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Q: How can local faith-based and community organizations participate in VA programs?
A: Volunteer and partnering opportunities are available throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs for faith-based and other community organizations -- at VA medical facilities and cemeteries, with VA’s homeless veterans program, chaplain service, and in social work, research and home-based care -- to name just a few. For more information on on these opportunities, contact your local Voluntary Service coordinator by visiting the Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service Web Site or by contacting the VA facility nearest you (which you can find by clicking here) and asking for “Voluntary Service.”
For information on VA’s homeless veterans program and to locate the homeless program coordinator in your area, click here.
Q: Besides the VA web site, where can I find information on what other federal agencies are doing?
A: You can find links to the participating agencies and all federal grants offered through them, as well as other federal resources and the latest news on the initiative at the following Web sites:
Q: How do I find partnerships?
A: Different communities have different needs. That's why we encourage you to talk to Veterans Service Organizations, the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Services (VETS), Veterans County Service Offices, parents, teachers, school administrators and community leaders to see where you can be of service.
Q: Do we need a 501C(3) in order to apply for a grant?
A: To apply for grants under VA’s Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program an organization is required to be a non-profit, state, local government agency, or Indian Tribal Government. Non-profit organizations must be recognized as either a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) by the U.S. Internal Review Service.
Q: What is the Compassion Capital Fund?
A: The Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) has been established to fund larger intermediary organizations across the country in their efforts to assist emerging faith-based and community groups expand their organizational capacities. The CCF awarded funds to approximately 10 new collaborations and 50 smaller organizations for this purpose in federal fiscal year 2004. Some of these "intermediaries" sub-grant money to smaller participating groups. More information on the CCF is available from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Q: Is there one place where I can find information on all federal grants?
A: Review the White House grants catalog for funding opportunities of particular interest to faith-based community organizations. Information can also be found at www.grants.gov and www.fedbizopps.gov. Also, you can find all federal grants in the General Services Administration's Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance. Faith-based and community groups are welcome to apply for any federal grants if they meet the prescribed guidelines.
Q: If there are few new sources of funds, how is a faith-based or community group supposed to get in the game?
A: The thrust of the program is to "level the playing field" so that all nonprofit groups, including faith-based groups, are treated equitably and fairly. It is important to understand that faith-based and community groups are "competing" for federal or local grants and must have the know-how and the capacity to deliver the services or product for which the funding is intended.
Q: Is there a separate source of funds for faith-based and community initiatives?
A: There is no separate pot of money for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The key to the initiative is to provide information and guidance that will allow access for faith-based and community groups to apply for federal grants or grants.
Q: As a faith-based organization, will I be asked to sacrifice my religious character?
A: No. Your religious character may be a central part of your organization and the driving force behind your community service activities. Various regulations, including one that applies to VA's per diem and homeless providers grants, protect the religious independence of faith-based organizations that receive federal funds. For example, you do not need to remove religious symbols from the area in which federally funded activities are being conducted. However, direct federal funds cannot be used for inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction or proselytizing. Also, you may not require a person to take part in religious activities in order to participate in your federally funded program. For more information, please visit the White House Faith-Based Community Initiatives Web page at http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/guidance/index.html
Q: If our faith-based organization receives Federal funding, will it have to discontinue its religious practice of considering the religious practice of considering the religious of applicants when hiring employees?
A: In most circumstances, no. There is no general Federal law that prohibits faith-based organizations that receive Federal funds from hiring on a religious basis. Neither does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies regardless of whether an organization receives Federal funds, prohibit faith-based organizations from hiring on a religious basis. This Act protects Americans from employment discrimination based on race, color, religious, sex, national origin, age, and disability. But the Civil Rights Act also explicitly recognizes the fundamental right of faith-based organizations to hire employees who share their religious beliefs. The United States Supreme Court unanimously upheld this special protection for faith-based groups in 1987, and it has been the law since then. Thus, a Jewish organization can decide to hire only Catholics, and so on, without running into problems with the Civil Rights Act.
This special provision for faith-based groups protects the religious liberty of communities of faith. It permits faith-based groups to promote common values, a sense of community and unity of purpose, and shared experiences through service – all of which contribute to a religious organization’s effectiveness. In order for a religious organization to define or carry out its mission, it may consider it important that it be able to take religion into account in hiring staff. Just as a college or university can take the academic credentials of an applicant for a professorship into consideration in order to maintain high standards, or an environmental organization can consider the views of potential employees on conservation, so too should a faith-based organization be able to take into account an applicant’s religious belief when making a hiring decision.
In general, a faith-based organization retains this exemption under the law even if it receives Federal, State, or local financial assistance. However, some Federal laws and regulations (including statutes authorizing most DOJ grants), as well as State and local laws, may prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion in hiring. So which law prevails for a faith-based organization? If your organization is a faith-based organization that makes hiring decisions on the basis of religious belief, it may be entitled, under the Religious Freedom Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb. To receive federal funds and yet maintain that hiring practice, even if the law creating the funding program contains a general ban on religious discrimination in employment. For the circumstances under which this may occur, and the certifications that may be required by the Department of Justice, please see the “Effect of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Faith-Based Applicants for Grants.” Organizations with further questions about this issue may wish to consult a lawyer to find out about the specific requirements that apply to your organization and any rights you may have under the Constitution, RFA, or other applicable law. One final point: while a faith-based organization may be entitled to consider the religious of a job applicant, no federal grantee may discriminate among whom it serves on the basis of religious. All grantees must serve otherwise qualified persons in need of the funded social service, regardless of the beneficiaries’ religious and regardless whether or not the beneficiaries participate in any religious activity.
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