In 2013, Mercy International Association (MIA) launched a global campaign with a goal to build an endowment for the important work of MIA.
Thanks to the generosity of friends, partners and stakeholders around the world, we have raised $11.2 million* to date.

Friends, partners and stakeholders of the Mercy mission are being asked to participate and inform the best strategy for building an endowment to secure the future of Mercy International Association, while also ensuring that funds are available for current initiatives.

Mercy International Association (MIA)  is uniquely positioned to coordinate action among Mercy congregations, ministries, and affiliates; and has leveraged this position to ensure the most efficient use of resources and advance scaling and replication of successful programs. MIA’s ability to coordinate and activate an international grassroots network attracts stakeholders committed to change on a global scale, through investments in local initiatives.

Currently, MIA is funded by support received from the founding Sisters of Mercy Congregations and modest income from activities − with the Sisters of Mercy playing the crucial role in providing financial support. It is important to reduce our dependency on the Sisters of Mercy Congregations for sustainability. As Catherine saw fit to establish a religious congregation to ensure the longevity of her work and ministry, MIA leaders believe we are at a time when the combined resources of the Mercy family can greatly enhance the services provided to those in need. A robust endowment is critical to ensuring our future and to continue the important work begun 187 years ago.

In many ways, Mercy’s founding story has come full circle; Catherine had a dream that she and a band of lay co-workers would live what we today recognize as the Mercy charism. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, she was led to understand that its continuance into the future needed the establishment of a congregation. Today there are about 7,200 Sisters serving in the world. At the same time, there are over 5,000 Mercy associates and more than 250,000 partners in ministry. These numbers are growing and Mercy’s tent is widening. As we listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we recognize that the continuation of the Mercy charism into the future depends increasingly on the combined resources of the Mercy family.

It is a pivotal time in Mercy International Association’s history, as it celebrates twenty years of successful engagement, the House on Baggot Street (the Mercy International Centre), and launches more focused global action initiatives to eradicate poverty and trafficking, and ensure environmental sustainability.

An event will be held to thank donors for their commitment and support of the Sisters of Mercy and of Mercy International Association later in the campaign. The event will be held in New York, likely in the fall of 2016. It will feature a performance by Wynton and Branford Marsalis. Wynton and Branford were educated during their early years by Mercy Sisters in New Orleans.

Everything we know today as Mercy was born from a single gift − when William Callaghan bequeathed his estate to Catherine McAuley, our foundress. Your gift today keeps alive the works of Mercy. You touch the lives of thousands in need around the world. You join us in a mission, flourishing nearly 200 years. Please help us in our work at the United Nations, at Mercy International Centre, Catherine McAuley’s original House of Mercy, and in over
40 countries worldwide, to:

• Alleviate poverty
• Identify and eliminate factors that provide a means to pursue human trafficking
• Pursue sustainable development of the environment
• Respond effectively to global crises
• Ensure the spirit of Catherine McAuley continues to light the world

Friends, partners, and stakeholders of the Mercy mission are being asked to participate in building an endowment to secure the future of Mercy International Association, while also ensuring that funds are available for current initiatives.