Donor Spotlight & Exciting Announcement: Flaherty Family Foundation

We are beyond excited to share this incredible news with you: The Flaherty Family Foundation has committed a transformational $1 million matching gift to help Sisters Rising Worldwide scale our model, empowering more Sisters to make an impact where the world needs them most.

This extraordinary gift is designed to broaden Sisters Rising Worldwide’s supporter base and inspire additional major investments from others to ensure that more Sisters around the world have the resources they need to implement solutions to the root causes of poverty in their communities.

For Ed Flaherty, founder of the Flaherty Family Foundation, this commitment is deeply personal. “It goes back to my grade school days when I was taught by the Sisters of Charity of Providence. Those wonderful nuns shaped me when I was a wild child,” he shared. Years later, when he moved to Minneapolis, he connected with Sister Rosie Fox, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who ultimately introduced him to Sister Irene O’Neill. Ed and Sister Irene became fast friends, and he was a trusted advisor to her as she envisioned Sisters Rising Worldwide and what it could become.

Ed’s support helped launch one of SRW’s earliest projects, combatting human trafficking in El Salvador. The success of that project confirmed what Sister Irene had envisioned: when Sisters have access to the right resources and connections, they solve problems in ways no one else can. Since then, SRW has grown into a global movement—connecting and equipping Sisters through the PeaceRoom technology platform created and built by SRW.

Today, Ed’s belief in SRW’s mission has only grown stronger.

“The nuns are unquestionably dedicated and pure in the work that they do,” Ed said. “When they can leverage experience, capital, and best practices, they become even more powerful. This is just the beginning—SRW is germinating into the most powerful tool of goodness in the world. It is an incredible model and beyond what I can imagine this will be in 50 years.”

That’s why Ed and the Flaherty Family Foundation have stepped forward to match pledges and gifts of $10,000 or more to Sisters Rising Worldwide in 2025, dollar for dollar, up to $1 million.

“Ed Flaherty has been a trusted advisor and supporter since SRW was just a concept, but he saw the potential from the very beginning,” remarked Sister Irene. “He believes in the real impact Sisters make, and this incredible commitment solidifies his sincere desire to help even more Sisters do more good in the world. Sisters are more than a force for good—we are a force that cannot be ignored. We step into the hardest places, side by side with those the world often overlooks. This gift ensures we can scale our model to raise and invest more resources in Sisters leading change from the inside out.”

Ed hopes that others will step forward alongside him to invest in the power of Sisters’ work to change the world. “The more I have given, the less I notice what I have lost. I have learned that we all can do more. Being aligned with good people doing good things—good begets good. And, candidly, a Brinks truck never follows a hearse—you can’t take it with you. But by giving, you enrich your soul.”

If you are interested in learning more and doubling the impact of your support of the Sisters through the Flaherty Family Foundation matching gift, please contact Sister Irene O’Neill.