Support for Sister-Affiliated Ministries During Challenging Times: Understanding a Foundation Initiative in Two Regions

Keywords: Foundation initiative, Catholic sisters, capacity buildingIntroductionCatholic sisters have established schools, hospitals, and social service ministries that have served hundreds of thousands of people over the past 200 years (Leadership Conference for Women Religious, 2010). Due to the natural aging of Catholic sisters and a decline in new vocations, however, there is an accelerating loss of sisters and their ministries nationwide (Gautier & Cidade, 2010). Although this loss is itself a concern, a more important impact is experienced by beneficiaries of ministries, especially those who have few alternatives to sister-affiliated social services. Because these ministries fill an important gap in the social safety net for vulnerable populations, the disappearance of ministry-directed efforts has begun to draw the attention of foundations (Wittberg, 2000). In 2001 the Saint Ann Foundation (now the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland) conducted a research study on the ministries of women religious across Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina and identified three challenges facing the sisters and their ministries: (1) an aging and declining number of sisters in ministry; (2) an increase in the underlying needs the ministries were addressing; and (3) the paucity of plans in place for transitioning ministry leadership or sustaining ministry services (Csank, 2002). To address these challenges the foundation embarked upon a Collaboration for Ministry Initiative (CMI), with a goal of building collaborative capacity within and among ministries by providing grants, training and technical assistance, and opportunities for networking. Over time, the Cleveland initiative narrowed to focus on northeast Ohio.In 2003 the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina conducted a study of Catholic sisters in that state and reached similar conclusions regarding fewer sisters, their imperiled ministries, and the need for collaborative capacity building (Csank, 2004). In 2004 the CMI expanded to South Carolina and efforts began across both regions to build the collaborative capacity of sister-affiliated ministries in an effort to sustain the positive impact on beneficiaries.Capacity-Building ContextThe notion of building capacity within and in support of sisters' ministries links closely to the broader domain of capacity building in the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit capacity building has been the focus of extensive study, and numerous definitions have been offered for capacity building in the literature (Light, 2004). McPhee and Bare (2001) define capacity building as "the ability of nonprofit organizations to fulfill their missions in an effective manner. " Gronbjerg and Cheney (2007) note seven operationalized dimensions of capacity building articulated in the literature: financial resources, marketing, networking and advocacy, information technology, human resources, planning and programs, and operations and governance. At its core, capacity building essentially involves the ability "to secure outside resources and to attain scale" (Glickman & Servon, 1998, p. 502). In terms of strategies to address capacity building, De Vita, Fleming, and Twombly (2001) propose three main types of activities: 1) assessment inside and outside of the organization; 2) interventions using management consultation, training, and/or technical assistance; and 3) direct financial support for core operating support, specific grants, and working capital. Yet others have suggested that capacity building should go beyond finding ways to increase nonprofits' financial-resource base to include such things as developing a broad vision and assessing how the organization can meet the community's needs (Boris, 2001). Overall, the nonprofit capacity-building literature provides good conceptual definitions and some guidance on identifying strategies and models for building nonprofit capacity (Fischer, 2004). …