Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation

Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation

Formed as a ministry of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the foundation channels its resources toward systemic interventions for women, children, and the elderly in North Carolina. Its grantmaking flows exclusively to 501(c)(3) organizations — not individuals — and is anchored in the Catholic social tradition, with no disclosed separation between religious mission and funding criteria. The foundation's physical presence includes the Sisters of Mercy Belmont Campus in Belmont, NC. The foundation runs three grant cycles annually with a two-stage application process. In its most recent rounds, it announced $1,103,912 to 23 organizations in March 2026, $1,151,500 to 26 organizations in December 2025, and $877,490 to 19 organizations in July 2025 (per the firm, 2025-2026). Priority areas are explicitly healthcare, education, and social services, with a geographic focus that remains within North Carolina. The foundation does not make grants to individuals, and generally ineligible categories include political campaigns, deficit funding, and multi-year commitments. All grants are direct; there is no evidence of fund commitments or pooled vehicles. Total deployment over the 2025-2026 window exceeds $3.1 million, placing the foundation as a consistent, mid-sized regional grantmaker. It maintains professional network memberships in the Southeastern Council of Foundations, North Carolina Network of Grantmakers, and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility — the latter signaling an active shareholder-engagement posture through faith-based investor coalitions. The authorized contact for investment accounts is Edward J. Schlicksup Jr. (per Altss research). An affiliated healthcare ministry, Mercy Urgent Care in Asheville, NC, operates separately. The foundation functions as a direct institutional grantmaker with an explicitly faith-driven mandate. Unlike secular foundations, its grant guidelines and partner selection are inseparable from the mission of the Sisters of Mercy, creating a structurally narrower but deeply embedded funding channel in North Carolina's nonprofit ecosystem. Its membership in the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility also suggests a parallel, albeit small-scale, responsible-investment advocacy role alongside its grantmaking.