Faith-Based Initiatives

The latest nonprofit buzz words among grant and funding organizations are faith- and community-based initiatives. While these program activities and partnerships have existed for years, acknowledgement of religious group involvement was not allowed due to the fear of services to beneficiaries being contingent upon their responses to proselytizing. President Bush’s 2001 Faith-Based and Community Initiative represents a fresh start and bold new approach to the government's role in increasing help for those in need and affirming the efforts and compassion of faith-based and community organizations to improve their communities.

Several links are provided on this page to inform and guide interested grantees. Nonetheless, do not limit your search for program funding to these resources. Remember: the faith and community partnerships and collaborations are always valuable regardless of whether the funding source is labeled faith- and community-based or not. Your intent is what counts - a gift of social ministry should not compel the target population to participate in any religious activities, even if offering Christian events is required by a religious funder.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/centers.html  The White House Office and the Centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative -- located in Federal agencies -- are supportive of the essential work of Federal agencies, but recognize many organizations have lacked access or understanding of how to access federal grant monies. The goal is to make sure that grassroots leaders can compete on equal footing for federal dollars, receive greater private support, and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. The Office focuses its efforts on the following populations: homeless, prisoners and at-risk youth, addicts, elders in need, and families moving from welfare to work.

Five Cabinet Department Centers for the Faith-Based Initiatives

1) Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov/cfbci/ http://www.dol.gov/cfbci/resource.htm  (resources) http://www.dol.gov/cfbci/funding.htm  (funding)
Faith-Based Organization Information Kit free download available. This information kit contains the following:

• The Workforce Investment System Fact Sheet
• Youth Programs Fact Sheet
• One-Stop Career Center Services Fact Sheet
• One-Stop Career Centers Fact Sheet
• America's Career Kit Electronic Tools Fact Sheet
• Five Critical Roles Faith-Based Organizations Can Play In Meeting the Employment Needs of Their Congregations and Surrounding Communities.

2) Department of Justice Task Force for Faith-based & Community Initiatives
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fbci/  (center)
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fbci/fundopp.html  (funding)
The Task Force works with various components within the Department of Justice to assist in identifying resources and training for faith-based and other community organizations. The DOJ administers programs to provide assistance to victims of crime, prisoners and ex-offenders, and women who suffer domestic violence. In addition, the DOJ has initiatives to target gang violence and at-risk youth.

3) Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/fbci/index.html
http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/fbci/grants.html (funding)
The goal of the center is to break down existing barriers and to empower faith-based and community groups to provide social and education services to those in need. Grant programs amenable are:

21st Century Community Learning Centers
The purpose of this program is to provide, establish, or expand community learning centers that provide students academic enrichment, tutorial services, youth development activities, drug and violence prevention, art, music, and recreation programs, technology education programs, and character programs, and to provide families of students opportunities for literacy and related educational development.

Safe and Drug Free Schools -- Mentoring Programs
http://www.ed.gov/programs/dvpformula/index.html  The purpose of this program is to support the establishment of programs for mentoring at-risk children to improve their academic achievement and reduce their dropout rate. Non-profit, community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations, are among the entities that are eligible to apply, provided they meet all statutory and regulatory requirements.

Early Reading First
The purpose of this program is to support local efforts to enhance early language, cognitive skills, and reading development of preschool-age children, particularly those from low-income families, and to integrate scientific reading, research-based instructional materials, and literacy activities with existing preschool programs.

Migrant Education -- Even Start
The purpose of this program is to break the cycle of poverty and improve the literacy of participating migrant families by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy, adult basic education, and parenting education into a unified family literacy program.

Carol M. White Physical Education Program
The purpose of this program is to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs including after school programs for kindergarten through twelfth grade students by providing equipment, staff, support, and teacher training.

Community Technology Centers
The purpose of this program is to create or expand community technology centers that provide disadvantaged residents of economically distressed urban and rural communities with access to information technology and training on how to use it.

Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
The purpose of this program is to create a partnership among the federal government, states, and localities to provide adult education and literacy services, in order to

• assist adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency.
• assist adults who are parents to obtain the skills necessary to become full partners in the educational development of their children.
• assist adults in the completion of a secondary school education.

Supplemental Educational Services
Supplemental Educational Services are additional academic instruction designed to increase the academic achievement of students in low-performing schools. Services must be provided outside the regular school day and may include academic assistance such as tutoring, remediation, and other educational interventions. Each State Education Agency is required to identify organizations that qualify to provide these services and maintain a list that allow parents to have as many choices as possible.

4) Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) http://www.hud.gov/initiatives/fbci/  http://www.hud.gov/grants/index.cfm (funding)
Faith-based organizations across the nation play a significant role in all aspects of family life. HUD resources describe strategic opportunities available to organizations to extend helping hands to those seeking to realize dreams, such as buying a home. HUD hopes to foster creative ideas that will encourage faith- and community-based groups to play a greater role with families making such life-changing decisions. Downloadable resources include, “10 Things Your Faith Community Can Do to Encourage Homeownership” at http://www.hud.gov/initiatives/fbci/topten/index.cfm. A HUD program chart for ways nonprofits can help is available at http://www.hud.gov/offices/fbci/nonprofgrants.pdf. 

Faith-based organizations, because of the depth of their roots in communities, can do a great deal to increase homeownership in America. Homebuying and homeownership are a vital part of the American dream. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, some of the most prevalent issues faced by families that deter them from buying a home are

• lack of inventory of affordable single-family housing available for sale in many areas where a majority of residents are minority families.
• a need for down payment assistance, which affects minority families to a greater extent than non-Hispanic whites because they have less accumulated wealth that can be used to help children with down payments.
• lack of access to affordable mortgage credit.
• lack of understanding of the home-buying process.
• weak credit histories, often arising from a poor understanding of financial matters and where financial counseling is required.
• lack of information about available homeownership programs in the community.
• language difficulties or cultural differences.

Informed and compassionate faith-based organizations have a unique opportunity to assist potential homeowners so that families can overcome these obstacles and realize their dream.

5) Department of Health & Human Services http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/ http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/funding.html  (funding opportunities)
The President's initiative is about leveling the playing field by removing barriers to the full participation of faith-based and community-based organizations so they have equal opportunity to participate in federally funded programs. Please note that there is no grant money specifically set aside for faith-based providers, nor will there be a separate fund established from the HHS Center. However, there is an extensive site of partnership information.

Successful Faith and Community Partnerships  http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/guidance/index.html offers "Guidance to Faith-based and Community Organizations on Partnering with the Federal Government." Faith and community groups provide immeasurable services; now new opportunities to partner with the government can expand outreach. A number of HHS agencies and programs provide funding and technical assistance to faith-based and community organizations to further such relations. Following are just a few examples of HHS-funded activities:

Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funding goes to faith-based organizations through Head Start, programs for refugee resettlement, runaway and homeless youth, independent living, child care, child support enforcement, and child welfare.

ACF's Office of Child Support Enforcement has produced a video on the benefits of child support and faith-based partnerships. The video suggests ways to strengthen the role of faith-based organizations in child support collection and the involvement of both parents in their children's lives.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has established the Faith Partnership Initiative designed to foster and build partnerships between the agency's federally-funded community health centers and faith-based organizations in order to increase access to quality primary and preventive health care, to reduce health disparities, and to better coordinate health assets at the local level. HRSA also provides funds to faith-based and community organizations to support services through the "Healthy Tomorrows" program, the Healthy Start program, and an initiative to test the use of church health advocates to promote organ donation.

HRSA has been funding the National Hispanic Religious Partnership for Community Health since fiscal year 1998. This network of Hispanic churches has created a national databank of Hispanic faith-based and community organizations that will in the future identify services, programs and resources available to address health-related needs in the Hispanic community.

The Office of Public Health and Science's (OPHS) Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs provides grants to support health, education and social services for pregnant and parenting adolescents at the community level. The office also provides grants to support abstinence education programs aimed at young adolescents who are not sexually active. The abstinence programs are designed to delay the onset of sexual activity and to reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. The office has 19 grants with faith-based organizations.

In July 2001, OPHS announced the availability of funds for one or two large cooperative agreements ($500,000-$700,000) to manage and support two-year pilots of the Healthy People 2010 implementation activities by community-based organizations. The goal is to provide very small amounts of money (micro finance) to a wide variety of local, community and faith-based organizations and others to assist them in conducting one or more activities related to Healthy People 2010 and the Leading Health Indicators.

In 2000, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) became the first HHS agency to undertake a specific faith-based initiative led by a full-time, dedicated staff coordinator. The initiative formalizes the long-term, ongoing role of both spirituality and faith-based organizations in SAMHSA's discretionary and block grant substance abuse and mental health programs. SAMHSA's Community Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership Program has involved more than 800 faith and community partners.

SAMHSA's Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program makes grants to states to provide services to people with serious mental illness who are homeless or are at risk for homelessness. States allocate the dollars to local agencies, many of which are faith-based. Believing that partnerships with faith-based organizations are critical to the program's success, SAMHSA encourages local-funded agencies to coordinate their services with faith-based organizations serving homeless people with mental illness.

The Center for Public Justice and Charitable Choice

http://www.cpjustice.org/charitablechoice/  Charitable Choice
The organization's purpose is to serve God, advance justice, and transform public life. The Center is an independent civic education and policy research organization. It is a national civic non-profit that grounds its research, publications, training, and advocacy in a comprehensive Christian political perspective.

The Charitable Choice provision (Section 104) of the federal welfare reform law enacted in the summer of 1996 encourages states to involve community and faith-based organizations in providing federally funded welfare services to the poor and needy. The provision is designed to protect the religious character of faith-based organizations that choose to accept federal funds to help the poor. It also protects the religious liberty of beneficiaries of welfare services.

http://www.cpjustice.org/charitablechoice/forfaithgroups  Charitable Choice is not a special state or federal program to fund churches and religious organizations to help the poor and needy. There is no "Charitable Choice money." Charitable Choice, instead, is new language in federal law to remove legal barriers that kept many faith-based organizations from being able to compete for government funds to provide services to the poor and needy.

• For an excellent resource to guide your venture into faith and community-based programs scroll down the page and click on “Handouts” on the left menu. On the Charitable Choice Handouts page, select and download The Charitable Choice Handbook for Ministry Leaders.
• http://www.cpjustice.org/charitablechoice/faithbystate  Faith & Community Liaisons are listed by state. Some states and counties (and some for-profit workforce contractors) have created the position of Faith/Community Liaison. Faith/Community Liaisons are officials or consultants who serve as a bridge between government and faith-based and community grassroots groups. Faith/Community Liaisons help educate government officials and the public about Charitable Choice and about other new collaboration initiatives. Links are also provided to the White House and Cabinet Center Offices of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

The Corporation for National Service and Community Service
“A Provider of Human Capital”

http://www.nationalservice.org/  The Corporation for National and Community Service connects Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation through voluntary service. More than 2 million Americans serve their fellow citizens each year through the Corporation's three main programs: AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America. Tens of thousands of these volunteers serve with faith-based organizations helping them accomplish more by recruiting, training, and supervising additional volunteers.

First, AmeriCorps, the domestic Peace Corps, gives citizens the opportunity to engage in full-time service to their community. Working through more than 1,000 national and local nonprofit and faith-based organizations, AmeriCorps members tutor and mentor at-risk children; make schools and neighborhoods safer, build homes, and do other things that make communities stronger. Of the 50,000 AmeriCorps positions this year, more than 6,000 are in faith-based organizations. Each AmeriCorps member recruits an average of 12 new volunteers.

Second, the Senior Service Corps involves more than half a million volunteers ages 55 and older who serve communities through the Foster Grandparent, RSVP and Senior Companion Programs. More than 45,000 Senior Corps volunteers serve with 122 local projects sponsored by faith-based organizations. Last year these volunteers provided more than 10.8 million service hours to organizations including Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, Lutheran Social Services and Interfaith Ministries. Foster Grandparent volunteers and Senior Companion volunteers with faith-based projects helped more than 41,000 children and adults in need during 1999-2000.

Finally, Learn and Serve America supports service-learning programs in schools and community organizations that help more than one million students from kindergarten through college meet community needs while learning the habits of good citizenship. K-12 grants go to state and local education agencies and nonprofit organizations, many of which in turn work with or have programs located at faith-based sponsors. Through these grants and others to institutions of higher education, tens of thousands of students carry out service-learning projects with faith-based organizations.