We look for organizations the meet the following criteria:

• A clear, focused and measurable mission
• Disciplined, people focused management and strong, diverse leadership
• Well designed and well implemented strategies with input from community served
• Financial health and sustainability
• A culture that values learning and is transparent about challenges
• Internal monitoring for continuous improvement
• External evaluation for mission effectiveness
• Scalability

Our areas of focus include:

• Impact areas: Seven Works of Mercy
• Geography: Chicago, Nashville, National
• Stage of nonprofit: Emerging or established (not start-up)

The foundation provides the following types of grants:

• Programmatic funding
• Single or multi-year grants

St. Rita Mercy Foundation does not fund:

• Scholarships
• Grants to individuals or non 501 (c)(3) organizations
• Campaigns to elect candidates for office
• Sponsorships