Faith In Action® National Program Report

Regional collaborative networks of Faith in Action projects took on a variety of activities together to try and strengthen their work.

The collaborative networks ranged in size from six to 36 projects and encompassed different sized geographic areas: from regions in states, such as Northeastern New York State and Austin, Texas, to entire states, such as Florida, Ohio and North Dakota to multi-state regions, such as Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Two-year grants from RWJF to support the collaborative networks ran from 2006 to 2008, although some extended their funding until 2009.

In Arkansas, the regional collaborative formed out of a desire among Arkansas' Faith in Action projects to continue the networking and friendships that had grown over the years, especially as the national program office prepared to close, said Carol Smith, the executive director of the Arkansas Faith in Action Coalition, Inc., Little Rock, Ark.

The Arkansas collaborative focused on strengthening Faith in Action sites as well as other interfaith coalitions. The collaborative held 12 workshops in 2007 across the state for Faith in Action projects and other interfaith projects. The workshops covered such topics as writing grants, community partnerships and leadership and organizational development. The collaborative had 19 members, about 11 of which were Faith in Action projects.

"Arkansas is a rural state and a lot of these programs are small," Smith said. "A part-time director doesn't have the time and resources to get the training she needs. They are out providing services to the community. We wanted to come in and talk to them about some of the things we had learned, particularly for faith-based organizations."

In Austin, Texas, a collaborative of eight Faith in Action projects in the Austin area formed in 2000 with funds from St. David's Community Health Foundation, Austin. It used its RWJF grant to jointly raise funds, purchase software that all collaborative members use to schedule their volunteers and create standardized agreements for providing services (such as being open at least 20 hours a week).

In 2008, the group raised an additional $150,000, according to Jeannie Teel, who oversees the collaborative, Faith in Action Caregivers, and runs the West Austin Faith in Action project. Most of those funds were divided among the eight projects, but the collaborative also set aside some for joint efforts such as running ads and hiring a grant writer.

The eight member organization divided up the greater Austin area into eight sections, each member being responsible for one section. People needing services can now call any of the offices and get referred to the Faith in Action project that serves their area.

"When we get calls from the community for services that are not in our area, we can refer them [to other Faith in Action projects] and know that they will be treated with kid gloves," Teel said.