The mission of the American Association of the Order of Malta is the promotion of the Glory of God through the sanctification of its members, witness to and support of the Catholic faith, and ACTIVE service to the sick and the poor. To that end, the Area Grants Program can provide resources to local organizations where Area members can be the hands and the feet of Christ in serving the sick and the poor, thereby living out our Order’s mission and charism.

As you know, the resources are limited, making it critical that the funds be used as the program is designed. This year’s Area Grants Program will again offer Areas 3 ways to utilize your allocations to make the biggest impact.

Our Regular Area Grants Program will continue to allow you to submit grant applications for organizations in which our members are actively involved. This is the 4th year the process is being hosted online on SurveyMonkey Apply. Don’t forget, an organization must be invited to apply by an Area Chair or Area Grant Committee Chair. Grants submitted through this program must be reviewed and approved by the Area Grants Committee, Area Chair, NY Office, and American Association Grants Committee before any commitment to the grantee is made; checks are sent out in mid-June. As a reminder, follow-up forms for these grants are required and due by December 15, 2022.

In 2020, we introduced our Emergency Food-related Assistance Program to provide immediate assistance to organizations providing food to those in need. To address the continuing needs of our communities, the American Association will continue to approve grants through this expedited process via a form on the American Association website. Don’t forget, only an Area Chair can fill out this form. Grants submitted through this program will be reviewed on an expedited basis and, if approved, a check will be sent within just a few business days. As a reminder, follow-up forms for these grants are not required. 

Last year, we introduced the Local Area Project Support Grants Program which provided funding that supported local ministries that did not fall under a 501(c)3. Activities such as local Malta Walks and Backpack Programs are perfect for this category. This is also a great option for Areas looking to start up a new activity in their Area. To qualify to use grant money for these projects, members of the Area must be involved in hands-on work serving the sick and the poor. Only an Area Chair can fill out this form, which is available on the American Association website. If you are using this program to start a new activity, you must submit the New Project Form first to notify the NY Office of this new project. Grants submitted through this program will be reviewed on a regular schedule and checks will be issued as approvals are received. As a reminder, follow-up forms for these grants are required and due by December 15, 2022. 

All three types of grants are intended to support hands-on work in your Area to deliver services to the sick and the poor. The regular Area Grants Program and the Local Area Project Support Program can only be used to support that hands-on work. In cases where hands-on work has had to be curtailed, these grants can be used to provide financial support that directly aids the sick and the poor where our members have been active in the past and will resume such activity when appropriate. The Emergency Food grants may continue to be used for local non-profit organizations serving the food needs of the community.

All completed 2022 Grant applications (including Area Grants Committee and Area Chair Approval) must be received in the New York office by April 29th. You are strongly encouraged to get them in sooner so that you will have time to make any adjustments before the deadline. Grant applications received after April 29th will not be approved, the Grant allocations associated with late applications will be returned to the Association’s grant reserve fund to support emergency humanitarian crises or signature hospitaller works of the Association. All 2022 Grant allocations must be used in 2022; no extensions into 2023 will be approved. Unutilized funds will be reallocated to the grant reserve fund.

For a complete overview of the program, please click here to log into the Members Only section of the website and visit the Grants section. This section includes additional resources, including the program timeline, guidelines, and two video tutorials of the program.