Instructions

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Awards are given for a one-year period. All applications must be signed by the Principal and Pastor for parish schools or Principal and Head of School for high schools.

 

Required documents:

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2025-2026 Grant application
 

Grant acknowledgement (to be signed by Principal or Head of School)
 

Grant acknowledgement (to be signed by Pastor)
 

Mid-year report (to be submitted by 2024-2025 grant recipients before January 31, 2025. If your school didn't receive a grant, you don't need to submit this report.)

After the above documents have been received, you will be contacted to schedule your February interview which will be in-person or virtual at the option of Porto Charities. All decisions will be made by the Board of Directors of Porto Charities and will be final.

 

Grant Eligibility Criteria

 

​​The following criteria must be satisfied prior to application for a school to be eligible for a grant:

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• The Catholic school must be located in and recognized by the Diocese of Arlington.

• The school is accepting student(s) with an identified intellectual and developmental disability who would not be able to attend without additional educational support.

• The school employs a degreed Special Educator who develops and supervises implementation of education plans for students. If there isn’t a Special Educator on staff, the school must secure appropriate expertise to ensure the development of education plan(s) that address(es) individual learning needs including accommodations and modifications of curriculum.

• The school can demonstrate the commitment of its Principal and Pastor to inclusive education.

• All Schools that receive and accept grants from Porto Charities are required to submit a mid-year report documenting use of grant funds. Any changes in the way grant funds are used that deviate from descriptions outlined in the grant application must be reported to Porto Charities.

• For 2024-2025 grant recipients: Please submit your required mid-year report with your 2025-2026 grant application.

• The school/parish agrees to share communications about Porto Charities mission and work in the community.

• The school/parish will identify an individual to serve as a liaison with Porto Charities.

 

Items Funded (Examples – not an all-inclusive list)

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• Assistance for salaries of Para Educators

• Assistance for salaries of Special Education teachers

• Professional development on inclusive education

• Learning materials, technology and equipment

Application Review Process

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Eligible applicants will be invited to discuss their application in-person or virtually with the Porto Charities Grant Awards Committee in February 2025. This meeting will last approximately 30 minutes. Appointments will be scheduled through the Porto Charities Office upon receipt of the grant application on a first-come, first-scheduled basis. Grant awards will be determined based on eligibility criteria, need for assistance and the availability of Porto Charities’ funds.

Grantees will receive a letter of notification regarding their grant by March 31, 2025.

Please note that all grant recipients will be required to submit a mid-year report documenting use of grant funds. Mid-year report forms will be sent to grant recipients December 1, 2025 and due by December 21, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact our Chief Operating Officer, Kathryn Doherty, at kdoherty@portocharities.org.