Student Groups
Standing Strong for the Truth: Student Organizations We Support
In the midst of the radical deterioration of Catholic presence at Notre Dame, a handful of courageous student groups and organizations remain steadfast, promoting the University’s Catholic identity and standing in close alignment with our mission at Sycamore Trust. Their perseverance is a source of hope and a living testament to the enduring power of truth and faith.
Today, Notre Dame’s Student Activities Office (SAO) oversees more than 300 officially sanctioned student groups promoting intellectual, spiritual, cultural, recreational, social, leadership, and employment opportunities. However, while Catholic organizations are included among them, they receive no special privilege or priority. In fact, SAO’s mission statement makes no mention of Notre Dame’s Catholic mission:
The Student Activities Office provides space, resources, programs, and events that enable students to grow holistically, develop as student leaders and employees, strengthen passions that improve well-being, engage in healthy social interactions, and explore relationships with others from different backgrounds and interests.
Like so many other administrative departments across the campus, SAO adopts a framework that seeks to foster “an environment which values differences, the freedom of expression, and the holistic development of students” — but carefully avoids any commitment to forming students according to the truths of the Catholic faith. Among this multitude of student organizations, the groups we support are distinctive. They are faithful stewards of Notre Dame’s Catholic mission.
We are honored to support these groups as they work to nurture the Catholic mind and heart at Notre Dame. We invite you to learn more about their important work, to pray for their success, and to join us in standing with them as witnesses to the truth in a challenging time.
Support the Frontline during Notre Dame Day (Thru May 1, 12:11 AM EDT)
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The organizations listed below are undergraduate-led and closely aligned with our mission of authentic Catholic renewal at Notre Dame. Except where noted, all are eligible to receive support during Notre Dame Day — ending when the countdown clock above reaches zero.
Note: Click on the images for organizations marked with a “watch video” ribbon to view a short promotional that we have prepared for them.
BeLoved
Children of Mary
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
The Irish Rover
Knights of Columbus 1477
Liturgical Choir
Married and Parenting Students
Militia of the Immaculata
Notre Dame Right to Life
SCOP
Frequently Asked Questions
Each year, we receive questions about this effort to support Notre Dame student groups and why we do it. The reason is simple: student organizations play a crucial and often underappreciated role in sustaining Catholic culture on campus, yet their resources are limited and their opportunities to raise funds are few.
Notre Dame Day offers a university-wide fundraising platform with broad reach — something student groups could never replicate on their own. And because each group competes for a share of matching funds and challenge grants, your support goes even further.
By recommending the organizations listed above our goal is to encourage alumni to contribute to groups that align with our mission and are making a difference on campus.
Notre Dame, while a major research university, remains at its heart an undergraduate institution with a Catholic mission of forming students spiritually as well as intellectually. Undergraduate student groups are vital to that mission: they offer students opportunities for leadership, witness to the faith, and community life that are essential elements of Catholic formation. Our focus reflects the importance of these groups to the spiritual culture of the campus.
Sycamore Trust was organized as a nonpartisan organization. However, we deeply appreciate the commitment many political student groups, such as College Republicans, have shown to Catholic causes, particularly the defense of the sanctity of life. Our decision to omit political groups stems from our desire to stay focused on Catholic identity, not political affiliation.
University programs, centers, and institutes — such as ACE, the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, and the McGrath Institute for Church Life — benefit from institutional staffing and access to a wide range of resources that student groups simply do not have. Their exclusion from our recommendations should not be taken as a commentary on their tremendous value to Notre Dame’s Catholic identity.
We base our recommendations on ongoing personal interaction with group leaders. Given the fast-paced turnover in undergraduate leadership, not all groups remain active or aligned year to year. Our selection ensures that we support groups that are vibrant, faithful, and meaningfully engaged in preserving Catholic identity at Notre Dame.
Not being included on our list does not necessarily mean that a group is misaligned with our mission. We limit our recommendations to non-partisan, undergraduate organizations that are eligible for funding through Notre Dame Day and with whom we have had direct interaction with their leadership. The sole exception is The Irish Rover, which remains independent to preserve its journalistic integrity.
If you know of a student group that contributes meaningfully to Notre Dame’s Catholic identity and is not listed, please support them—and let us know. We’d love the opportunity to connect with them.
Notre Dame Day is structured to maximize student group fundraising. It offers built-in incentives: groups earn additional matching awards and prizes based on the number of donors and funds raised. Student groups, without institutional resources, would find it nearly impossible to organize and promote a comparable campaign on their own — much less do so year after year. Giving through Notre Dame Day substantially increases the impact of your gift.
The Irish Rover is an independent nonprofit organization, intentionally structured this way to protect its journalistic freedom. Because it operates separately from the university’s Student Activities Office, it does not participate in the official student organization fundraising campaigns like Notre Dame Day. We strongly encourage subscribing to and supporting the Rover directly.
We do not maintain the same level of interaction with graduate students as we do with undergraduate students. Our recommendations are therefore limited to those groups we know well. To find other groups, including those representing graduate students, you can search the Notre Dame Day website directly.
Groups have to request to be listed to receive funds through Notre Dame Day. If the group you wish to support does not appear on our list or on the Notre Dame Day page, you can still make a gift by using the Notre Dame Annual Giving page. Select “Other/Write In” from the drop-down menu and type the full name of the student organization in the space provided. Notre Dame’s Development Office will direct your gift accordingly.
