St. Mary Foundation awards grants to nonprofits

The St. Mary Foundation, an affiliate of Community Foundation of Acadiana, announced $30,000 in grants to six St. Mary Parish nonprofit organizations.
The grants were commemorated during a check presentation ceremony held Dec. 2 at the Cajun Coast Tourism Center.
These competitive grants are part of CFA’s ongoing commitment to engaged philanthropy, connecting donors to community-based projects that enhance the quality of life across the region, the foundation said in a news release.
“We are incredibly excited to deploy competitive grants like these for the first time in CFA’s history,” said Missy Bienvenu Andrade, president and CEO of Community Foundation of Acadiana. “This marks a significant milestone in using unrestricted funds while empowering our local communities to address their unique challenges and quality of life opportunities.
“We are so grateful to the many generous donors who have made these grants possible. Our gratitude also goes out to the dedicated chairs and board members of all five Affiliate Foundations, it’s through their leadership and commitment that this impact is possible.”
Awards of up to $5,000 were made, reflecting each affiliate’s commitment to supporting local solutions by 501c3 organizations. Each affiliate’s competitive process involves due diligence by staff and review of grant proposals by affiliate board members.
Grants from the St. Mary Foundation:
•CASA of the 16th JDC’s Setting Children Up For Success (School Ready) Program
•Foster the Love Louisiana’s Bring Foster the Love to St. Mary Foster Families Initiative
•Gifting Grace Project’s Pack the Backpack Initiative
•It Takes a Village: SMP’s Community Outreach
•St. Mary Community Action Agency’s The Dad Lab – Engineering Fatherhood Initiative
•The Purple Lemon – Grace at 300 Washroom upgrades
The Affiliate Grants Program is made possible by charitable funds established by individuals, families, and businesses who have contributed gifts to CFA and believe in creating lasting local change. These funds have created the Evangeline Affiliate Foundation, the Iberia Affiliate Foundation, the St. Mary Affiliate Foundation, the St. Landry Affiliate Foundation, and the Vermilion Affiliate Foundation.
CFA is one of south Louisiana’s premier philanthropic organizations benefiting our region, with a focus on the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Mary, St. Martin and Vermilion.
CFA’s core purpose is to build legacies and improve communities by connecting generous people to the causes they care about. Since its inception in 2000, CFA has realized cumulative gifts exceeding $406 million and has made cumulative grants of more than $235 million. You can learn more at www.cfacadiana.org.