Can I restrict my gift for the benefit
of someone in particular?
Can I restrict my gift for the benefit
of a particular order?
Can I restrict my gift for the benefit
of a particular diocese?
I have other, non-student debts.
Can you help me with them?
My parents borrowed to pay for my school costs.
Can an MEFV grant pay my parent's debt?
Can I apply for a grant if I've already entered my order?
Can I apply for a grant if I'm still in school?
My order will not issue a letter of acceptance until my debts are paid.
What should I do?
Why should I not request a signature to confirm you have received my application?
How can I be sure that you have received my application?
What are my chances of receiving a grant?
If I'm denied a grant can I re-apply next year?
Why can't I re-apply if I enter my order?
Q: Can I restrict my gift for the benefit of someone in particular?
A: We are sorry, but if you desire that your gift be tax-deductible, you cannot restrict your gift for the benefit of an individual. This policy is required by IRS rules concerning tax-deductible gifts. We are happy to receive gifts restricted to individuals if you indicate that you do not intend to take a tax-deduction for the gift.
Q: Can I restrict my gift for the benefit of a particular order?
A: Yes, you may restrict your gift for the benefit of any order approved for participation in the MEFV's grant programs. Just let us know when you make the gift which order you wish it to benefit. We will then use those funds only to pay grants made to individuals who enter that order.
Q: Can I restrict my gift for the benefit of a particular diocese?
A: Yes, you may restrict your gift for the benefit of any diocese. Just let us know when you make the gift which diocese you wish it to benefit. Your gift will be restricted to help men who will be priests within that diocese.
Q: I have other, non-student debts. Can you help me with them?
A: No. Our grant programs are only for debt used to pay for education.
Q: I borrowed from my parents (brother, sister, uncle, etc.) to go to school. Can I apply for a grant to pay them back?
A: In almost all cases: No. We need documentary proof that ties the debt to payments made for education. Family lending situations do not generally result in the kind of documentation we would require.
Q: My parents borrowed to pay for my school costs. Can an MEFV grant pay my parent's debt?
A: No. An MEFV grant pays only the education debts incurred by the grant recipient.
Q: I have been, or intend to do, fundraising myself. Can I direct my donors to send their gifts to the MEFV, restricted to my benefit, so that they can receive a tax deduction for their gift?
A: No. IRS rules state that a gift directed to the benefit of an individual is not tax deductible. They further state that passing the donation through a tax-exempt organization will not make a non-deductible gift deductible. You can read this portion of IRS publication 526 for details. This should not be construed as tax advice, consult a professional if you need tax advice.
Q: Can I apply for a grant if I've already entered my order?
A: Yes. However, if you are denied, it is very unlikely that you will be allowed to re-apply. Read the answer to the "Why can't I re-apply if I enter my order?" question to learn why.
Q: Can I apply for a grant if I'm still in school?
A: No. We can only issue grants to people who have stopped incurring student debt and are ready to enter. If you know you are going into religious life, please consider leaving school now. See the next Q & A.
Q: I know I have a vocation to religious life, but I have one or more semesters until I graduate from college. I will have to borrow for tuition and/or other costs to continue my education. What should I do?
A: We think you should stop your schooling at the end of your current term and enter religious life as soon as possible. We also think you should be discerning the right choice with the aid of your spiritual director. But keep the following in mind:
Q: My order will not issue a letter of acceptance until my debts are paid. What should I do?
A: Ask the superior to write the letter stating that your acceptance is contingent on your debt being cleared or covered by third party. Acceptance letters with contingencies for debt qualify as the acceptance letter needed with your application.
Q: Why should I not request a signature to confirm you have received my application?
A: Our work for the MEFV requires us to be out of town frequently. It is not uncommon that we are out of town when someone sends an application in a way that requires that we sign for it. Eventually, the Post Office will send it back because repeated attempts to get a signature were unsuccessful.
Q: How can I be sure that you have received my application?
A: We acknowledge all incoming applications with a letter of receipt sent by US Mail. If you are concerned about being sure we receive your application, send us an email to let us know it is coming.
Q: My entrance date is coming up this spring (or summer, or fall). If I have to wait to apply in the winter, I will have to wait a whole year for another chance to enter. Can you make an exception for me?
A: No. We have developed our procedures and schedules with the aim of keeping our grant-making fair for all applicants and workable for our volunteer application review board members. Our resources are limited to the funds that we can raise and we have to proceed in an orderly way.
We are completely aware that spring is a common time to come to a fuller understanding of one's vocation and that yearly entrance dates are usually in the late summer and fall. We did not choose our application schedule without reflection. We invite you to consider that waiting a year to apply will give you a chance to work your debt down some on your own and to exercise the virtue of patience.
Q: I have applied for a grant, but I will enter my order before the MEFV's yearly award announcements. What should I do about my student loans?
A: You need to have a plan for keeping your student loans current, that is, making the minimum monthly payments while you are in religious life. You must inform us as to what that plan is in response the to application question: If you enter religious life BEFORE the grant date of March 1 nexy year, how do you intend to pay your loans after your entry?
If you apply for a grant and plan to enter religious life before learning whether you will receive a grant, be sure read our Prudence and Faith page. By signing the application, you certify that you understand you will not be able to reapply for a grant if you stop making payments on your student loans.
Q: I have received a grant, but I will not enter my order for some months. What should I do about my student loans? MEFV grant payments do not begin until you enter, so you must keep making payments on your student loans. Make at least the minimum monthly payment. If you were successful at making pre-payments, keep doing whatever made that possible (such as working) for as long as you can so that you can continue to overpay. This is a good way to thank the MEFV while you wait for entry.
Q: What are my chances of receiving a grant?
A: Please read our Grantmaking Realities page for the answer to this question. Then be sure to read the answer to the question of how best to apply overpayments.
Q: If I'm denied a grant can I re-apply next year?
A: Yes. If you are denied a grant and are still making good faith efforts to pay your student loans, you can re-apply. In the year between applications you should work to pay down your debt as agressively as you can. Doing so will improve your chance of receiving a grant next time. If you are able, you should pay more than the minimum monthly payments on your loans. See this answer to learn how best to structure extra payments.
Q: Why can't I re-apply if I enter my order?
A: There are two reasons:
Q: If I can make more than the required monthly payments, what is the best way to apply the extra payments to improve my chances of getting a grant?
A: To improve your chances of getting a MEFV grant, your goal in pre-paying your loans should be to lower the monthly cost of keeping your loans current, that is, the sum of all the monthly payments for your loans. The cost of keeping your loans current is the cost to the MEFV of issuing you a grant. A lower cost to issue the grant means a higher chance of getting a grant.
Lowering the monthly cost of your loans can be done in two possible ways:
Begin by making the minimum payments on all your loans, and applying whatever additional payment you can make to the loan with the lowest balance. If multiple loans are included in one payment, you will probably have to instruct your lender how you want the additional payment applied. When you get the lowest one paid, you will have that much more each month to apply to the next lowest, and so on.
When we issue a grant for loans in this condition, we can effectively re-amortize the loan to derive a smaller monthly payment, which we will make even though no payment is currently due. This is the choice to make if you would like to increase your chances of receiveing a grant from the MEFV. Again, you may need to contact your lender to make sure that the payments are being applied correctly.