E-Newsletter for October 7, 2008

In this issue:

• Nonprofits, Serving People on Precipice, Await Financial Cliffhanger’s End
• Report: State and Local Spending on Nonprofits’ Services Heads Downward
• Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community Organization Eligibility
• Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

New! Nonprofits, Serving People on Precipice, Await Financial Cliffhanger’s End

Four months ago, Catholic Charities USA released a sobering report that was unsettling for many in the
nonprofit world – a survey of its 54 local agencies showed dramatic increases in the number of working
and middle-class families seeking basic needs such as food, housing, prescriptions and utilities amid
“tough economic times.” That was before the nation’s financial bottom fell out – before the stock market
plummeted, before the federal government rescued the nation’s two failing giant mortgage institutions,
before major financial companies and banks crashed, and before the federal government passed a $700
billion bailout package to buy financial institutions’ troubled assets. Though there’s currently no data to
show what change has occurred in the last four months, many religious and secular service providers are
circumspect, nervous and uncertain about what will happen next as the economy continues to show further
signs of worsening. Meanwhile, some groups are seeing increased demand from the needy, shrinking
investment portfolios and the beginnings, or at least hints, of declines in donations.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Washington Correspondent Anne Farris.

New! Report: State and Local Spending on Nonprofits’ Services
Heads Downward

Even as nonprofit leaders watch the national economy with trepidation, a recent report on state spending
on social welfare programs provides further reason for a grim outlook. State and local government spending
on social welfare programs that are often provided by faith-based and community nonprofits could decline
in the next several years to levels not seen since the mid-1990s, according to a recent report from the Nelson
 A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. The report, “The New Retrenchment: Social Welfare Spending, 1977-
2006,” found that state and local government spending on social welfare programs dropped between 2005 and
2006, the first such yearly decline in 23 years, after adjusting for inflation and the number of people living in
poverty. That finding and others “suggest that the United States recently entered a new phase of declining fiscal
resources for state and local social welfare programs outside of medical assistance,” states the report, released
Sept. 15. Further, according to study authors Thomas Gais and Lucy Dadayan, while medical assistance under
programs like Medicaid may increase in coming years, the current economic slowdown could lead to further
reductions in state and local government support for other social services. But unlike a decade ago, when
support for welfare reform was high and government spending shifted from cash assistance to funding for services
that promoted work, the current downturn may signal an overall reduction in government support for non-health
programs targeted at the needy.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Claire Hughes.

Click here to read the report.

Weekly Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community
Organization Eligibility

The grant opportunities this week for community and faith-based organizations are through programs
administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and by the U.S. Agency for
International Development.

Potential applicants should be aware that some grant programs require specific technical expertise,
or experience in particular foreign countries.

Click here for the grants digest.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

Religion, Government Can Work Together, Leavitt Says
Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8944

Microloans for The Gulf Coast? Three Years after Katrina,
One-Quarter Of New Orleans Small Businesses Are Still Closed
The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8945

Chaplains Aid Wall Street Workers as Commentators Blame Greed, Risk-Taking
The Christian Century

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8946

Faith-Based Groups Man the Front Lines; They Know the Drill and the Territory; They 'Get It'
USA TODAY

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8947

Religious leaders back NC immigration reform group
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8948

Nonprofit Agencies May Feel the Pinch; Donations 'Difficult In the Best of Times'
The Capital-Journal

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8912

Church Takes Center Stage in Affordable-Housing Discussion
Sun Gazette Newspapers (Washington, DC)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8913

Extra Miler: Berniece Nicholson Is Driven By Faith
NewsandTribune.com (Indiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8914

Mentors Reach Out To Youth, Push Abstinence
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA.)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8915

Deeper Involvement--Combining Spirituality with Volunteerism Is Hopeful Faith-Based Effort
The Providence Journal

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8916

Federal Government to Launch $50 Million Mortgage Counseling Initiative
The Dallas Morning News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8917

A Binding Concern for the Poor; 40 N.Va. Congregations Are Forming Interfaith Advocacy Group
The Washington Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8918

Atheist Group Sues Bush over National Prayer Day
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8919

Dallas-Fort Worth Churches Expand Services to Seniors And Their Families
The Dallas Morning News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8949

Temple Helps Storm Victims
Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8920

Pulpits Say Peace, Not Panic
Florida Today (Brevard County, Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8921

Mentoring Program Honored
San Antonio Express-News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8922

HUD Secretary Touts Faith-Based Partnerships
Dallas Business Journal

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8923

Presbyterians, Lutherans Respond to Global Food Crisis
The Christian Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8924

Fresh Voters Sought At Jail; About 400 Inmates Eligible to Cast Ballot
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8925

East End; Open Door Mission Residents Help Clean Up Area
The Houston Chronicle

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8926

Building Partners Forged In Faith; Habitat Looks Ahead, Honors Top Volunteer
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8927

Ministry Helps Lift Spirits, Quality Of Life--Freedom Path Ministries Helps Women in Need
York Daily Record (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8928

Church Leaders Counter Economic Crisis with Faith
National Public Radio

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8929

Shelter Grant Put on Hold
Mail Tribune (Medford, Oregon)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8930

Charities Brace For Lean Times In 2009
Philly.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8931

Pastors Call For Moratorium On Immigration Raids In R.I.
The Providence Journal (Rhode Island)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8932

Faith Leaders Campaign Against Payday Lending, Casino Gambling
Hudsonhubtimes.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8933

Churches Step Out In Faith amid Economic Challenges
Christian Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8934

N.M.'s Largest Faith-Based Homeless Shelter Seeks Support Amid Difficult Times
Christian Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8935

MMA Praxis and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Sponsor Study on Faith In The Gulf Coast
Healthcare Finance, Tax & Law Weekly

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8936

Faith-Based Volunteer Program Helps Felons, Families
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8937

Lavorp Seeks Training Recruits
Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8938

A Lifeline for Homeowners;
Grass-Roots Program That Helps Residents Avoid Foreclosure Expands in Mercer
The Times of Trenton (New Jersey)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8939

State Health Department Promotes Emergency Preparedness with Faith-Based Groups
Medical News Today

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8940

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 10/7/2008
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_10_7_08.cfm