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Effective Relationship Main Page

Effective Relationships

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Faith-Based Organization Research

EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS TOPIC
Orientation to Faith-Based Social Services

Articles, Excerpts, Tips & More
Wrap-around services: Serving Holistically: Many FBOs find that a “wrap-around” service approach is critical in meeting the multiple needs of program participants. This article describes the characteristics of organizations that successfully adopt this approach.
View this Resource

Being “User Friendly:” The Benefits of a Multi-Faith Staff: Some FBOs find that a diverse staff attracts more program participants and can make service delivery more effective. This article highlights steps FBOs serving religiously diverse neighborhoods might take to ensure that their programs address community needs sensitively.
View this Resource

Belief Systems in Faith-based Human Service Programs: What makes FBOs different? FASTEN researchers from Baylor University tackle the question, based on their exploration of 15 faith-based service programs.
View this Resource

When the Service Delivery System is a Congregation: For social workers, public administrators, and others desiring to collaborate with churches in social service programs, it is important to know what makes congregations distinct from faith-based nonprofit organizations – and what the implications of those differences are.
View this Resource

Creating Communities of Support: The Work of Coalition-Building: Based on research of effective collaboration, here are six quick tips on building coalitions that last.
View this Resource

Research Brief Volunteer Roles in Faith-based Organizations: This helpful article identifies eight lessons learned about volunteer roles in faith-based organizations and offers insights about the implications of these lessons for program administrators.
View this Resource

Faith-Based Organizations as Safe Spaces: Creating a safe environment for program participants is crucial. Here are creative suggestions about how to do it.
View this Resource

Recommended Books
Saving America: Faith-Based Services and the Future of Civil Society: This book compiles and analyzes the most current studies on faith-based social service programs and addresses issues of voluntarism, care giving, and clients’ viewpoints.
View this Resource

Recommended Links
The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy: The Roundtable is run by the Rockefeller Institute and offers a nonpartisan assessment of the role of faith-based organizations in the social welfare system.
View this Resource

The Finance Project: The Finance Project provides a variety of educational resources of interest to practitioners and public administrators working to improve the lives of low income families and children. It also incorporates all the resources of the (formerly independent) Welfare Information Network.
View this Resource

 

Wrap-around services: Serving Holistically
The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy
Faith-Based Organizations as Safe Spaces
Belief Systems in Faith-based Human Service Programs
Being “User Friendly:” The Benefits of a Multi-Faith Staff
 

 

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What's Working: Program Snapshots to Educate and Inspire

 

WHAT'S WORKING

PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS TO EDUCATE AND INSPIRE

You’ve heard the saying, “A picture paints a thousand words.” Since our beginning in late 2003, FASTEN has collected dozens of “snapshots” (of sorts) of effective, multi-sector collaborations solving social problems in diverse communities throughout the nation.

In this new “What’s Working: Program Snapshots” feature on FASTEN, faith leaders considering launching new initiatives can “see” plausible models of ministry, gaining inspiration and creative ideas. As FASTEN learns of additional effective models, we will add them to our “photo album” for your perusal, so check back regularly to see what’s new.

Brief program profiles are listed alphabetically below by the type of social service offered. Please remember that this is in no way a comprehensive list of strong FBO programs! Rather, what you’ll find in the “What’s Working” department are brief sketches of programs that have come to FASTEN’s attention through our research, networking, and the Partners in Transformation competition. We welcome your submissions—if you know of a program achieving strong, demonstrable outcomes that other FBOs can learn from, please let us know by emailing us at support@FASTENnetwork.org.

 
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Charitable Choice: Top 10 Tips for Public Officials

 

      FBO - GOVERNMENT COLLABORATION RESOURCE

Charitable Choice: Top 10 Tips for Public Officials

(Written by Stanley W. Carlson-Thies (The Center for Public Justice, 1999). Used with permission. Obtain copies of the complete guide)

    • Inform Recipients. When a provider is faith-based, make sure recipients know about its religious character, their freedom not to engage in religious activities, and their right to receive services from an alternative provider.

    • Alternatives. Be prepared to offer an accessible, high quality alternative service to any recipient who objects to a faith-based provider. Make advance arrangements with a different provider in the same location, plan access and transportation to a nearby provider, or maintain a residual government capacity to provide services.

    • Religion is Not Toxic. Ensure the religious liberty of recipients without presuming that faith is toxic. A recipient troubled by a faith-based provider may want another religious provider, not a secular service. Many of the needy are people of faith and desire assistance that acknowledges their convictions.

    • Allies. Collaboration means working together to achieve the common aim of assisting the needy while also respecting the differences between government and faith-based organizations. Allied providers are more than vendors; they retain their freedom, their right to advocate on behalf of clients, and their responsibility to speak to policy.

    • Employment Rights. The biggest barrier to greater cooperation between the faith community and public welfare is not allowing faith-based providers to hire and fire on the basis of religion. Some religious organizations choose to hire without regard to faith, but many insist on religious criteria in order to retain their distinctive missions. Contract language forbidding them to use religion in hiring is illegal under Charitable Choice and must be eliminated.
    • Vouchers. Voucher arrangements are better than contracting for preserving the independence of faith-based organizations and giving recipients choice. Where possible, redesign services and procurement policies so that a range of organizations can provide services and each recipient has the chance to select the most effective and compatible provider.

7.  Structures for Cooperation. Many congregations and faith-based nonprofits are too small to handle the service volume of a typical contract. To utilize their strengths and allow them to participate, alternatives are needed: voucherized services, contracting with a nonprofit intermediary that links congregations, a lead agency that subcontracts with smaller groups.

8.  Training and Assistance. Government can help prepare faith-based organizations to provide authorized services by offering training in contracting, record-keeping, and regulations, and by assisting them in planning and presenting service proposals. Such assistance should be offered to all small-scale nonprofits and community organizations.

9.  Affirmative Outreach. Many faith-based organizations have not been part of the human services system. They don’t know the system and their names are unlikely to appear on vendor lists, mailing lists of activist organizations, or in multi-denominational or multi-faith directories. Work through every accessible network to begin to build bridges to them.

10. Bill of Rights. Past practices and assumptions about appropriate church-state relations have left a legacy of distrust between government and faith communities. Government should acknowledge its mistakes and make amends with a statement of the rights of faith-based providers. This would confirm the government’s intention to treat them as allies and it would be a valuable guide to both sides if there is dispute about what actions are permissible.

Copies of the "Charitable Choice Implementation Guide" are available for purchase through "The Center for Public Justice." Note: You will be leaving the FASTEN Web site.

Related Articles
Collaborations Catalogue: A Report on Charitable Choice Implementation in 15 States (Exec Summary)
Q&A on Legal Issues Involved in FBO-Government Partnerships
Related Books
Charitable Choice for Welfare & Community Services:

News
Conference Calendar
Forum
Find Others
Ask a Specialist

 

Read more

Being There: Faith on the Frontlines

 

      GENERAL COLLABORATION RESOURCE

Being There:  Faith on the Frontlines

Successful Models of Faith-Based, Cross-Sector Collaboration from the 2006 Partners in Transformation Awards Program

 

by Amy L. Sherman, FASTEN Editorial Director, 2006

 

 

Summary:

 

Hurricane Katrina brought America’s attention not only to the immense destruction of such a disaster but also to the astounding men, women, and organizations that moved in to care for the victims and rebuild families, homes, and whole cities.  In 2006, FASTEN  investigated the programs in which the faith community and organizations outside the faith community joined together to help communities through either natural or man-made disasters.   

 

Therefore, the 2006 Partners in Transformation Awards Program was open to ten states that have recently faced such a disaster:  Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. 

Winners were chosen for their innovative and effective multi-sector collaborations in one of three disaster-related categories:  Short-Term Emergency Disaster Response, Long-Term Community Recovery and Rebuilding Efforts, and Services Addressing Deep Pockets of Poverty.  This report offers descriptions of the award winners and semifinalists as well as best practices learned from the contest applicants. 



 

News
Conference Calendar
Forum
Find Others
Ask a Specialist

 

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Effective Relationship Main Page

Effective Relationships

Read more

Being There: Faith on the Frontlines

 

      GENERAL COLLABORATION RESOURCE

Being There:  Faith on the Frontlines

Successful Models of Faith-Based, Cross-Sector Collaboration from the 2006 Partners in Transformation Awards Program

 

by Amy L. Sherman, FASTEN Editorial Director, 2006

 

 

Summary:

 

Hurricane Katrina brought America’s attention not only to the immense destruction of such a disaster but also to the astounding men, women, and organizations that moved in to care for the victims and rebuild families, homes, and whole cities.  In 2006, FASTEN  investigated the programs in which the faith community and organizations outside the faith community joined together to help communities through either natural or man-made disasters.   

 

Therefore, the 2006 Partners in Transformation Awards Program was open to ten states that have recently faced such a disaster:  Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. 

Winners were chosen for their innovative and effective multi-sector collaborations in one of three disaster-related categories:  Short-Term Emergency Disaster Response, Long-Term Community Recovery and Rebuilding Efforts, and Services Addressing Deep Pockets of Poverty.  This report offers descriptions of the award winners and semifinalists as well as best practices learned from the contest applicants. 



 

News
Conference Calendar
Forum
Find Others
Ask a Specialist

 

Read more

Charitable Choice: Top 10 Tips for Public Officials

 

      FBO - GOVERNMENT COLLABORATION RESOURCE

Charitable Choice: Top 10 Tips for Public Officials

(Written by Stanley W. Carlson-Thies (The Center for Public Justice, 1999). Used with permission. Obtain copies of the complete guide)

    • Inform Recipients. When a provider is faith-based, make sure recipients know about its religious character, their freedom not to engage in religious activities, and their right to receive services from an alternative provider.

    • Alternatives. Be prepared to offer an accessible, high quality alternative service to any recipient who objects to a faith-based provider. Make advance arrangements with a different provider in the same location, plan access and transportation to a nearby provider, or maintain a residual government capacity to provide services.

    • Religion is Not Toxic. Ensure the religious liberty of recipients without presuming that faith is toxic. A recipient troubled by a faith-based provider may want another religious provider, not a secular service. Many of the needy are people of faith and desire assistance that acknowledges their convictions.

    • Allies. Collaboration means working together to achieve the common aim of assisting the needy while also respecting the differences between government and faith-based organizations. Allied providers are more than vendors; they retain their freedom, their right to advocate on behalf of clients, and their responsibility to speak to policy.

    • Employment Rights. The biggest barrier to greater cooperation between the faith community and public welfare is not allowing faith-based providers to hire and fire on the basis of religion. Some religious organizations choose to hire without regard to faith, but many insist on religious criteria in order to retain their distinctive missions. Contract language forbidding them to use religion in hiring is illegal under Charitable Choice and must be eliminated.
    • Vouchers. Voucher arrangements are better than contracting for preserving the independence of faith-based organizations and giving recipients choice. Where possible, redesign services and procurement policies so that a range of organizations can provide services and each recipient has the chance to select the most effective and compatible provider.

7.  Structures for Cooperation. Many congregations and faith-based nonprofits are too small to handle the service volume of a typical contract. To utilize their strengths and allow them to participate, alternatives are needed: voucherized services, contracting with a nonprofit intermediary that links congregations, a lead agency that subcontracts with smaller groups.

8.  Training and Assistance. Government can help prepare faith-based organizations to provide authorized services by offering training in contracting, record-keeping, and regulations, and by assisting them in planning and presenting service proposals. Such assistance should be offered to all small-scale nonprofits and community organizations.

9.  Affirmative Outreach. Many faith-based organizations have not been part of the human services system. They don’t know the system and their names are unlikely to appear on vendor lists, mailing lists of activist organizations, or in multi-denominational or multi-faith directories. Work through every accessible network to begin to build bridges to them.

10. Bill of Rights. Past practices and assumptions about appropriate church-state relations have left a legacy of distrust between government and faith communities. Government should acknowledge its mistakes and make amends with a statement of the rights of faith-based providers. This would confirm the government’s intention to treat them as allies and it would be a valuable guide to both sides if there is dispute about what actions are permissible.

Copies of the "Charitable Choice Implementation Guide" are available for purchase through "The Center for Public Justice." Note: You will be leaving the FASTEN Web site.

Related Articles
Collaborations Catalogue: A Report on Charitable Choice Implementation in 15 States (Exec Summary)
Q&A on Legal Issues Involved in FBO-Government Partnerships
Related Books
Charitable Choice for Welfare & Community Services:

News
Conference Calendar
Forum
Find Others
Ask a Specialist

 

Read more

What's Working: Program Snapshots to Educate and Inspire

 

WHAT'S WORKING

PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS TO EDUCATE AND INSPIRE

You’ve heard the saying, “A picture paints a thousand words.” Since our beginning in late 2003, FASTEN has collected dozens of “snapshots” (of sorts) of effective, multi-sector collaborations solving social problems in diverse communities throughout the nation.

In this new “What’s Working: Program Snapshots” feature on FASTEN, faith leaders considering launching new initiatives can “see” plausible models of ministry, gaining inspiration and creative ideas. As FASTEN learns of additional effective models, we will add them to our “photo album” for your perusal, so check back regularly to see what’s new.

Brief program profiles are listed alphabetically below by the type of social service offered. Please remember that this is in no way a comprehensive list of strong FBO programs! Rather, what you’ll find in the “What’s Working” department are brief sketches of programs that have come to FASTEN’s attention through our research, networking, and the Partners in Transformation competition. We welcome your submissions—if you know of a program achieving strong, demonstrable outcomes that other FBOs can learn from, please let us know by emailing us at support@FASTENnetwork.org.

 
About FASTEN
Contact Us
E-Newsletter Sign-Up
Privacy Policy/Disclaimer

 
 

 

Read more

Faith-Based Organization Research

EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS TOPIC
Orientation to Faith-Based Social Services

Articles, Excerpts, Tips & More
Wrap-around services: Serving Holistically: Many FBOs find that a “wrap-around” service approach is critical in meeting the multiple needs of program participants. This article describes the characteristics of organizations that successfully adopt this approach.
View this Resource

Being “User Friendly:” The Benefits of a Multi-Faith Staff: Some FBOs find that a diverse staff attracts more program participants and can make service delivery more effective. This article highlights steps FBOs serving religiously diverse neighborhoods might take to ensure that their programs address community needs sensitively.
View this Resource

Belief Systems in Faith-based Human Service Programs: What makes FBOs different? FASTEN researchers from Baylor University tackle the question, based on their exploration of 15 faith-based service programs.
View this Resource

When the Service Delivery System is a Congregation: For social workers, public administrators, and others desiring to collaborate with churches in social service programs, it is important to know what makes congregations distinct from faith-based nonprofit organizations – and what the implications of those differences are.
View this Resource

Creating Communities of Support: The Work of Coalition-Building: Based on research of effective collaboration, here are six quick tips on building coalitions that last.
View this Resource

Research Brief Volunteer Roles in Faith-based Organizations: This helpful article identifies eight lessons learned about volunteer roles in faith-based organizations and offers insights about the implications of these lessons for program administrators.
View this Resource

Faith-Based Organizations as Safe Spaces: Creating a safe environment for program participants is crucial. Here are creative suggestions about how to do it.
View this Resource

Recommended Books
Saving America: Faith-Based Services and the Future of Civil Society: This book compiles and analyzes the most current studies on faith-based social service programs and addresses issues of voluntarism, care giving, and clients’ viewpoints.
View this Resource

Recommended Links
The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy: The Roundtable is run by the Rockefeller Institute and offers a nonpartisan assessment of the role of faith-based organizations in the social welfare system.
View this Resource

The Finance Project: The Finance Project provides a variety of educational resources of interest to practitioners and public administrators working to improve the lives of low income families and children. It also incorporates all the resources of the (formerly independent) Welfare Information Network.
View this Resource

 

Wrap-around services: Serving Holistically
The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy
Faith-Based Organizations as Safe Spaces
Belief Systems in Faith-based Human Service Programs
Being “User Friendly:” The Benefits of a Multi-Faith Staff
 

 

Subtopic

Read more

FASTEN Audience Page

 

 Whom Does FASTEN Serve?

Congregations 

Follow this symbol to find resources especially relevant to you.

Top Resources for Congregations:

Faith-Based Practitioners

Follow this symbol to find resources especially relevant to you.

Top Resources for FBOs:

Public Administrators

Follow this symbol to find resources especially relevant to you.

Top Resources for Public Administrators:

Private Philanthropies

Follow this symbol to find resources especially relevant to you.

Top Resources for Private Philanthropies:

 
About FASTEN
Contact Us
E-Newsletter Sign-Up
Privacy Policy/Disclaimer

 
 
Read more

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