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THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC FUNDING ON FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS:A CASE STUDY OF INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY OF SPOKANE
October 26, 2009
PREPARED BY:
Samuel G. MahaffyGRE Consulting Associates
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THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC FUNDING ON FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS:A CASE STUDY OF INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY OF SPOKANE
Communities of faith sometimes divide deeply on the issue of accepting public
funding. In the public forum, the debate centers on whether the government should be
involved at all in the funding of faith-based organizations. The issue is framed largely in
terms of separation of church and state. Within faith communities, the conversation
often focuses on whether I can be faithful to my call (Susan Smith in The
Washington Post, 2009) while accepting public funding. The Center for Public Justice
(www.cpjustice.org) under the leadership of Dr. Stanley Carlson-Thies has delved
deeply into the issues of how well the government, in providing funding to faith
organizations, .respects the religious character and independence of such
organizations (www.cpjustice.org/node/1606). Within the Reformed world-and-life view,
the Center for Public Justice articulates systematically and clearly the Kuyperian
perspective of principled pluralismthat governments must honor the multiple
confessions held by the citizens and embodied in the institutions they create, neither
imposing secularism on all nor selecting one of the religious confessions as the
standard requirement of everyone (www.cpjustice.org/node/1606).
We respect the confessional dimension of the conversation about public funding
of faith initiatives. It is right that those who firmly believe in a faith mandate to serve
those most in need and to live a life of compassion and justice, would wrestle with
understanding the interplay of the diverse organizations of civil society seeking to
deliver education, social services, and health care in a way that overcomes injustices
and promotes the common good.
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The contribution of this paper is not to step into that rightful wrestling. Instead,
we look at the reflexive fear of many of the faith-based organizations we work with, that
accepting public funding in the form of federal, state, and city grants will compromise
their faith-based mission. As an organization that has successfully obtained significant
public funding for diverse faith-based organizations, we pause with these organizations
to consider the impact of that funding on their mission. We look at the issue
experientially, rather than theoretically. We seek to uncover lessons that provide insight
for faith-based organizations considering public funding as a strategy to enhance
revenues.
We do so, by first reviewing very briefly the historical context of public funding for
faith initiatives. We then take a case study approach to the impact of such funding by
looking at Interfaith Hospitality of Spokane (IH) (www.ihnspokane.org). This
organization once relied exclusively on private donations and today receives
approximately 22% of its gross revenues from public funding. IH is affiliated with
National Interfaith Hospitality Network, now named Family Promise
(www.familypromise.org). Family Promise is a national network of 114 affiliates in 37
states that uses the services of more than 4,000 congregations and 100,000 volunteers
to link church congregants with homeless families. The local Interfaith Hospitality
Networks (IHNs) provide homeless families with children, emergency and transitional
shelter, meals, counselling, and additional support services to help them regain their
independence. (www.ihnspokane.org/familypromisehistory.htm).
The Faith-based Initiative is most often associated with the administration of
President George W. Bush. In reality, large religious social service agencies such as
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Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity, have received federal
funding for decades (Six Myths About Faith-Based Initiatives, by Mark Chaves, The
Christian Century, Sept. 12-19, 2001, pp. 20-23). The faith-based initiative was clearly
not the beginning of public (government) support for religious organizations that serve
those in need. Rather, that initiative publicized, codified and gave definition to a
relationship that had previously existed. The establishment of the White House Office
of Community and Faith-based Initiatives (Executive Order Dec. 12, 2002Equal
Protection of the Laws for Faith-Based and Community Organizations), follows and
responds to a series of legal decisions that set the context for that Initiative. These
legal developments are well documented by the Roundtable on Religion and Social
Welfare Policyof the Rockefeller Institute of Government, State University of New York.
(www.religionandsocialpolicy.org). The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Zelman v.
Simmons-Harrisupheld the use of government vouchers to pay for private schooling. In
McCallum II, the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed public funding of
faith-based social services. From 2000 to 2008, we see an evolving articulation of the
permissible and impermissible uses of government funding by faith-based recipients of
federal grants (The State of the Law 2008: A Cumulative Report on Legal
Developments Affecting Government Partnerships with Faith-Based organizations)
(www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/resourcews/vouchers.cfm ). That evolving articulation
of the issues continues today, with Joshua DuBois, the newly appointed Director of
President Obamas Faith-Based Initiative Office weighing in on the issues of hiring
discrimination by faith-based organizations receiving federal funding
(http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/susan_Smith ). The shaping of
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the relationship between public funding sources and faith-based organizations is still
evolving.
Interfaith Hospitality of Spokane (IH) has operated since its inception, outside of
the arena of government funding. It is self-described as an organization of four
employees and four hundred volunteers. Since 1997, a network of thirty churches in
the greater Spokane Washington area, have provided services to homeless families. A
Day Center is located on the campus of one of these churches. Host churches open
their doors on a rotating basis to provide temporary shelter and meals for homeless
families who have children age birth to eighteen. Sponsor churches support the host
churches with volunteers and financial resources. While other programs in the region
serve either men or women and children, IH fills a unique niche, serving parents of both
genders and their partners and children, allowing family units to stay together during the
crisis of homelessness. The program stands out in its success in developing long-term
relationships with homeless families, building strong supporting relationships among
church congregants and homeless families, and providing comprehensive case
management services. These services extend from emergency shelter to transitional
housing, and finally to sustainable affordable housing.
Funding for IH operations has historically come almost completely from direct
donor contributions and a limited number of annual fundraising events. An active Board
and a network of coordinators in local churches spearheaded campaigns to meet the
cash requirements for operations. Additionally, a very substantial donation of non-cash
in-kind services in the form of volunteer hours and facility use, meant that IH operated
much more cost effectively than other service providers in the region serving the
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homeless population and providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, meals, and
case management services. The donation of in-kind goods and services was largely
undocumented and not reflected in the financials of the organization.
The evolution of a new paradigm for funding IH operations can be linked to
visioning process at a Board retreat in the fall of 2006. This visioning process was
facilitated by Samuel Mahaffy of GRE Consulting Associates (www.greconsulting.org).
Associates of GRE Consulting first volunteered helping homeless families with meals in
a local church and later entered into a contractual relationship with IH to support
organizational development. The Board of IH invited GRE Consulting to facilitate the
visioning process at a time of transition in leadership on the Board. Using the
Appreciative Inquiry model (www.appreciativeinquiry.case.edu) key stakeholders of IH--
including staff, incoming and outgoing board members, and a client-- supported by IH
during the time she was homeless with her childrenrevisited the mission of IH, and
explored a new direction. In keeping with the spirit and methodology of Appreciative
Inquiry as a tool for organizational development, this process sought to bring forward
the strengths of the organization, the motivation of those who contribute so much to it in
terms of time, effort, and financial resources, and envision a desired future.
From this day-long visioning process, emerged a subtle shift in the way that the
organization looked at its mission. The focus shifted in an almost imperceptible way.
Instead of seeing itself as an organization that exists to minister to the homeless there
emerged a sense of the organization as one that exists to share the blessing we have
experienced in working with homeless families to regain their independence. That shift
was two-fold: First, it focused more on assets and less on deficits. Secondly, it
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emphasized more complex relationships. Instead of focusing only on the relationship
between the homeless and those who provide services to the homeless, the emphasis
shifts toward relationships among an array of community partners, including the network
of IH churches, other service providers (both faith-based and secular) and both
individuals and organizations in the community impacted by homelessness. In this shift,
the conversation at IH began to focus less on the rightness and need to help those
most in need, and more on the sense of blessing and growth that IH stakeholders
experienced in their ministry.
That almost imperceptible shift in focus emerging from the visioning process was
to have profound impact on the way IH did business. On the Board, this meant a shift
away from a perception that too much was being asked of Board members and staff
with too little support. Under the leadership of the very capable and service-motivated
incoming President of the Board, there was a renewed sense of commitment and
purpose. The period from the fall of 2006 to the present, saw the IH Board evolve into
an exceptionally strong and functional Board. We analyze in a separate publication
what makes for a strong and effective non-profit Board and how the IH Board reflects
these characteristics (www.greconsulting.info). Suffice it to say here, that the
emergence of a new funding paradigm would not have happened without the renewed
energy and commitment of the Board of IH.
This new funding paradigm grew organically from the IH sense of itself as a more
collaborative organization, that was intent on sharing with others the blessing that they
experienced in ministry. The shift came at a time that the organization was at a low
point. The facility that was its home was dilapidated and needing attention. A crisis in
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management required the Board to step in and both make a change in staff leadership
and also implement new management and financial controls.
As part of this process, the organization looked toward expanding its
partnerships with both service providers and funders. Clearly, the organization needed
to look outside of its historic giving base of faithful individuals, if it was to move to a
new level. Without a more diversified source of revenues, the organization was not
likely to have a sustainable future. Many of the supporting churches of IH are
mainstream Protestant denominations, which have themselves seen membership
declines and reductions in giving. The financial supporting base of IH was experiencing
its own stressors.
In 2006, IH first applied for federal funding under the guidance of GRE
Consulting Associates. An application was initiated to the City of Spokane, through its
Human Services Department. The City publishes annually an RFP to solicit proposals
from social service agencies serving the City of Spokane to address priorities set by the
City Council (www.spokanehumanservices.org) for the use of federal funding. The
partnership planning articulated under the Spokane Regional Ten Year Plan to End
Homelessness (Ten-year Plan) shaped the identified priorities
(http://www.spokanehumanservices.org/10%20Year%20Plan%20documents/10%20Ye
ar%20Plan%20with%20signatures.pdf . The Ten-year Plancalled for broad community
partnerships.
The work of faith-based organizations such as IH to address homelessness is
specifically acknowledged in the Ten Year Plan. It includes in its twelve-point
Resolution the intent to affirm the work of faith and community based agencies for the
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work they have done on the frontlines for decades and partner with them to fashion
innovative responses that are results-oriented (Ten Year Plan, p. 4).
In that Resolution, are the seeds of understanding of the role of federal funding in
the life of faith-based ministries such as IH. The language of this Resolution contains
three important components to our present analysis. 1. The plan acknowledges the
historical commitment of faith organizations to compassionate care for the homeless. 2.
It looks toward faith-based organizations to fashion innovative responses. 3. It
highlights that these responses need to be results-oriented. In our Case Studyof IH,
we will see these three components mirrored in our evaluation of the impact of public
funding on the faith-based ministry of IH.
To evaluate the impact of public funding on the faith-based mission of IH, we
utilize the Case Study approach (www.managementhelp.org/evalutn/casestdy.htm).
This approach which has both benefits and limitations, provides a holistic portrayal of
the experiences of one faith-based non-profit with federal funding. Our Case Studyof
IH, builds on open-ended interviews with three stakeholders of IHthe President of the
Board, the Executive Director of the organization, and a host church Volunteer
Coordinator who has been actively supporting the ministry. All three stakeholders work
closely and directly with those who IH serves--homeless families with young children.
Each has been involved with IH since before the first public funding was received from
the grant application submitted to the City of Spokane in 2006 to the present.
We select these interviewees, both because they are active stakeholders with
unique positional perspectives, and they have the history with the organization to have
experienced shifts that occurred as IH moves into a new funding paradigm. Further
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information for this Case Study is gathered from an evaluation of the financial
statements of the organization, Quarterly Reports submitted on funded grant
applications, and conversations with IH Board members and supporters, and the
observations and evaluation of GRE Consulting Associates working with IH.
The decision of IH to apply for public funding did not involve great agonizing.
There was first a compelling sense that the organization needed to diversify its sources
of revenue, which relied almost exclusively on direct donations from local churches and
congregants. An incoming Board member (the Vice President of a local bank)
confirmed this sense, as did other professionals on the Board with business experience.
The organization already had collaborative relationships with many of the social service
agencies in the community serving the homeless population. This included both
secular agencies such as Spokane Mental Health and faith-based organizations such
as the Union Gospel Mission. While the secular agencies relied substantially on public
funding, the faith-based organizations relied substantially on individual donors in the
community.
The first grant application of IH for public funding through the City of Spokane
made the case for the successful experience of the organization in serving homeless
families. It emphasized the cost-effectiveness of using many volunteers and relying on
churches for donated facilities. Social service agencies were in some cases paying to
house homeless individuals in low-cost hotels and referring these individuals for publicly
supported social services including transportation vouchers, food stamps, and
counselling. The Interfaith model relied on churches to provide donated shelter, on
church families to prepare meals for the homeless families, and donations from
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individuals to fund the case management services provided by a small paid staff. That
first grant application was successful. It was the beginning of a stream of new revenues
from more than one public funding source. IH today operates with 22% of its budget
coming from public sources in the form of successful grant applications. At the same
time, the individual donor base of IH has grown as well. Under the new development
paradigm, the organization seeks community donations to fund the match requirement
of public funds. In some cases, grant applications for federal funds are strengthened by
the ability of the organization to raise much more than the minimum required match
through special appeals to its donor base.
While the number of homeless families that IH can serve because of this new
funding has grown, the Board of IH has made an intentional decision in consultation
with GRE Consulting Associates to set a goal that public and private funding will be
blended in the financial planning model. The goal is that public (grant) funding will
constitute no more than 25-33% of total revenues, and that the donation base from
individual and institutional donors will grow at the same time. IH has no interest in
abandoning its historic and faithful donor base as the primary source of funding for its
programs. It has no interest in simply substituting public funding for private funding.
Rather, the goal is to establish a diversified revenue stream that will support long-term
financial stability, and at the same time deepen community partnerships.
Has this goal been achieved? What are the anticipated and unanticipated
impacts of federal funding? How has the new paradigm influenced the culture of the
organization and its service-delivery model in either obvious or subtle ways? The
interviews with the Board President of IH (President), the Executive Director (ED) and
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the host church volunteer coordinator (Vol.) tell the story in the voices of the
organization. From these three open-ended interviews, several themes emerge.
1. Public funding has allowed IH to expand dramatically the number of clients
it serves. With the acquisition of public funding, IH moved forward between 2006 and
2009 from serving 22 families a year with extended comprehensive services, toward
reaching its goal of serving 50 families. Additionally, new public funding has meant a
better Day Center facility and the addition of transitional housing units to serve
homeless families. Staffing has increased, not to manage the increase in funding, but
to provide the extended case management services required to serve more families.
2. There is a shared perception between the President and the ED that this
funding is contributing significantly to the sustainability of the program. It has kept
us solid. IH achieved the goal of a more diversified revenue stream. Additionally, there
is very much the sense that it has reduced the stress in the organization about finances,
and as a result has allowed more focus to be on relationships with homeless families
and community constituencies. Board members and staff share this sense of
celebration that there is a more solid financial footing. In stating that the City funding
has been a blessing to our program, there is a component of that blessing that comes
from worrying less about financial resources.
3. Especially from the ED, comes the belief that public funding has increased
the knowledge and skills of the organization. Because we have been able to
expand our program, we have increased our network (of collaborating organizations),
and as a result we have increased our knowledge and skills. That has led to an
increase in our effectiveness. The President speaks to the new rigor that has come to
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the organization because of public funding. While the Board has been engaged in
planning and goal setting, the grant applications for IH require the use of a logic model
and the setting of specific and measurable outcomes. Quarterly reports require
attentiveness to evaluation of effectiveness in reaching desired outcomes. A new
modality of program review and evaluation comes hand-in-hand with the new paradigm
of blending public and private funding to achieve the mission of the organization.
4. There is a shared perception that this new rigor in effectiveness evaluation
has led to a validation of the organization and its mission in the perceptions of the
public arena. The President states: There is a validation of IH in the public
perceptions by our being approved for this funding. In this past (funding) year, we were
selected for grant funding renewal, while many good programs did not receive funding.
I reference this when I speak publicly. I let folks know that their contributions can go
100% to meeting the needs of homeless families, because funding for administrative
and other operational expenses is carried by grant funding.
5. The development model at IH is to leverage approval for public funding
along with its match requirement as a strategy for increasing individual
donations. IH now sends out a direct appeal letter to its donor base with the approval
of each significant grant application that has a required match component. Response
from donors to this approach has been positive. The concern that public funding might
precipitate a drop in individual donations has not materialized. The feedback we receive
is that donors like and understand the concept that their contribution is leveraged,
because it meets the requirement to obtain public funding.
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6. As a result of the approach of blending public and private funding, IH has
increased its accountability. At its last Board meeting, the Board approved changes
to the Accounting Manual that grow out of recommendations from the CPA who
prepares the annual audit report. Quarterly reports require the organization to account
both for expenditure of public funds in accordance with grant funding priorities and
approved budgets, and also accountability for raising the required match requirement.
The IH stakeholders we interviewed see this as a good thing, rather than as a
burden. It has required us to be sharperto be more accountable. While IH has
always been frugalwith funds donated to its program, it is now more strategic.
7. Public funding came to IH because of its willingness to collaborate with other
service providers, both secular and faith-based. At the same time, this funding has
enhanced collaboration. Informal collaboration has in many cases been articulated
into a Memorandums of Understanding or Memorandum of Agreement that defines
mutual expectations. These more formalized relationships define specific ways in which
service providers will support each others mission and avoid duplication of effort. Well-
defined collaborative relationships contribute both to strengthening the ability of IH to
obtain public funding, and also its ability to achieve desired program outcomes.
Our interviews with stakeholders of IH began with open-ended questions
designed to encourage interviewees to speak freely about the impact of public funding
on the faith-based mission of the organizationwithout a bias toward an expected
response. It is only after these responses, which were very substantially positive, that
we check this information by asking if there has been any downside to public funding.
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We then go further to ask very specifically if public funding has in any way
compromised the faith-based mission of the organization.
The response to this question is almost one of surprise. There is some legend in
non-profit circles, that the government has some control agenda in providing funding
to faith-based organizations, and may be seeking to co-opt their faith-based mission. In
response to our question about compromise of faith-based mission, there is a
consensus response that stakeholders have felt no need to compromise their witness in
their ministry. One interviewee recounted speaking to a Moslem woman who was
homeless with her family, about the picture of Jesus in the room where they were
meeting. She described that conversation as respectful and helpful. The Moslem
woman expressed her surprise that she had found Christian people to be so generous.
The staff person recounted how her faith motivates the work that she does.
Beyond these themes, there are some intriguing findings in our case studies in
responses to the interview questions. The staff of the faith-based IH found faith
connections and motivations with their counterparts working in secular agencies. They
recall being supported and providing support for the work they do. They speak of a
shared calling with those who work in public agencies. There is further mention that
the partnership has increased their awareness of the struggles faced by public agencies
providing social services to high-need communities. Additionally, one interviewee,
expressed that he felt differently about how his tax dollars were being spent for the
public good, when he was in in the trenches with those serving families in desperate
need.
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SUMMARY
Our case study of Interfaith Hospitality provides evidence of substantial benefit
that this organization has received from participating in public funding and reshaping its
financial model to balance public and private sources of funding. The Visioning Process
is significant in both shaping this outcome and causing it to come about. The move into
a broader collaboration and a new focus on sharing the blessing of ministry was
intentional.
Private funding was enhanced, rather than being supplanted, by public funding.
The organization does not see a downside to the process of public funding. They do
see significant ways in which it has affected the culture of the organization, even over
the relatively short span of three years. Because of the blending of public and private
funding, the organization is under less stress in fulfilling its mission, it is more
collaborative, and it is more rigorous and accountable in setting program goals and
outcomes and measuring progress toward those desired outcomes. The organization
has retained the services of GRE Consulting Associates to assist in program evaluation
and monitoring compliance with federal and local requirements for funding. With this
outside support, the organization does not find the reporting or monitoring requirements
of public funding burdensome. The ED of IH has now assumed responsibility for
Quarterly Reports, and is the primary contact with the funding agency. Clearly, the
organization has now built its capacity to manage public funding effectively, as it has
done with private funding for many years.
IH sees their organization validated in public perception as a service provider
because they are not going it alone. The narrative that individual donations can now
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be used to directly and entirely support homeless families, has helped to increase
private donor support. New partnerships and more formalized collaborations have
helped IH obtain public funding which judges the strength of a grant application in large
measure on the strength of collaborative relationships. It has also led to increased
knowledge and skills and increased effectiveness as the staff of IH rubs shoulders with
service providers in other agencies.
Faith-based non-profits can learn much from the experiences of Interfaith
Hospitality. Faith-based organizations that have historically relied only on private
donors, might well look to public funding to enhance their revenue streams and create a
more sustainable funding model. The best approach may well be a blending of public
and private revenue streams. The caution is that building dependency on public
funding, as a primary source of revenue is not a sound strategy. We have seen non-
profits thrown into crisis when public funding that they have relied on in the form of
grants, is not renewed. Organizations that depend on funding from a limited number of
foundations may be equally vulnerable. However, it might also be argued that relying
exclusively on individual donors and churches may be a risky strategy as well,
particularly in economically uncertain times.
The IH Board shows wisdom in its blended funding approach. The Board now
tracks public and private revenues as a percentage of gross revenues and sets goals to
achieve a balance between the two. It is healthy to monitor to ensure that private
donations are increasing while public funding sources are also being integrated into
revenue streams.
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Faith-based organizations must show due diligence in studying carefully the
expectations associated with public funding. While fears that the government may have
a hidden agenda to secularize faith-based ministries may be unfounded, it is important
to understand the language of federal Assurancesand Certificationsassociated with the
receipt of federal funding. You can find these on the internet atwww.grants.gov.
It has been pointed out that faith-based organizations provide services to those
most in need because it is the right and just thing to do. Faith-based organizations with
integrity know that feeding the hungry is not a cause for compelling adherence to a
particular belief system or doctrine. Interviews with IH stakeholders articulate clearly
their perspective that their witness to the love of Christ is more evident in actions than
in words. From the visioning process of IH, we take the important learning that when
we serve humbly those most in need, we can expect our own hearts and lives to be
changed.
The Volunteer Coordinator for IH expresses this well. I have been changed by
working with homeless families. I am less judgemental and slower to jump to
conclusions that families end up homeless through some fault or character defect. As a
result of this work, I am a better listener, and able to be more compassionate. It is a
resonant theme that IH stakeholders are blessed in the living of their mission. It is also
their experience that sharing the message of that blessing is an effective development
strategy. The shift in emphasis from the burdenof serving the homeless to the blessing
of that service has enriched and brought new life to the organization.
The paradigm of bringing together public and private funding may be a way of
blessing an entire community. Public funding is not a quick fix for faith-based
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organizations facing diminished revenues from individual donations. The experience of
IH reflects the importance of a visioning process as a pre-step toward any significant
shift in a funding model. It is an opportunity for an organization to revisit and renew its
purpose, and to remember why it is busy with the work it does in the community. It is a
time to re-evaluate relationships both within and outside the organization and find ways
to perhaps be more collaborative and more effective. In times of extraordinary need,
and in serving families and communities in crisis, it is helpful to bring together all the
available wisdom and resources from both the public and private sector.
Both sectors include people of faith. We have the opportunity to support each
other and build each other up in ministry. The experience of IH suggests that faith-
based organizations that choose to collaborate with public entities, can expect to both
become greater agents-of-change and be themselves changed by their engagement
with a more diverse funding and service-providing partnership.
In summary, we return to the 7th of the 12 Resolutions of the Regional Ten-Year
Plan to End Homelessness. That resolution calls the sponsors (mayors of cities and
civic leaders) to affirm the work of faith and community based agencies for the work
they have done on the frontlines for decades and partner with them to fashion
innovative responses that are results-oriented. Faith-based organizations like IH have
indeed been on the frontlines for decades. It is our finding that faith-based
organizations have and are fashioning innovative responses for communities in needs.
Aggregate data for the State of Washington shows that Interfaith Hospitality provides
shelter, food, and comprehensive case management services to an entire homeless
family, for less than the average cost of a public social service agency providing just a
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single bed for a single homeless person. Interfaith Hospitality in serving the homeless,
keeps family units together. It engages homeless families in partnership relationships
with families of church congregants, rather than just providing quick-fix financial
resources. IH describes this as a hand up rather than a hand out. The passion,
compassion, and wisdom of the faith-based community in this effort are evident.
Finally, it is our finding that public funding requires faith-based organizations like
IH to move toward being more results oriented in the sense of using logic models,
setting goals and outcomes, and engaging in formative and summative evaluations.
Because of public funding, there is more rigor and accountability. This may well be an
opportunity for organizational growth and maturing, rather than a burden. Faith-based
organizations can be models of stewardship of both public and private funds. In
blending funding, we may be strategic as well as showing good stewardship.
The President of the Board of Interfaith Hospitality states in closing, that receipt
of public funding has enhanced our faith development. It has caused us to stretch; it
has challenged us to do more. In the venture of public/private partnership, faith
organizations are able to share their faith journey. These partnerships are changing
lives and changing communities.
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****************The author of this study is Samuel G. Mahaffy, Executive Director of GRE ConsultingAssociates. He has written numerous successful grant applications on behalf of faith-basedorganizations for federal and local public funding. These include U.S. Department of Educationfunding for a program to test in a private faith-based university with national standing, theimplementation of the social norms model to reduce high-risk drinking on college campuses.
GRE Consulting Associates serves as an advancement or development consultant to manyfaith-based and community organizations including K-12 schools, juvenile justice programs, andretreat centers. They have helped to develop innovative intergenerational models for assistedliving housing, care for the elderly and adults with special needs, integration of vulnerablemigrant communities into urban environments, education, and health care. Samuel Mahaffy hasreceived training provided by the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiativesand worked closely with this office since its inception. He has met directly with the head of thisoffice for the U.S. Department of Education. He has been federally approved as a qualifiedevaluator on a federal grant to assess the use of public funding by a private faith-baseduniversity. Additionally, he has met personally with Dr. Stanley Carlson-Thies, and interviewedleaders in the use of federal funding for faith-based initiatives. He has facilitated visioningprocesses for many non-profit faith-based Boards using the Appreciative Inquiry model. We
thank the stakeholders of Interfaith Hospitality for sharing their story and for their faithfulness inministry. The author can be reached by e-mail atsamuelmahaffy@gmail.comor on the web atwww.greconsulting.org.
mailto:samuelmahaffy@gmail.commailto:samuelmahaffy@gmail.commailto:samuelmahaffy@gmail.comhttp://www.greconsulting.org/http://www.greconsulting.org/http://www.greconsulting.org/mailto:samuelmahaffy@gmail.com