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Head of White House Faith Based Office Outlines Its Goals

By Howard M. Friedman

On Thursday, Joshua DuBois, Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships gave a speech (full text) at the Brookings Institute on the broad vision of the Office and its work over its first year. Here is an excerpt:

From storefront churches in South Carolina to huge congregations in the Midwest, everyone from religious leaders to civil libertarians had the perception that the faith-based office consisted of a big pot of money in the White House ? dollars everyone knew about, but only a politically-connected few had access to..... [I]t is an often misunderstood point that there is absolutely no dedicated funding stream specifically for faith-based groups....

[A]t the end of the day, President Obama knows that the relationship between the federal government and religious organizations must not be about money alone. Many faith-based groups do not want to receive federal funds, because of the various restrictions attached to those dollars. Many others should not receive federal grants, because they're either unable or unwilling to separate those funds and use them through appropriate means.

So we must find a way to work with the vast majority of those faith-based organizations who will not receive money from the government, while insuring of course that those who wish to apply for and receive federal support do so in a way that respects both their rights and responsibilities....

[O]ur guiding vision is this: to connect with faith-based and other neighborhood organizations on specific challenges confronting our communities, and partner with those groups to strengthen their good work. Critically, this support may not always be through federal grants. We do not measure our success based on how many dollars flow to faith-based organizations. Instead, we measure our success based on the impact that our partnerships with faith-based and other neighborhood groups have on individuals, families and communities across the country.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 20, 2010 (boomark / email).