The structure and agenda of the Federation evolved from its initial promotion of the Seton cause during semi-annual meetings in which the sister convener simply served as hostess with Bishop McNamara as presider to the format of annual meetings coordinated by a rotating chair of an Executive Committee. Established in 1991, the Executive Committee handles Federation business between annual meetings, including development of ways to connect the various sub-groups to its organizational structure.

Over time the lived experience of the group became normative. Members approved the first revisions (1969 and 1972) of the by-laws which limited the term of the Chair to one year with her principal duty to prepare and preside at the annual meeting and appoint a secretary from her community. Members later added (1973) a preamble to the by-laws and a proposed revision (1989) allowing for a new category of membership. This provided for the admission of congregations with Vincentian but not Setonian roots. The Federation designated (1984) the archives of the Daughters of Charity at Saint Joseph's Provincial House, Emmitsburg, Maryland, as the repository for its official papers and artifacts.

The canonization in 1975 marked the achievement of the Federation's founding purpose. After again revising the statutes and by-laws (1976), the Federation adopted a new purpose: “to bring together in love and friendship the various congregations that are inspired by the charism of their common foundress, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton; and thus be enabled to discover more fully the life and mission of a Sister of Charity today.”

A committee on by-laws was established to define the terms of association with the Federation (1980). The by-laws were amended (1982) to allow for two categories of membership: Full Membership for those with common origin in the Emmitsburg foundation and Associate Membership for those that derive their spirit and inspiration from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. These were later modified (1985, 1988) to allow equality of status among members and to admit congregations within the Tradition of Charity which do not have a direct connection to Elizabeth Seton.

The Federation continued updating and refining its structure and restated (1991) its purpose as follows: To bring together “in love and friendship”congregations that trace their roots to Emmitsburg; have a Seton connection and share her spirit; or share the spirit of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac through adaptation of the Common Rules of the Daughters of Charity. The American Sisters of Charity inculturated the Vincentian charism in North America by modifying the seventeenth-century French rule of Louise and Vincent to suit the needs of the nineteenth-century Church in the United States. The Setonian Tradition developed from the Vincentian Tradition.

In 1996 the Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian and Setonian Tradition adopted a new name and clarified that congregations must meet one of two key criteria for membership:

• Trace their characteristic spirit and charism to the Tradition of Charity of Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, and Elizabeth Ann Seton;
• Trace the influence of the Vincentian Rule (Common Rules of the Daughters of Charity) in their documents and in their lifestyle.  
  
  

The Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception (1979) and Les Religieuses de Nôtre Dame du Sacré-Coeur (1986), both of Canada, were the first additional communities to seek admission as associate members. In 1988 the associate status was deleted in favor of full membership and the following congregations were admitted:
 

Vincentian Sisters of Charity of Pittsburgh (1989)

Vincentian Sisters of Charity of Bedford (1990)

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (1991)

Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy of Charleston (1994)

Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (1995)

Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Martha 2003