Nazareth Guild Awards $194,234 to Our Catholic Schools Through Grant Opportunities

Nazareth Guild provided four grant opportunities to our 16 Catholic schools again this year! Principals were invited to apply for School Partnership and Bishop Brigade grants; teachers were given the opportunity to apply for funding through the Continuing Education and Teacher Initiative grants process.

We accepted sixteen applications for School Partnership Grants, requesting funding for immediate school needs to support the success of the school. Nazareth Guild was able to fund ten grant requests, totaling $99,967. The funding source for these grants comes from the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Washington.

Catholic Schools in eastern Washington facing an immediate need for capital repair and improvement projects were invited to apply for funding through a Bishop Brigade Grant to enhance the physical plant of their schools. We were able to ful ll six of our ten grant requests, awarding $54,438. The funding source for Bishop Brigade Grants is revenue generated at our Celebration of Light Gala. A few examples of grant recipients are; Assumption will be doing a remodel to create a dedicated space for music class, Guardian Angel/Saint Boniface will be replacing ceiling tiles in the gym, St. Patrick’s in Pasco will be adding a locking device for the playground gate, and All Saints will be installing three new filtered water fountains. These building improvements will benefit all students attending these schools!

This year we offered Continuing Education Grants to our teachers in partnership with Gonzaga University. All teachers, K-12, were invited to apply for a three-unit course “Understanding and Supporting Students in Trauma.” Our first group of 26 teachers will be on the other side of the desk as students this spring at no personal cost to them, thanks to Gonzaga University and a private donation. Through this course work, they will be working together and collaborating, gaining knowledge to bring back to their classroom and Catholic school. We have teachers attending this course who currently teach at: Assumption, Cataldo, Guardian Angel/St. Boniface, Holy Family, St. Aloysius, St. Charles, St. John Vianney, St. Mary and Trinity.

We received applications from 114 teachers, K-12, seeking funding for their Teacher Initiatives Grants. Through private gifts, we were able to fund 84 of these grants. Some of the grants requested funding for Catholic Youth Bibles, audio books, a classroom set of rosaries, pickleball equipment, STEM materials for science, grammar textbooks, classroom document cameras to project student work, wiggle seats, foot bands, art supplies, math games & many additional items!

These grants are only able to be funded as a result of our generous donor base and engaged Catholic community. We are grateful to provide professional development and direct funding to our teachers who work so hard for our 4,261 students. Nazareth Guild’s application for Tuition Assistance Grants is now open! Please visit our website www. nazarethguild.org or call our office at 509.744.3257 to learn more about Nazareth Guild.