What if we have someone on our staff who works for a government-sponsored program only part-time? Can they be funded with Federal grant funds?

Answer:

It is fine for a faith-based organization to employ someone on their staff to perform religious duties while also having that person administer part of a Federally-funded program. There are, however, rules that must be followed. The part-time worker must not engage in inherently religious activities while working on the Federally-funded portion of his or her job. And that part-time worker must also document that he met his time commitment to the government-sponsored program by keeping careful time records of his activities. This will make sure that government funds are spent only on non-religious activities.

Source:Guidance to Faith-Based and Community Organizations on Partnering with the Federal Government (published by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives 2002) http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/guidance_document.pdf

Learn more:

•  Center for Faith Based and Community Initiatives

Last Updated: 4/28/2008