Church in latin america subcommittee Grant Process: Scope of projects and letters of endorsement

Scope of the Project, Letters of Endorsement and Institutional Documents or Origin Documents

The applicant must define the scope or the coverage of the project. If the project involves one parish, it should be defined as "Parochial;" if it involves the entire diocese, it should be "Diocesan;" if it involves two or more dioceses, it should be considered "National;" and projects involving several nations should be "Regional."

At the end of this section, you will find a table with all of the requisites that you must complete and the letters of endorsement that should accompany each application according to the scope of the project or the type of organization soliciting the grant. Please keep in mind that if these letters do not bear signature and the seal of the person whose endorsement is required, the application WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.

Letters of Endorsement

In order to submit your application, you should acquire the letters of endorsement of the appropriate authorities. In the case of "Parochial" or "Diocesan" projects, the letter should be from the Bishop of the Diocese to which the applicant belongs. In the case of "National" projects, the letters should come from the Bishop of the Diocese and from the President or General Secretary of the Episcopal Conference. The letter of endorsement should contain the complete name of the Bishop, the name of the Diocese, telephone and fax numbers, email, address, name of the project, and the amount of the grant requested from the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America.

In the case of "Regional" projects, the Applicant should obtain a letter from the national authority, or the President or Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference. In addition, due to the fact that the project is considered "Regional," it is necessary to obtain the endorsement of the Executive Director of the appropriate Department of CELAM. For example, in the case of "Regional" project, in the category of the "formation of lay persons," the Applicant should obtain an letter of endorsement from the Executive Director of the Department of Lay Persons. All of the contact information respective to the Executive Directors of the Departments of CELAM can be found on the CELAM web site ( https://www.celam.org), in the section titled "Structure and Services." The Applicant for a regional project should request this letter of endorsement via e-mail, and the letter or message of endorsement of the Executive Director of CELAM should be returned to the Applicant by the same means. In the case of a regional project, it is sufficient to enclose or attach a copy of the message of endorsement sent from the Executive Director of CELAM. As is evident, these messages do not require signatures nor seals.

Institutional Documents or Origin Documents

The staff receives many applications from non-ecclesiastical institutions, in other words, entities which pertain to parochial or diocesan structures, like "Religious Congregations" and the institutions directly sponsored by them. In order to get a better understanding of these institutions, each application should be accompanied with institutional documents or documents of origin.

In the case of projects presented by a "Religious Congregation" or by a "Secular Institute," or by an institution patronized by one of these entities, a letter of endorsement from the Superior or Provincial General of the Congregation or the appropriate authority from the Secular Institute is required in addition to the letters from the appropriate ecclesiastical authority. In addition, a "Description of Charisma," which is a document that "verifies the country of its foundation," is required. In the case of a Secular Institute, a "Copy of a document which verifies the type of approval: diocesan or pontifical" and an "example of the standards and regulations of the Institute," is also required.

In the final column of the following table, keep in mind that the "Other Entities" are those organizations which have jurisdiction independent of the ecclesiastical structures. In this case, it is important that the independent institutions present information in respect to the financing and the name of their firm.

In summary, together with the formula, each application should be accompanied by the following documentation according to the origin of the organization that completed the application.