Marienstiftung zum Schutz des Lebens (Bonifatiuswerk) supports Catholic pastoral life in diaspora regions, especially where Catholic communities are small and need practical infrastructure and evangelizing support. Its giving combines large capital and transportation grants with smaller project support for children’s ministry, youth work, and mission-oriented personnel or initiatives, mainly in Germany and parts of Northern Europe and the Baltics. The funder is distinctive for funding very concrete church needs—buildings, vehicles, and staffing—alongside faith formation and pastoral care.
Offers a mix of ongoing and project-based grants. Vehicle support is available year-round, while building and children/youth projects generally must be submitted at least six weeks before project start; award sizes range from a few thousand euros for programmatic work to six-figure support for major construction projects.
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Check the specific program rules carefully and submit complete applications at least six weeks before the project start date for Bauhilfe and Kinder- und Jugendhilfe. Vehicle grants are rolling, but applicants must meet the diaspora eligibility threshold (e.g., low Catholic population share) and demonstrate clear pastoral use; mission and staffing support appears to be more case-specific and should be discussed early with the foundation.
Current and upcoming funding from Marienstiftung zum Schutz des Lebens that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Eligible under the Bauhilfe rules and special model-project extension; after approval construction must begin within five years.
Deadline: Application must be submitted by 1 June of the current year.
Who can apply: Eligible entities are parishes/institutions in diaspora with a maximum Catholic share of 12%; applications are submitted via the responsible diocesan office or Diözesan-Bonifatiuswerk; annual, innovation, model-project, and urgent funding variants exist.
Deadline: Regular: 1 September for the following year; Innovation: under-yearly, no fixed date; Model project: 1 June of the current year; Urgent cases: rolling during the year.
Who can apply: Projects in diaspora regions with a Catholic share of up to 12%; applications are to be made according to the funder's granting rules and via the relevant diocesan structures where applicable.
Deadline: No fixed deadline stated; follow the granting rules and diocesan procedures.
Who can apply: Only the listed dioceses/region are eligible; funding includes a material subsidy to the lead archdiocese/bishopric and a per-participant daily subsidy for implementation.
Deadline: No specific deadline stated on the page.
Who can apply: Eligible Catholic childcare institutions in the specified dioceses/region.
Deadline: No specific deadline stated on the page.
Who can apply: Only German diaspora regions with a maximum Catholic share of 20%; vehicles must be new and centrally ordered through the Bonifatiuswerk; follow-up funding requires the previous vehicle to be about 10 years old or have at least 120,000 km.
Deadline: No application deadline; applications can be submitted during the year.
Who can apply: Same general Bauhilfe criteria, with special rules for innovation funding; after approval, construction must begin within six months.
Deadline: Can be submitted during the year; no fixed deadline stated.
Who can apply: Only for urgent, unplanned cases meeting the same general Bauhilfe criteria; work must begin within three months after approval.
Deadline: Rolling during the year for urgent cases.
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Create a free accountDeadlines and eligibility are summarized from public sources and may change — always confirm the details on the funder's official application page before applying.