Starting on February 15, parishes and ministries of the Diocese of Bridgeport will once again be able to apply for funding from Foundations in Faith via the JPII Fund for Faith Formation and the St. Therese Fund for Evangelization.
Since 2019, both funds have provided more than one million dollars to faith formation and evangelization programs throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport. In total more than sixty parishes and more than twenty diocesan ministries have benefited from grants from these two funds. In 2025, there were two inaugural grant awards to Deaneries for their respective regional faith formation programs in Danbury and Stratford. And in total thirty-three programs across twenty-eight parishes received grants from the JPII Fund for Faith Formation.
These program support grants provide funding for a specific faith formation program for the duration of the pastoral year. Parishes wishing to be considered for funding must submit an application via Foundations in Faith’s website, and the application requires some thoughtfulness by the applicants—which can be the pastor, parochial vicar, or a ministry leader like a Director of Religious Education. All email communications concerning the application and if accepted, the grant, gets sent to the applicant and the pastor, by default. The first such email is a copy of the application itself. This was designed so that pastors are fully aware of the funding being requested on behalf of his parish and for which purpose.
Another aspect of the application process is the budget. An itemized budget is required as the JPII Fund for Faith Formation does not fund strictly service projects, the subject of the application must be a faith formation program. In this way, should the cost of a service project be part of a broader faith formation initiative, it may be considered.
In putting together your application consider also your program start and end dates—which must be within July 1 2026 through June 30 2027. Should your application be accepted and your parish receive an award, two reports will be required: a check-in next January and a Final Report in May 2027. Applicants must also identify three specific goals of the faith formation program, which are very helpful in guiding the applicant through the reporting requirement later on.
Last but not least, applicants must address the question of how their programs will encourage encounters with Christ and discipleship. This is an important part of the application because it demonstrates the parish and its leadership have aligned their efforts to the mission of the Church and the needs of their community. The beauty here is that it allows for the applicant to demonstrate some innovation regarding a Bible study, or sacramental prep, or children’s faith formation…
Diocesan ministries seeking funding would apply for the St. Therese Fund for Evangelization grant. The application form is the same as the JPII Fund for Faith Formation.
If you are considering submitting an application but have some questions, please contact Carol Incarnacao-Schirm, Associate Director for Grants and Communications at cschirm@foundationsinfaith.org. Otherwise, simply create an account at foundationsinfaith.org/grant-applicant-login and click ‘APPLY’ under Program Support Grants. The application window is open from February 15 through May 1 2026!
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Grants from the St. Charles Borromeo Fund for Vocations and Seminarians, the St. Catherine Center for Special Needs Fund, the St. John Bosco Fund for Special Needs in Catholic Schools, the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Fund for Catholic Schools, the Lourdes Fund for Pastoral Care in Nursing Homes, and the Catholic Charities of Fairfield County Fund will have an application window of February 15 through March 16 2026.
