Marillac Mission Fund: Responsive Grants

Marillac Mission Fund: Responsive Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Marillac Mission Fund
Amount: US $5,000 - US $50,000
Last Updated: December 24, 2025

Summary

The Marillac Mission Fund offers responsive grants primarily for established organizations addressing poverty and vulnerability in the St. Louis area. Focus areas include support for older adults living independently, immigrants and refugees, veterans (existing grantees only), and human trafficking prevention. Grant types include program/project funding and general operating support, with a preference for organizations demonstrating alignment with Catholic moral teachings and serving specific populations. Applications are currently limited to existing grantees in designated focus areas.

Overview

NOTE: MMF expects that any new organization or one with a new project will reach out to MMF staff to discuss before submitting an application. As of May 2023, Marillac Mission Fund is only accepting applications from existing grantees in the Veterans Focus Area. Marillac Mission Fund What We Fund Marillac Mission Fund is a St. Louis-based charitable foundation that supports and partners in efforts to care for and encourage the wellbeing and dignity of people experiencing poverty through funding grants, community engagements, research, and advocacy. Our Grant Award Committee conducts environmental scans and literature reviews to affirm current focus areas and identify critical unmet issues in metro St. Louis. Focus Areas for Funding In support of our concern for persons experiencing poverty and vulnerability, we provide funding for projects in the following four focus areas, as well as Advocacy & Coalition-Building in those four focus areas: Older Adults Living IndependentlyImmigrants & RefugeesVeterans (only accepting applications from existing grantees)Human Trafficking PreventionAdvocacy & Coalition-Building Responsive Grants Responsive Grants fall into two types; applicants will be instructed to select one: Program or Project A Program is an organized set of services designed to achieve specific outcomes for a specified population that will continue beyond the grant period. A Project is a planned undertaking or organized set of services designed to achieve specific outcomes that are time-limited. Note: A successful project may become an ongoing program of the organization. General Operating Support Grant funds are available to support the ongoing services, mission or goals of an organization within our focus areas. To be eligible, 100% of the organization's programs must serve the selected focus area. This type of funding is not typically available to first-time grantees of Marillac Mission Fund. Small Organization Responsive This abbreviated version of our Responsive application is available for organizations whose budget is under $500,000 (for the current fiscal year) AND/OR that are entirely volunteer-led (no paid staff). You may still request between $5,000-$50,000.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Any applicant organization must:Have 501(c)(3) or other nonprofit status. Be located in the 15-county St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area in which we fund.Be willing to avoid participating in, contributing to, or promoting activities contrary to Catholic Church Moral Teachings.Follow MMF Outcome Indicators and Activities. Please see the MMF User's Guide for examples.Support one of the Fund's focus areas of Immigrants & Refugees, Older Adults Living Independently, Veterans (existing grantees only), Human Trafficking Prevention, or Advocacy & Coalition-Building (within one of four previous focus areas).We seek programs that respect and protect the dignity of each person, especially those that are experiencing poverty and vulnerability.

Ineligibility

What We Do Not Fund:As of May 2023, Marillac Mission Fund is no longer accepting applications from organizations only serving Monroe County, IL Major capital expenditures such as construction, acquisition or renovation of facilities, equipment or major technology Endowments, scholarships, or tuition Projects where the Foundation would be the principal source of support Grants to individuals, units of government or government agencies Annual appeals, membership drives, or fundraising campaigns Event sponsorships Partisan political advocacy or for lobbying purposes Programs or projects that result in duplication of services Organizations or projects that use grant funds to make grants to other organizations Projects that fall outside the ethical and religious directives of the Catholic Church (see Catholic Moral Teachings) Loans Operational emergency funds Research: academic, scientific and medical