St. Francis of Assisi adopted the Tau symbol as his signature on letters. For St. Francis, the Tau was a loving symbol of God’s intense relationship of love and the mystery of faith. St. Francis had the symbol carved on the walls of his cell as the sign of genuine hope and faith in God.

Allegany Franciscan Ministries uses this symbol as part of our logo and as the name for our Tau Grant program, to connect us to St. Francis and the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, and to remind us of our commitment to those who are
experiencing poverty and those who have been historically marginalized.

For Allegany Franciscan Ministries, “public agencies” refers to state, county, and local governmental agencies; these entities are not eligible for a Tau Grant from us. Public universities and colleges may not apply directly for funding. However, if a state university or college has set up a separate foundation, the foundation may apply for funds. The foundation must meet all our eligibility criteria, including 501(c)(3) designation. In addition, a public agency may be a partner in an initiative with another organization that serves as the lead agency; this project would be eligible. Beyond these two specific grant programs, we are open to partnerships with public agencies.

Organizations cannot apply for a Tau Grant if they have an active grant of the same type. However, grant partners with one type of active grant (e.g., Tau Grant) can apply for a different type of grant (e.g., ACOR Grant) in the same year.

This guiding principle is Allegany Franciscan Ministries’ intentional effort to create equitable opportunity and access to our funding for many diverse and exceptional organizations and programs. In addition, Tau Grants are not intended to provide ongoing funding, thus we do not renew grants annually.

For Tau Grants, a maximum of one request can be submitted per organization per cycle so if your request is denied, another cannot be submitted until the next cycle.

A report is required at the end of the grant period. For multi-year grants, the Organization may be required to complete one or more additional reports. Reports will either be a verbal report to be completed with the Allegany staff person overseeing the grant or a written report submitted through Allegany’s online grant portal. Reporting will include organizational updates, challenges encountered/lessons learned, and an accounting of grant funds. Reporting schedule information for your organization’s awarded grant can be found in Allegany’s online grant portal in your grant agreement.