National Forms and Guidelines
- Guide to the Canonical Establishment of a Secular Franciscan Fraternity
- Regional Archives
- Guidelines for the OFS Concerning Prison Ministry
- Clarification on Sexual Orientation and Sexual Identity Issues
- Fraternal Life during Social Distancing
- OFS-USA Guidelines for Nominations from the Floor
- National Election Procedures
Initial and Ongoing Formation Resources
Visitations and Elections
- Cover Letter for Regional Visitation by NEC
- Guidelines for Regional Visitations – CNSA and NEC [Word] [PDF]
- Regional Pre-Visitation Questionnaire [Word] [PDF]
- Check-off sheet in Preparation for Regional Visitation [Word]
- Visitation Brochure by Fr. Lester Bach [Word] [PDF]
- Suggested Schedule for Regional Visitation [Word] [PDF]
- Pastoral Visitation from SA Handbook [PDF]
Treasurer Forms and Guidelines
- Commission and Committee Annual Budget Request Form for 2023 Budget [Fillable Form]
- Certificate of Insurance Request [Word – Fillable] [PDF]
- 2021 Catholic Directory Page for OFS USA (Page 301) [PDF]
- Request for Reimbursement of Expenses [PDF] [Excel]
- Treasurer’s Reporting Requirements [Word] [PDF]
- Fraternity Treasurer’s Annual Report [Excel] [PDF]
- Monthly Report to the Fraternity Council [Excel] [PDF]
- Fraternity Treasurer’s Worksheet [Excel] [PDF]
- Details of Monthly Expenditures [Excel] [PDF]
- Confidential Record of Donations Received [Excel] [PDF]
- Record of Donations Received – Fraternity Summary by Meeting Date [Excel] [PDF]
- Record of Donations Received – Fraternity Summary by Member [Excel] [PDF]
- Banking and Insurance Issues – TAU Fall 2021 [PDF]
- Bequests: Preserving and Extending Our Secular Franciscan Way of Life (Updated 2018) [PDF] [Word]
- NAFRA Statement of Purposes and Internal Controls [PDF] [Word]
- Record Retention [PDF] [Word]
- Traveler Guidelines – Policy on Reimbursement of Travel-Related Expenses (Updated 2023) [PDF]
- Questions frequently asked of the National Treasurer (updated 2018) [PDF] [Word]
- Treasury Guidelines: “How Much is Enough?” [PDF] [Word]
- Taxing Correspondence [PDF] [Word]
- Obtaining an Employee ID Number (EIN) – revised April 2018 [PDF] [Word]
- SS4 form Rev. 2019 [PDF – fillable]
- SS4 Instructions Rev. 2019 [PDF]
Other Resources
- The Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order – 2020 Updated Translation in English & Spanish
- The General Constitutions of the Secular Franciscan Order (2000) – 2020 Updated Translation in English & Spanish
- Statutes of the National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order in the United States of America
- Statutes of the International Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order (CIOFS) 2021 ‘Ad Experimentum’
- Ritual of the Secular Franciscan Order – 2020 Updated Translation in English & Spanish
For Up to Now: Foundational Topics for Initial Formation (FUN Manual)
On the FUN Manual page, you will find these resources:
- Reflections on Formation Topics in the FUN Manual by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
- FUN CD Contents
- Various Other FUN-Related Documents
- Ordering Information
Note: While translation is still in progress, all materials will be made available in English, Spanish, and Korean
- Introduction to the Vocations Tool Kit [English]
- Prayer resources – now on Additional Prayer Resources
- Vocation prayers
- Prayer before the crucifix at San Damiano
- Franciscan vocation petitions
- OFS Come and See brochure [English] [Korean] [Spanish]
- Outline for Come and See session [English] [Korean] [Spanish]
- Come and See Digests
- Come and See presentation
- Instructions for creating vocations testimonials [English]
New OFS-USA Logo
- Small (107 x 125 px) JPG
- Larger (414 x 484 px) JPG – better for web
- Larger (414 x 484 px) TIFF – better for printing
- Larger (604×604 px) PNG – Logo in white circle with a very thin brown line. Since it’s a PNG file, the outside of the circle will be transparent when used on the internet when the background not white.
- Sponsor as Agent of Formation/Ceremony of Sponsorship [PDF]
- Mediation as a means of conflict resolution within the OFS [PDF] [PowerPoint]
- Prayer and St. Francis PDF on Traditional Franciscan Prayers