By Rachel Amiri
When the Harry Tompson Center, an organization serving unhoused New Orleanians, needed to raise funds for a renovation and expansion, they turned to the province’s Jesuit Grants Collaborative for help with their largest-ever capital campaign. With assistance from the Grants Collaborative’s grant-writing team, the center was able to raise funds to improve hygiene, safety and access for their guests.
“That’s something we never thought we would be able to do,” said Mary Baudouin, provincial assistant for justice and ecology and president of the board of the Harry Tompson Center.
Founded in 2005 by Fr. Fred Kammer, SJ, then-provincial of the former New Orleans Province, the Grants Collaborative was a response to requests from nonprofits in the Ignatian family who sought the province’s financial support. Through the Grants Collaborative, the province offers comprehensive grant-writing services to partner organizations in the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province and beyond.
“We help Jesuit and faith-based organizations, but part of our mission is to make sure we’re helping ‘the least,’ helping those that don’t have and can’t afford the staff capacity to have grant writers,” said Amy Levidis, grants manager.
The Grants Collaborative allows partner organizations to purchase a “share” of the team’s services at a subsidized rate. Each share includes up to 300 hours of research, writing, editing and packaging, all tailored to the needs of each nonprofit.
Their efforts have contributed to partners’ growth, to the tune of $30 million over two decades. Awards support operating expenses, special projects and capital campaigns. Each year, the grants team aims to raise 10-20% of an organization’s overall budget. The process of crafting proposals involves challenging organizations to think through their plans, and to consider how they will measure and report success.
“We offer more than just a grant writing service; it’s a consulting service as well,” said Baudouin, who points to the team’s “invaluable expertise” built from years of experience.
They get front row seats to witness partners’ growth from fledgling startups with a vision to expanding organizations with significant impact. Levidis points to Thrive for Life, a prison ministry that offers spiritual formation to incarcerated men and transitional support following release, founded by Fr. Zach Presutti, SJ. The Grants Collaborative has supported Thrive for Life from the beginning; it recently expanded to open its third transitional house of studies in Milwaukee.
“Knowing that we’ve had that kind of impact is really fulfilling,” Levidis said.
Image at top: In early 2025, Steve Romig, Harry Tompson Center board member, Mary Baudouin, provincial assistant for justice and ecology, Fr. Provincial Thomas P. Greene, SJ, Fr. Penn Dawson, SJ, and Emily Wain, the Tompson Center’s director, toured the new hygiene center at the Harry Tompson Center.
