of the ways we accomplish this mission is through our grant program. CFGP focuses on entities serving the five-county greater Philadelphia area. We also give special focus on projects that receive funding from multiple sources, individual or foundation support. Lastly, all grant applications must fulfill the following criteria: Sustainability, including organizational strength and credibility, knowledge and experience of personnel, and overall financial condition; Feasibility, including demonstration of need, project objectives and methodology; Impact, including the overall effect on the community, measurable outcomes, and innovation of project concept.

This year, on our 10^th anniversary, we are pleased to offer an inspiring new grant, The Angel Award. CFGP’s Angel Award ranges from $25,000-$50,000 and funds an innovative effort promoting evangelization in the greater Philadelphia area. This unique granting cycle is the first of its kind in CFGP’s history and is developed to proactively impact the future of the Catholic church in our community.

CFGP’s Grant Committee has been mentoring applicants throughout the multi-phase application process as they move through the grant cycle before a final presentation is made to members of CFGP’s Board of Trustees and other local philanthropists in the fall.

CFGP is proud to announce the three finalists for the 2023 Angel Award. The finalists are Live Vertical, Roman Catholic High School, and Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. Let’s look at what each applicant hopes to achieve by participating in this inaugural award process.

Live Vertical’s mission and vision are to take religion from a subject learned to a faith that is vibrantly lived. They aim to help foster personal encounters with Jesus Christ through Guided Adoration sessions, retreats, and campus minister accompaniment.

Their grant plan proposes to expand the reach and depth of campus ministry beyond the campus minister by creating Evangelization teams in high schools comprised of students and adults. These teams will work with the campus minister to be catalysts for encounters with Jesus within their school community.

“Participating in the Angel Award process with The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia has been an incredible blessing!  We are excited to see how God will multiply the evangelization efforts when He connects mission and generosity to reach more souls.”

– Luke LeTourneau, Chief Fellowship Officer, Live Vertical

Roman Catholic High School strives to bring the Gospel values of Jesus Christ to its students while forming a Catholic community that embodies the Christian spirit of service to all.

Their grant plan intends to address the gap between knowing “about” Jesus and entering into a relationship “with” Jesus. They propose establishing a relational ministry and evangelization model where teenagers are invited into a personal relationship with Jesus.

Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary forms missionary disciples who are shepherds after the heart of Jesus Christ — Catholic priests and permanent deacons, religious and lay, men and women — for various ministries and services.

Their grant application seeks to engage faithful through the integration of email marketing, podcast presentations, short-reel videos, and radio programming. The project consists of weekly messaging about the lives of saints whose experience is particularly relevant to the life of faith in the contemporary world.

“Our “Digital Angels” project at Saint Charles Seminary will make stories of salvation come alive by showing the perennial wisdom and personal example of saints.  Using digital communications, we aim to evangelize interested seekers and believers by focusing on the lived experience of holiness — how it is still possible and beneficial — rather than on catechetical questions and answers.”

-Father Thomas Dailey, The John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics & Social Communications,  Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary

Join us on Thursday, Oct.19^th, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., to watch the award finalists present live to CFGP’s Board of Trustees and other local philanthropists. After the presentations, a live vote will take place, and the prize will be presented. We hope to see you at the Angel Award presentations at the Union League Liberty Hill, for this exciting evening.

To register to attend, visit our website at https://thecfgp.org/2023-angel-award.

***
Sarah O. Hanley is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia