About Us

Stimulate

Scanlan Foundation stimulates innovative ideas and initiatives which create impact through:

Leadership

We provide leadership and guidance to organizations and initiatives seeking to change the paradigm. Scanlan Foundation directors also serve on the boards of numerous Catholic organizations. Additionally, the directors support ministries by serving on committees, providing consultation, and helping form networks and connections between leaders.

Innovation

We are seeking new ideas and innovation which address urgent needs in the Church. We encourage collaboration and brainstorming among different organizations seeking to solve the same issues. In a strategic partnership with the OSV Institute, the Scanlan Foundation is working to develop an idea incubator program to foster entrepreneurship in Catholic ministry.

Equip

Scanlan Foundation equips organizations with the resources necessary to accelerate growth and transformation through:

Grants

Grantmaking remains the primary method for the Scanlan Foundation to support Catholic organizations in Texas.  We will fund organizations with the greatest potential for impact in our priority areas.  We will be reducing small grants in the grant cycle to encourage ministries to increase their local fundraising efforts.  This allows the Foundation to make larger grants to invest in solutions and impact that we can track.  Organizations that currently rely on grants merely to close the gap in budgets will need to form a 3-5 year plan to reduce their budget deficit, and the Scanlan Foundation will consider grant funds for consultants to help form those plans.

Consulting

We will consider requests to provide consultants to help organizations strengthen their resources, connections, and best practices to accelerate growth and transformation.

Impact

Scanlan Foundation measures impact through research, data tracking, and analysis:

Research

We will consider grant requests for funding for research and data to support growth and renewal.  Additionally, the Scanlan Foundation directors actively research to find programs that meet the needs of our strategic priorities in order to bring them to Texas or widen their impact in Texas.

Data Tracking

Beginning in session 2022A, our grant process will include tracking impact of grants and initiatives.  We encourage organizations to determine the outcomes they wish to measure, and we will require a follow-up report discussing the measurable output of those outcomes.  We recognize that some goals take longer than others to see the fruit of vocations but expect that there will be some measurable impact in the short term as well.

Analysis

We analyze data from a variety of sources to identify trends, opportunities, and overall impact.  Additionally, through our new grant impact report, we will encourage the organizations that receive grants to analyze their own program impacts and to identify new opportunities in their field.

Expand

Scanlan Foundation continues to expand its administrative processes and procedures for assessing grant effectiveness:

Processes

Even after 75 years of grantmaking, we know that there is more to learn and consider to further the mission of the Scanlan Foundation.  Therefore, we will review grant processes on an annual basis and, when necessary, revise applications, reports, and processes to enhance impact.

Templates

We have begun to create and implement grant assessment templates and rubrics for tracking and gauging effectiveness and alignment  with overall Foundation goals.  These will be fine-tuned and evaluated as we gather more data, feedback, and information.

Partnerships

We continue to seek ways to maintain existing relationships and to collaborate with other foundations, institutions, and philanthropists in order to foster and fund innovation in the Church in Texas.