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Changing Lives |
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Compassion Spotlight
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The Need
For every social problem, there are faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) engaged on the front lines of solving it--yet many lack key resources, knowledge, and skills that could enable them to expand and enhance their services.
The entrepreneurial character, ample supply of volunteers, and other distinctive traits of these organizations frequently make the services they provide more personal, responsive, and compassionate than traditional government programs.
As the capabilities of FBCOs grow, their community’s ability to solve problems expands.
The Response
From competitive grants that fund innovative social service models, to in-depth training in skills such as outcomes tracking or board development, the Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) works to expand the capacity of social entrepreneurs across the country to maximize impact for those in need.
The Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the most extensive of the FBCI’s capacity-building programs. CCF provides grants through three innovative funding models to build the capacity of FBCOs by enhancing their ability to provide social services and expanding their organizational capacity to serve low income individuals, children, and families. Since the program began in 2002, more than 5,000 grants totaling approximately $264 million have been awarded to FBCOs in all 50 States and two U.S. territories.
Under the CCF Targeted Capacity-Building Program, competitive grants of up to $50,000 are awarded directly to grassroots FBCOs engaged in service to distressed communities. The grants must be used to grow the service capabilities of the organization. From FY 2003 to 2007, nearly 1,000 competitive grants were awarded totaling over $49 million. A 2008 retrospective study of the CCF Targeted Capacity Building Program reports that:
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of responding FBCOs indicated that CCF support enabled them to serve more clients, and 86% of these were able to sustain the expansion after CCF funding ended.
More than half of the respondents used the funds to start a new program, and 90% of these were able to sustain the expansion after CCF funding ended
Virtually all FBCOs reported improvements in areas critical to long-term effectiveness like financial management systems, outcome tracking, and long-term planning.
The CCF Demonstration Program utilizes intermediary organizations which provide competitive funding and training to grassroots FBCOs with a focus on at least one area of need, such as at-risk youth or prisoner reentry. The intermediary organization helps oversee accounting, data reporting, and other burdens that could be overwhelming to first-time grantees. As a result, this “intermediary model” allows the program to reach the smallest front-line organizations. From FY 2002 to FY 2007, 112 awards, totaling $154.8 million, have been made to intermediary organization grantees. These organizations have, in turn, competitively awarded more than 4,100 sub-awards to grassroots FBCOs in 47 States and the District of Columbia. A 2007 evaluation revealed:
88% of FBCOs receiving sub-awards and training reported improved outcomes for the people they serve.
90% reported an increased level or improved quality in the services they deliver individuals in need.
The CCF Communities Empowering Youth (CEY) program was created in FY 2006 to strengthen existing coalitions that are working to combat gang activity, youth violence, and child abuse and neglect in their communities. CEY grants are made to “lead organizations,” which provide both financial support and capacity-building training to their coalition of FBCO partners, building effective and sustainable community networks of service focused on the needs of youth. In FY 2006 and 2008, a total of $97 million was awarded via competitive grants to more than 131 projects.
Other Initiatives
Beyond the CCF, a range of Federal agencies operate capacity-building grants programs. For example, through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ):
“HOPE I” has provided mini-grants of $5,000 - $10,000 each to 506 grassroots FBCOs that had never received Federal assistance, expanding their capacity to improve outreach and services to crime victims and helping them sustain that capacity once Federal funding ends.
"HOPE II" has provided grants of $50,000 per grantee to another 57 grassroots FBCOs to expand their capacity to help victims of crime.
The Rural Domestic Violence Pilot Program has partnered with over 50 FBCOs to create or expand domestic violence services in underserved rural counties and to grow the capacity of FBCOs that provide services to rural victims of domestic violence. A recent study of one sub-set of this program reported that FBCOs experienced a:
The vision for identifying new grassroots partners and enhancing their effectiveness is at work internationally as well.
The $200 Million New Partners Initiative (NPI) under PEPFAR builds the technical and organizational capacity of local nonprofit partners, enabling them to deliver expanded HIV/AIDS services while also building skills critical to long-term effectiveness. This initiative also helps organizations that had previously partnered with government programs only as sub-grantees grow to become valued direct grantee partners. Most NPI partners, in turn, work with networks of even smaller nonprofits to deliver services and grow capacity.
The $30 million Malaria Community Program (MCP) under the President’s Malaria Initiative expands the reach and effectiveness of local faith-based and other community groups as new partners in U.S. government anti-malaria projects. This model funds large nonprofits to build and strengthen networks of grassroots groups, extending the coverage of malaria prevention and control efforts, and to grow local ownership of anti-malaria efforts.
In addition to grants for capacity-building, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and Federal agencies have provided in-person training to over 100,000 social entrepreneurs. The training offers instruction in a range of skills and topics, including: competing for Federal grants, fund raising from private sources, board development, non-financial partnerships with government, recruiting volunteers, and performing outcome-based evaluations. To date:
35 White House Conferences on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives have trained more than 30,000 nonprofit leaders from every State in the U.S. Additionally, two such training conferences have been held in Africa.
More than 290 Art and Science of Grant Writing training workshops provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives have trained over 40,000 individuals from FBCOs across the country since 2004. These 2-day workshops equip FBCOs to compete for public and private grants, and to build skills key to organizational effectiveness.
More than 261 workshops in 46 States have been provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for FBCOs addressing drug and alcohol addiction and related issues.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has trained approximately 9,000 individuals from education-related FBCOs through 89 intensive workshops in 34 States.
