The Department's Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships is one of the 12 federal agency offices/centers under President Obama’s Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The role of the center is to maximize the appropriate participation of faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) in Departmental programs.

The mission of the center is to build resilient communities among faith-based and community organizations. In collaboration with federal, state and local partners, the Center supports the Department's strategy of sustainable risk management by building capacity and resiliency among faith-based and community organizations.

The center's strategic activities include:

• Develop policy and protocols for the engagement of faith-based and community organizations in Departmental initiatives;
• Develop and coordinate Departmental outreach efforts to disseminate information more effectively to faith-based and community organizations with respect to programs, contracting opportunities, and other agency initiatives;
• Provide opportunities for unaffiliated faith-based and community organizations to formally engage in emergency preparedness, response and recovery activities by building strategic relationships with voluntary organizations active in disasters and with state and local emergency management professionals;
• Co-sponsor joint training efforts with the Department and other local, state and federal government entities to build the capacity of faith-based and community organizations to engage in Department-related efforts.

Center Director: David L. Myers

David L. Myers is the Director of the Center for Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships.

White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

The White House Office for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will be a resource for nonprofits and community organizations, both secular and faith based, looking for ways to make a bigger impact in their communities, learn their obligations under the law, cut through red tape, and make the most of what the federal government has to offer.

The Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will focus on four key priorities, to be carried out by working closely with the President’s cabinet secretaries and each of the 11 agency offices for faith-based and neighborhood partnerships:

• The office’s top priority will be making community groups an integral part of our economic recovery and poverty a burden fewer have to bear when recovery is complete.
• It will be one voice among several in the administration that will look at how we support women and children, address teenage pregnancy, and reduce the need for abortion.
• The office will strive to support fathers who stand by their families, which involves working to get young men off the streets and into well-paying jobs, and encouraging responsible fatherhood.
• Finally beyond American shores this office will work with the National Security Council to foster interfaith dialogue with leaders and scholars around the world.

On February 5, 2009, President Obama signed Amended Executive Order 13199, establishing the White House Office and President's Advisory Council of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He said, “There has been much talk about what our government’s role should be during this period of economic emergency. That is as it should be – because there is much that government can and must do to help people in need," said President Obama. "But no matter how much money we invest or how sensibly we design our policies, the change that Americans are looking for will not come from government alone. There is a force for good greater than government. It is an expression of faith, this yearning to give back, this hungering for a purpose larger than our own, that reveals itself not simply in places of worship, but in senior centers and shelters, schools and hospitals, and any place an American decides."

Sign up for Information Updates

Please send an e-mail to Infofbci@dhs.gov, specifying "Sign Up" in the Subject line and provide in the e-mail text your name, your title, the name of your organization, your e-mail address, and street address and phone number.

Donate to Disaster Victims

Donate to Disaster Victims through Aidmatrix Network. FEMA, the Aidmatrix Foundation and the private sector have partnered to launch a virtual portal to allow individuals, corporations or faith-based and community organizations to offer their support on-line to leading disaster relief organizations. This portal is designed to make it as easy to offer financial support, product donations, or to donate your skills and time to nonprofit organizations active in disaster relief.