Discipleship Catalyst Fund Expanding Access · Multiplying Impact · Strengthening the Church
Strengthening the Church from Within
Why the Catalyst Fund Matters
Across the Church, countless parishes long for renewal but lack the resources to bring in presenters, host retreats, train leaders, or access high-quality formation. The Discipleship Catalyst Fund exists to remove those barriers.
Your support ensures that every parish — regardless of size or budget — can offer transformative encounters with Christ.
The Catalyst Fund is not simply a grant program. It is a movement of generosity that makes discipleship possible where it otherwise could not happen — and it is already bearing fruit.
Diaconate Identity Symposium
In 2026, the Discipleship Catalyst Fund is proud to sponsor the Diaconate Identity Symposium — a landmark gathering convened in partnership with Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, one of the Church’s most respected centers of priestly and diaconal formation.
This collaboration is more than an event. It is a demonstration of what the Catalyst Fund makes possible: bringing together serious Catholic leaders around a critical question of ecclesial identity, at a level of institutional credibility and pastoral weight that most parishes and ministries could never access on their own.
- A high-level theological and pastoral conversation on the permanent diaconate — its identity, mission, and future in the Church
- A tangible expression of DCM’s ability to convene, collaborate, and catalyze at the institutional level
- Proof that donor investment opens doors to partnerships of real ecclesial significance
- A model for the kind of formation events the Catalyst Fund will continue to sponsor and expand across dioceses
Removing Barriers. Expanding Access.
The Catalyst Fund operates as a grantmaking and subsidy engine — directing donor resources toward the parishes, presenters, and ministries that need them most.
Supporting Presenters & Evangelists
Stipends and travel support bring gifted Catholic speakers and evangelists to parishes that could never otherwise afford them.
Underwriting Retreats & Missions
Full or partial subsidies make parish missions, teen retreats, and family formation events financially accessible — not just aspirational.
Seeding Faithful Ministries
Micro-grants and capacity-building support reach small ministries doing important work — without the infrastructure to fund it themselves.
Built to Multiply, Not Just Distribute
It meets parishes where they are.
Not every parish has a development office or a major donor. The Catalyst Fund ensures that financial capacity never determines whether a community can encounter Christ.
It builds lasting relationships, not one-time events.
By connecting parishes to presenters, ministries, and formation networks, the Fund creates ongoing capacity — not just a single memorable retreat.
It amplifies the whole DCM mission.
The Catalyst Fund and the Youth Ministry Incubator are two arms of one movement — the Fund opens doors, and the Incubator walks through them alongside parishes.
It is replicable across dioceses.
Every partnership forged and every parish served builds a scalable, proven model that can be brought to new communities across the country.
Your Gift Makes This Possible
Every dollar given to the Catalyst Fund directly expands access to formation for parishes that could never fund it on their own. Your generosity:
- Brings parish missions to communities that could never afford them
- Supports Catholic presenters and evangelists in their work
- Funds retreats that change the lives of teens and families
- Provides scholarships for young adult leaders
- Sponsors high-impact events like the Diaconate Identity Symposium
- Helps parishes take their next courageous step in discipleship
A Vision Worth Investing In
This is the future the Catalyst Fund is building.
And with your partnership, it becomes possible.