CRCC: news : grantmakers

Models of Faith-Based Civic Engagement

Thursday April 7, 2005
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
The San Francisco Foundation
225 Bush Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA

Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must be regarded as the first of their political institutions. Alexis de Tocqueville, 1831.

Americans have always felt ambivalent about the role of religion in public life, yet its influence in shaping policy can be traced from the beginnings of the Republic. Although the Constitution provides a framework for debate about the role of religion and public life, it leaves ample room for interpretation. Today we live in a time when more and more Americans feel turned off by or shut out of public life, when cultural diversity and extremes of wealth and poverty are greater than ever before, and when concerns about religion in public life reverberate from Iraq to the White House.

Faith-based organizations (FBOs) exist in every community in the US. They are institutions that are trusted and respected, and in many low-income and communities of color they are often the only institutions that remains long after massive disinvestment occurs by financial, retail, and service industries. FBOs are based on a long-standing tradition of benevolence, social service, and care that often makes them the resource of last resort; providing a safety-net for the most vulnerable. To be effective, FBOs draw from multiple sources of power -- personal faith and corporate faith traditions are among the most important. They recognize that change requires power, and they often use a combination of strategies to build power, including power from individuals, from existing institutions, and from new institutional arrangements.

More and more today, FBOs are stretching beyond their more traditional role and are active in the public policy arena, and local, regional and national elections in numbers and with an impact not seen since the height of the Civil Rights era. For example, FBOs are advocating for inclusionary zoning ordinances before zoning commissions and public bodies. They are building affordable housing, shopping centers, and credit unions. They are actively involved in juvenile justice issues and prisoner reentry efforts. Their ministerial alliances, organizing networks, and secular ministries advocate for increased medical services, education reform, a living wage, and child care access. Most notably, during the last two elections in California, FBOs sponsored candidates forums, and conducted voter registration, education, and get out the vote campaigns (at the national level, they are credited by many for helping to elect the Bush Administration and the congressional republican majority). The trend the presenters forecast for the immediate future is for a continuing expansion and intensification of faith-based efforts. What this means for our democratic processes is a critical question for discernment and reflection.

Objectives
This briefing will examine the growing faith-based civic engagement phenomenon from the perspective of its intersection with the mission, goals and objectives of organized philanthropy. Models will be presented and discussed that represent local efforts within the SF Bay Area, state wide efforts, and national perspectives. Among the objectives of the briefing are the following:

· Provide a learning opportunity for participants to get an overview of exciting faith-based civic engagement work.

· Engage in a dialogue of whether this phenomenon represents a new field of faith-based work that is different from the more traditional/familiar faith-based social service role (e.g., soup kitchens and homeless shelters).

· Examine approaches taken to evaluate the impact of the work.

· Provide an opportunity for participants to begin a discussion of the efficacy and the role of organized philanthropy in support or opposition to this growing phenomenon.

The event is offered by Northern California Grantmakers.

Presenters
Grace Roberts Dyrness, Director of Community Research and Development, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California
Donald E. Miller, Executive Director, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California
Landon R. Williams, Director, FAITHS Initiative of The San Francisco Foundation
Michael A. Edwards, Director, Governance and Civil Society Program, Ford Foundation

Co-Sponsors
San Francisco Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, East Bay Community Foundation, Peninsula Community Foundation, & Walter and Elise Haas Fund

Non-Members and non-funders are welcome to attend