By: AIF Staff
Earlier this year, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced that the American Idea Foundation (AIF) would issue grants to six organizations fighting poverty in an evidence-based way. Since beginning this initiative in 2022, AIF has provided millions of dollars to non-profits across America as they develop, test, and scale interventions with the potential of yielding real results.
One of the organizations receiving funding this year is Catholic Charities Fort Worth. Speaker Ryan has long-believed that Catholic Charities Fort Worth has an effective case-management model for helping those in-need and his Foundation has been consistently impressed by their flagship program, the Padua Project, which is transforming lives in Texas and beyond.
Ryan has called it “the gold standard” of poverty-fighting programs. As Catholic Charities Fort Worth CEO Heather Reynolds put it:
“If somebody’s walking through your doors and says, ‘I am in pain. I am in poverty. I am struggling,’ they deserve to be given a program or a service that actually works and that we know works.”
And that is what Catholic Charities is doing via the Padua Project – providing a program that works.
The University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) describes what sets this invention apart:
“The backbone of Padua is wrap-around, “supercharged” case management that involves a two-person team of social workers and begins with building a relationship with clients. The Padua model ensures a high level of personal support for each client.
Clients work with their teams to set goals related to asset areas that are key to clients’ long-term success including finances, education, social skills, legal status and physical and emotional well-being.”
Having served almost 6,000 individuals, the Padua Project’s impact is best reflected through the lives it transforms…
Keith: After years of instability, Keith found that the Padua Project’s commitment did not waver: “Instead of cutting me off or criticizing me, they supported me… With Padua I’ve learned that if you’re not going to give up on me, why should I give up on myself?”
Lisa: Navigating a divorce and unemployment, Lisa credited her Padua Navigator as a “guardian angel” who helped her rebuild her confidence and eventually launch her own catering business.
Robert: A Vietnam War veteran who arrived at a mission in early 2025, Robert used the program’s holistic coaching to navigate veterans’ services and secure long-term stability.
These testimonials of transformation are impressive, but the Padua Project’s effectiveness is proven through rigorous randomized controlled trials (RCTs). As Speaker Ryan summarized in a 2021 virtual conversation with Notre Dame researchers:
“Here is the result that they achieved: A 25% increase in full-time employment, a 64%, increase in housing stability, and a 53% increase in reported improvements in personal health….
And more importantly, because of the way that Catholic Charities partnered with LEO, we know that these are likely the results of this intervention. We know that we can take these results and replicate them, further seeing if we can scale for these interventions and that’s the whole point of all of this….”
Speaking with the George W. Bush Center, Ryan talked about how these promising results could be scaled and replicated:
“Setting up a case management program the right way, with the proper incentives and controls, is something that now we’ve proven works. This can be built and rebuilt and replicated across the country…
It’s pure Catholic Charities Fort Worth. They have got the secret sauce, they figured out that it can be replicated, and we figured out how to replicate it. Now, we are trying to amplify this effort and type of program so that these great examples and success stories can be seen again and again.”
Because of the promise shown in Fort Worth, Texas, the American Idea Foundation helped fund efforts to replicate the Padua model in Northern Indiana through a partnership with Goodwill Industries of Michiana.
In announcing the Indiana effort in April 2026, Goodwill Industries of Michiana CEO Debie Cole said:
“We are excited to launch the nation’s first Padua mission site right here in our region. This partnership empowers families with personalized support so they can build lasting stability, independence and truly achieve their most abundant lives.”
The American Idea Foundation is proud to support Catholic Charities Fort Worth as they build on their successes and expand their case-management model to the Midwest. By combining innovative solutions with a fidelity to evidence and data, Catholic Charities is creating a blueprint to help others out of poverty and the American Idea Foundation cannot wait to see what they accomplish next.
To learn more about the American Idea Foundation’s 2026 grant recipients, click here.