Three agencies awarded Catholic Women’s Giving Circle grants
Members of the Catholic Women’s Giving Circle who attended the Oct. 29 awards dinner at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center pose for a group photo. (Photo by Mike Krokos)
By Mike Krokos
What do Birthline, Holy Family Shelter and Catholic Charities’ Senior Companion Program have in common?
They are archdiocesan ministries whose mission includes assisting our brothers and sisters in need.
And they were also recipients of $25,000 grants from the Catholic Women’s Giving Circle (CWGC) during a program on Oct. 29 at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis.
Birthline, an archdiocesan resource center in Indianapolis for pregnant mothers as well as fathers and young families, will use the funds to purchase pack-n-play beds, highchairs and strollers for its clients.
Holy Family Shelter, a program of Catholic Charities Indianapolis that provides emergency shelter specifically for homeless families in Indianapolis, plans to use the money for microgrants for its residents, and the Senior Companion Program, also a ministry of Catholic Charites Indianapolis, will use its funds for durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs and walkers for its clients.
All told, 12 ministries applied for the grants, and CWGC members narrowed the list down to five. The other finalists were the archdiocesan Black Catholic Ministry, which is seeking funds for its three-week summer academy called Obaro Village, and CYO Camp Rancho Framasa in Brown County, which is seeking funds for its inclusive summer camp.
After watching videos from each ministry explaining their needs and proposed uses for the grant money, the women voted. CWGC members unable to attend in person were able to vote online.
Helping those in need
“I am beyond excited about this award. It will make a big difference in what we can provide,” said Jenny McNulty, coordinator of Birthline, which serves approximately 2,500 women per year.
“Our focus is to help parents with safe sleep with the pack-and-plays, safe eating with the highchairs and safe travel with the strollers,” she continued.
Rachelle Frink, program director at Holy Family Shelter, was thrilled the program was awarded a CWGC grant.
“It’s going to provide our families with low barrier access to small budget amounts that will be able to help them sustain housing,” she said. “These funds will be able to help with small car repairs, help purchase mattresses for their homes, to be able to buy work uniforms … that type of thing. Again, small but impactful ways to be able to help serve families.”
During her eight years working at the shelter, Frink has witnessed the impact of poverty on many families. But she also has been “amazed by the generosity of people” who assist Holy Family in its mission.
“… Sometimes, in our most need—especially at Holy Family Shelter, out of the blue—we get somebody that comes and they pull through for us in such an amazing way. … We are very thankful.
“This [grant] is going to help so many families,” she added.
Joyce Beaven, senior services director for the Senior Companion Program, fought back tears as she tried to explain how much assisting the elderly in the community means to her.
“Working with the seniors … an extra walker or wheelchair, it means the world to them. It means so much to me to give back to the people that I work with presently,” she said.
“It really makes a difference,” she continued, adding that seniors have become a forgotten generation in some parts of society.
“I’m just thrilled the Catholic Women’s Giving Circle saw that this is a big need,” she said. “And one of the things I love about working here is because the faith is so strong and that God is present in everything we do.”
Providing funds to philanthropic causes
Since launching in April of 2024, CWGC has earmarked $150,000 in grant money to six Catholic ministries, noted Cheri Bush, Catholic philanthropic advisor for the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities, who is also a CWGC founding member and works with its steering committee.
“We’re very grateful to Archbishop [Charles C.] Thompson for his support. It couldn’t have happened without his blessing,” she said.
In its mission, CWGC celebrates the growing number of women giving to philanthropic causes. Within this endeavor, a grant process is open to all archdiocesan-supported agencies and ministries. CWGC members evaluate grant applications and vote to determine grant recipients. The initiative seeks to empower Catholic women to collectively support Catholic causes, as well as share in the camaraderie of time spent with women who share the same faith-based values.
Any Catholic woman in central and southern Indiana can join, multiplying her own and the circle’s ability to impact the works of Catholic ministries in the archdiocese.
The process is repeated annually, both in terms of membership and awarding grants.
Membership lasts one year, with commitments of $1,000 or $250 determining whether a member gets a whole or quarter vote on the final grant recipients.
Bush said being a CWGC member “unites you around a common goal, and I feel a connection with everybody that is participating.
“It’s pretty amazing what we’ve been able to do,” she added.
The group has already begun crossing generations, Bush continued, with some grandmothers paying for their daughter’s and granddaughter’s memberships. She hopes that pattern continues.
“There is an opportunity here to teach future generations about philanthropy and the power of aggregate giving and to really make an impact,” she noted.
McNulty said her work at Birthline has helped her grow in her life of faith.
“It helps me every single day to pray and think of others and be part of this community that’s way bigger than my little corner of the world,” she said, “to see what these families are going through and how the community can build somebody up and really help them live in a culture of life, where they can choose life for their family.”
(Membership to the Catholic Women’s Giving Circle is open to all Catholic women of central and southern Indiana. Membership requires a $1,000 contribution for a full vote or $250 for a quarter of a vote in selecting grant winners. For more information about membership or the grant application process, go to archindy.org/womensgiving.) †
