Catechetical Leadership Personnel (Directors or Coordinators of Religious Education) of our diocese assist parents in their role as the primary educators of their children. DREs and CREs do this by coordinating and directing various religious education programs in the parishes of the diocese. These programs assist parents and all adult parishioners in their own faith development as well as the faith development of youth. Also, these DREs/CREs are responsible for the training of the catechists – those who actually teach and share their faith with the participants of parish catechetical programs – by providing catechists formation opportunities.

It is essential that our parishes have qualified personnel to achieve all the responsibilities of the administrative position of Director or Coordinator of Religious Education. It is also equally essential that the catechists of our parishes be qualified to share their faith and the teachings of the Catholic Church with conviction and accuracy.

Harvest of Thanks, Springtime of Hope Capital Campaign:

To assist in the formation of catechetical leaders and catechists for their respective roles, an endowment for Catechist Formation and Religious Education was created through the Harvest of Thanks, Springtime of Hope capital campaign. Money from this endowment is available to:

• Assist in the professional training of the Catechetical Leadership Personnel of the diocese;
• Support catechists in attaining or advancing their certification in the Diocesan Catechist Formation Process;
• Supply media and catechetical/adult enrichment materials; and
• Enrich programs for adult faith formation

Rationale:

Two of the areas that the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois named in the case statement of the Harvest of Thanks, Springtime of Hope campaign as worthy of endowment monies are catechist formation and adult faith formation. The Office for Catholic Education is responsible for administering monies for projects that advance formation opportunities in either of these categories. The Catechist Formation Grant, Media and Enrichment Materials Grant, and Catechetical Leadership Grant programs have been created to help distribute these monies.

The intention of these grants is to help fund innovative and effective efforts at the parish level that will foster and sustain adult formation as part of the larger catechetical mission of the parish. Grant money could be used for new or upgraded technology, staff development, catechist formation, leadership development, program development, or resource procurement that support any of these efforts. Grants will not be awarded for salaries, capital improvements, previously purchased items, participant costs to/from an event, or non-catechetical costs such as hospitality for participants and/or the planning team.

Procedure:

1. Applications for Catechist Formation and Media and Enrichment Materials grants will be mailed to pastors and parocial administrators in November (Catechetical Leadership Grant applications are available below and do not follow this same timeline)
   
2. Completed applications must be received by the Office for Catholic Education by March 31.
   
3. A committee coordinated by the Office for Catholic Education will review all applications by April 15.
   
4. Notification of the review committee's decision will be sent to the applicant by April 30.
   
5. Parishes receiving an award will receive an agreement form which must be completed and returned by May 31 before the funds can be issued.
   
6. A final report about the project funded must be completed and submitted to the Office for Catholic Education by the end of the fiscal year in which the project was implemented along with any unused funds.
   
7. The Office for Catholic Education will complete an annual report of the amount of grant money dispersed to parishes and a summary of the projects these grants helped fund.

Forms:

• 2022-2023_Catechist_Formation_Grant_Fillable
• Media and Enrichment Materials Grant Application 2022-2023
• Final Report - Any Year [Catechist Formation Grant or Media and Enrichment Materials Grant]

Catechetical Leadership Grant

The intention of this grant is to help fund professional development for program administrators (e.g. Director or Coordinator of Religious Education) of parish catechetical programs as part of the larger catechetical mission of the parish and diocese. Grant money could be used for tuition and materials reimbursement for approved academic or continuing education programs where the administrator’s progress and overall understanding of the course content can be measured. Grants will not be awarded for salaries, travel, lodging, meals, previously purchased coursework, personal items used to assist with training (e.g. laptops or computers) or expenses that are non-catechetical in nature.

• Catechetical Leadership Grant [no deadline]
• Request for Reimbursement