Grant Recipients
An insight to our past recipients of a Serra International Foundation grant.
Our Annual Grant Process
Each year, the Serra International Foundation conducts a competitive grant cycle open to organizations worldwide whose work aligns with our mission of fostering and promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life.
Our grant application is open year-round with a September 30 deadline to apply for the next year’s funding cycle. We receive close to 150 applications annually, requesting over $1.5 million in funding to support seminaries and formation programs to youth evangelization and campus ministry.
Our volunteer grant committee carefully reviews each application, awarding funds where they can make the greatest impact based on available funds and donations. In our most recent cycle, the Foundation awarded $152,150 to 29 organizations across the globe, a meaningful investment, yet only a fraction of what is being asked of us. The gap between what we can give and what is needed is real, and it is precisely why the generosity of Serrans and friends of Serra matters so much. Every gift strengthens our ability to say "yes" to more organizations answering God's call.
Real Global Impact for the Future of Our Church
Kaabong Catholic Parish
One of the Foundation’s more unusual requests came from the Kaabong Catholic Parish, one of the largest in the Kotido Diocese in Uganda. With four priests, one car, and rough road conditions, it was difficult to reach parishioners. Father Patrick Mulumba wrote about how difficult can be to visit parishioners to provide pastoral care as well as to reach out to young people to encourage vocations.
Father Mulumba requested funds to purchase a motorcycle capable of handling the rough roads. The Foundation granted his request so that he could better serve his community. As a result of being able to use the motorcycle to visit parts of his parish, he a met a young man interested in joining a Seminary. This young man, Lootan, is now studying in a Major Seminary.
Arise Milwaukee
Arise Milwaukee is a freestanding Catholic nonprofit ministry which thanks the Serra International Foundation for its grant to support the 2021 Wisconsin Catholic Youth Rally (WCYR, or Rally). The WCYR, Arise Milwaukee’s signature event fosters and promotes vocations to the ministerial priesthood and religious life in the Catholic Church by spotlighting vocations as a compelling option for area youth to envision. A powerful and prayerful worship experience for high school and middle school students from across Wisconsin, the Rally is a galvanizing means for teens to encounter Christ.
Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Family
We are very grateful for the grant given to us to promote the vocation to the religious life here in Kenya, especially to our Congregation. As we all know, the pandemic did not allow to carry out many activities the way we would like to do it. Nevertheless, with your help, we have succeeded to do some promotion activities.
At the beginning of June 2021, we bought 200 hens to support out vocation promotion activities. There has been a trmendous impact of pandemic on the school year in Kenya. We could not have out 6 week ‘Come and See’ program in full.
We invited ladies to attend the program in October, four managed to attend. During the three-week program, the ladies had opportunity to learn our style of life: prayer, work, and apostolate. Our own sisters introduced them to the history of our congregation and prayers.
Institute of the Holy Trinity Sisters
We so appreciate the Serra International Foundation’s grant, which we used to pay hostel fees for a candidate. We also bought some copies of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Bibles. From this we hope to buy books for all the candidates even though they have not managed to go to school all at the same time.