Mission, Values and Objectives

Allegany Franciscan Ministries is a non-profit Catholic organization that seeks to improve the overall health of individuals by increasing access to health services and information.

Allegany Franciscan Ministries grew out of the health care ministries of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, New York, and is a member of Catholic Health East.  It provides grants to organizations in the three regions of Florida formerly served by the Sisters’ hospitals: Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties, and the Tampa Bay area of Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. Since awarding its first grant in 1998, Allegany Franciscan Ministries has invested over $60 million in more than 1,300 organizations serving those most in need in its targeted communities. Its annual grantmaking budget averages about $6 million.

In addition to awarding grants, Allegany Franciscan Ministries’ staff and volunteers work collaboratively with its nonprofit community partners and other funders to promote physical, mental, spiritual, societal and cultural health and well-being in the communities it serves.

Our Values

We believe and commit ourselves to:

~Seeing issues and problems through a wide lens so that the marginalized do not escape our view;

~Addressing the root cause of social problems by nurturing an environment of well-being and self-sufficiency;

~Collaborating with others by drawing upon all of our strengths to secure what is best for the common good;

~Being in relationship with our sisters and brothers who are experiencing lfe’s challenges;

~Pursuing creative and innovative solutions which provide for an alternative future society;

~Advocating on behalf of women, the economically poor and those oppressed by unjust structures;

~Promoting a healthy environment, be it physical, social, or spiritual.


Our Objectives

~To promote health services that heal the whole person;

~To provide service, education, and advocacy that build healthier communities uniting the communities served and promoting non-violence and justice in these communities;

~To maintain interconnectedness with the communities we serve by continously evaluating the needs of the community;

~To promote initiatives that affirm our mission and values, and the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany’s mission, vision and direction statements; and

~To affirm the value of life in all of its forms and at all stages.