Kenedy Memorial Foundation Grant

Two Major Categories: Sectarian and Non-Sectarian

The Foundation gives grants in two distinct categories, Sectarian and Non-Sectarian. Nearly 90% of the total charitable contributions given are to Sectarian entities, primarily Catholic schools and churches. As the pie charts demonstrate, education has been strongly favored in recent grant-giving cycles, including Catholic schools, Catholic universities and public universities, all within the State of Texas. Health and human services are also favored, in keeping with the Foundation’s core values.

Core Values

The goal of the Foundation is to nurture and advance endeavors which contribute to the following core values:

• Helping break the cycle of poverty; Assisting people to help themselves
• Developing the Catholic Faith; Advancing Spirituality
• Nurturing Support and Love for the Catholic Institutions; Cultivating a Passion for Learning
• Fostering Respect; Encouraging Cooperative/Collaborative Partnerships

The Foundation encourages grants with large “ripple effects,” that is, those which generate benefits which spread beyond their primary grantee into the wider community. The Foundation also encourages “seed money” grants, whereby Foundation support provides a needed catalyst or first step to very significant, and preferably ongoing, positive core value effects. Although its principal beneficiaries are Catholic charities, the Foundation supports non-sectarian charities in Texas to the extent of at least 10 per cent of its annual distributions. Non-sectarian institutions are defined as non-religious and not church related.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• The John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation makes grants to non-profit organizations that are 501(c)(3) charitable organizations under the Internal Revenue Service Code.
• To be considered for a grant, an applicant must be listed in the IRS Publication 78 or the Official Catholic Directory, as appropriate.
• The Foundation makes grants to organizations only within the State of Texas
• In keeping with the historic relationship of the Kenedy Family with the Catholic Church in South Texas, and with the intent of the Founder, the following policies have been adopted:
  • All grant funds must be used exclusively within Texas and exclusively for religious, educational or charitable purposes. This provision will not be waived.
  • While discretionary grants are at the sole discretion of the Foundation’s Board, the Board intends to follow the intentions and practices of Sarita Kenedy East as demonstrated through her actions and words. Thus it is the Foundation’s intent to grant approximately seventy percent (70%) of its annual discretionary sectarian distributions primarily to Catholic educational, charitable, and religious activities in South Texas. In further keeping with the Founder’s intent and practices, the Foundation intends to grant the remainder of its annual discretionary sectarian distributions primarily to Catholic educational, charitable, and religious activities in Texas not located in South Texas. It is also the Foundation’s intent that the non-sectarian distributions be granted to charities primarily in South Texas. However, the Foundation’s Board of Directors may choose to deviate from these guidelines when it determines that such action is desirable and appropriate.

Ineligibility

• The Foundation does not lend or grant money to individuals.
• No application will be considered from a non-profit organization unless the non-profit organization is currently recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt, 501 (c) (3), non-profit organization in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1969.
  • If a Catholic Applicant is listed in the current Official Catholic Directory, such listing shall constitute sufficient documentation to the Foundation of the applicant’s tax-exempt status unless other evidence to the contrary is furnished or discovered by the Foundation.
• The Foundation does not favor grants to federal, state, or municipal governments or other tax-supported entities and will make such grants only on a three-fourths vote of its Board.
• To conserve its resources and to maximize its support, the Foundation does not grant funds to pay for completed projects, to pay existing debts or deficit funding, to pay for political expenditures or lobbying activities, or for scholarships or other direct grants to individuals.
• Grants for endowments are not viewed favorably and require a three-fourths vote of the Board of Directors.
• Lobbying of the individual members of the Foundation Board of Directors by grant applicants may result in the rejection of a grant application.