Scanlan Foundation Grant: Higher Education

Scanlan Foundation Grant: Higher Education

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Scanlan Foundation
Last Updated: March 28, 2026

Summary

The Scanlan Foundation Grant for Higher Education aims to enhance Catholic education and promote a culture of vocations in Texas. By supporting Catholic 501(c)(3) organizations, the foundation focuses on fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life, encouraging sacramental marriages, and improving educational access. This grant is part of a broader effort to strengthen the Catholic community and ensure that future generations grow in faith and service, making a significant impact on society.

Overview

NOTE: Please see all the related opportunities below: Diocese page is here.Ministry page is here.Campus Ministry page is here.High School page is here. Scanlan Foundation Grant We believe that the most impactful way to carry out our mission of furthering the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Texas is to build a culture of vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and holy families. This culture of vocations will be foundational in all that we do as we move forward with making decisions, strategic giving, and forming relationships. This cornerstone supports four main mission-furthering pillars of funding: Marriage & Holy Families, Catholic Education, Evangelization & Discipleship, and Life & Human Dignity. Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life At the center of our faith is the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” (CCC 1324) Only a validly ordained priest can validly consecrate the Eucharist, so without priests, we lack access to the “sum and summary of our faith.” (CCC 1327) It is vital to the health of our Church that it continues to produce the fruit of new vocations to the priesthood to provide access to the sacraments. It is similarly vital to the health of the Church to promote vocations to religious life, as religious sisters are dedicated to a wide range of forms of supporting the Church, whether it be through cloistered prayer or through apostolic works such as providing education, caring for the sick, and engaging in missionary work. Goal: Increase the number of men answering their vocation to join the priesthood and of women answering their vocation to join religious life.Strategy: Scanlan Foundation seeks to support dioceses, organizations and ministries that would like to develop or execute a plan for vocations and a strong desire to increase the fruits of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. This includes, but is not limited to, education at the seminary level, support and community for discerners, ministries that directly engage and equip parish vocation committees, school-wide Catholic education curricula, campus ministry programs that strengthen faith and evangelize, vocation-focused retreats, and youth programming aimed at building awareness and encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Marriage & Holy Families The Scanlan Foundation recognizes the importance of strong holy marriages and families in building a culture of vocations. “In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith.” (CCC 1656) Not only do vocations to the priesthood and the religious life come out of holy, strong families, but also future generations of the domestic church because “the home is the first school of Christian life and ‘a school for human enrichment.’” (CCC 1657) Goal: Encourage couples discerning marriage to choose sacramental marriage and be well-prepared for their upcoming marriage.Strategy: We wish to target funding and support to ministries that support dating and engaged couples. This includes college campus ministry and marriage preparation courses that enhance the current requirements.Goal: Strengthen and bolster existing marriages for their important role as the domestic church.Strategy: We wish to target married couples, young families, and sacrament preparation. This effort can be done through faith-formation groups for men/husbands/fathers, faith-formation groups for women/wives/mothers, marriage support groups and mentorship programs, RCIA programs, and other sacrament preparation programs that incorporate the family in the catechesis of the youth. Catholic Education Scanlan Foundation has always considered Catholic Education to be critical to strengthening the fabric of our society. In the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, the primary vehicles for impact that we have identified are Campus Ministry & Culture, Faculty Faith Formation, and Scanlan Scholar Tuition Assistance. In other dioceses, we believe the individual Bishops understand best the needs of their respective schools. Therefore, we will begin to provide grant funding directly to the dioceses outside of Galveston-Houston for their Catholic schools, as opposed to making grants directly to those schools. Goal: Enhance access to Catholic education for families who value the faith-based educational environment but would otherwise be unable to afford the tuition.Strategy: Outside of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, provide funds for Catholic high school tuition assistance directly to the dioceses, for the Bishops to distribute where they see the greatest need. Within the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, tuition assistance will be funded through the Scanlan Scholar program. Schools will select students with demonstrated financial need who also fit a profile of a Scanlan Scholar: a practicing Catholic or someone actively converting to the faith through RCIA, a strong academic achiever, and an active member of the campus ministry and service community.Goal: Improve teacher faith-formation.Strategy: Schools that wish to enhance their faculty’s knowledge and appreciation of the doctrine and history of the Catholic faith are encouraged to share their proposed faith-formation program. Overall grant-giving to high schools will shrink in order to meet the needs of the many ministries we support. Therefore, schools may find it more impactful to invest Scanlan Foundation grants into forming their faculty so as to better represent Christ to their students and to uphold the doctrine of the Catholic faith.Goal: Develop strong campus ministries.Strategy: Schools that wish to develop robust programs through their school’s campus ministry that have a special focus on increasing vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and holy families should apply for grant funding to further their efforts. We wish to support regular occurring ministry events, Bible studies, access to sacraments, school-wide activities, and retreats that encourage students to begin taking serious consideration to the vocation God calls them to. Evangelization & Discipleship “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness, freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life…He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church.” (CCC1) To further the Roman Catholic faith in Texas, it must grow. This can be done through evangelization and discipleship, sharing the hope and joy of the Gospel to encourage others to live a life centered on Christ. We share in God’s desire to encourage people to know and love God, and we support those who similarly wish to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19) Goal: Form Missionary Disciples, especially on the college campuses in Texas.Strategy: Campus Ministries will be formed and strengthened across the state of Texas in an effort to ensure that all college students have access to a strong Catholic environment. We are looking for organizations that can carry this out, providing a priest offering sacraments, adoration, sacred music, Bible studies, and retreats for the continued formation of this critical young adult age group.Goal: Foster personal holiness and promote individual faith formation.Strategy: Our target programs that we wish to strengthen and expand include youth ministries, RCIA, family faith formation programs, men’s and women’s groups, adult faith formation activities, and parish community-building. Life & Human Dignity A major component of the Roman Catholic faith is carrying out the social teachings of the Catholic Church, as laid out in the Beatitudes and defined through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Scanlan Foundation is committed to support those organizations that are dedicated to the social teachings of the Catholic Church who see that ”social justice can only be obtained in respecting the transcendent dignity of man.” (CCC 1929) We recognize that people are most able to reach their God-given vocation when they are healthy, safe, and financially secure from conception to natural death. Goal: Assist the poor, sick, and vulnerable. Strategy: We fund and strengthen those Catholic organizations that provide ministries and programs that provide essential services to the poor, sick, and vulnerable.Goal: Promote faith-based therapy.Strategy: We support organizations that assist with mental illnesses, addictions, family and marriage issues, and other spiritual, mental, and emotional distress in ways that are faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.Goal: Strengthen the culture of life.Strategy: Promote organizations that have a proven track record for protecting life at all stages from conception to natural death. This includes ministries focused on ending the culture of abortion, that promote natural family planning, that support families in crisis, that teach medical ethics and advocate for end-of-life care. Higher Education This application form is for Catholic institutions of higher education in the State of Texas only. Qualified applicants may submit one application per year. If you are a campus ministry or a ministry that does not confer degrees, please download the application for the corresponding category and do not use this form.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Scanlan Foundation can only make grants to expressly Catholic 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in the State of Texas.