Offices of Faith-Based and Communities Initiatives
To build bridges between government agencies and private service organizations—whether faith-based, secular, grassroots, or experienced—the federal government, many states, and many cities have created special liaison offices or appointed liaison officials. These offices and officials typically:
• work outward: providing (or guiding groups to) information, training, and technical assistance, and offering clear information about the freedoms and restrictions that accompany government funding;
• work as bridges: helping outside groups connect with the appropriate government agency and official and assisting in untangling confusing or contradictory requirements;
• work inward: encouraging agencies to expand their collaboration with community groups, helping agencies to identify and remove obstacles that impede partnerships, ensuring that officials know the revised church-state standards of the faith-based initiative.
Much has been done to clarify and improve the standards that apply when faith-based groups seek government funding. Reforms have been undertaken to streamline overly complicated rules, requirements, and reporting forms. Some agencies have simplified their grant documents and processes; some have cut down the size of some of their grants and contracts so that smaller organizations have an opportunity to compete.
But more reforms need to be made, and good policies don’t always get translated into good practices. If your organization has run into roadblocks when seeking government support, then instead of just backing away, move forward: contact a liaison office or official to see what can be done.
Of course, if the problem is with your organization (e.g., it doesn’t have adequate financial controls in place, doesn’t have the capacity to serve so many people, or wants to offer a service not quite the same as what government seeks), then don’t expect that even the most sympathetic official will find a way to get you funds.
But it could be that the problem lies with an agency that hasn’t updated its rules or processes, or with an official who is resisting changes. The liaison office or official may be able to help you clear up or get around the problem. And even if they can’t solve your problem, if you tell them what has happened they may be able to help launch changes that will clear up the problem for future applicants.
How can problems be fixed if groups just turn away in frustration when they run into unjustifiable barriers? Don’t do that! Instead, contact the federal, state, or local liaison and let them help you.
Remember that, although many of the reforms and much of the attention has been at the federal level, most federal money is sent to state or local agencies before it is awarded to nonprofit groups. So if you seek information about some program or run into a difficulty when you apply for some grant or contract, don’t assume that the best thing to do is to call the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The best place to start is with the liaison office or official most closely connected with the program or grant or contract of interest to you.
If you inquired about funding at City Hall or the county and ran into roadblocks, see if there is a liaison office or official who works locally. If not, try your state’s office of faith-based and community initiatives. If the problem is with a state-operated program (whether the money comes from the state or the federal government), contact the state faith-based office. If the grant or contract is run out of a federal agency, then contact the appropriate federal Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
To aid you in your quest, here are links to the main liaison offices:
