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 Home > News & Policies > February 2008

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 25, 2008

Fact Sheet: The Quiet Revolution: A Seven-Year Progress Report
President Bush Receives Progress Report On The Success Of His Faith-Based And Community Initiative In Supporting Grassroots Organizations That Help Americans In Need

Today, President Bush participated in a briefing on "The Quiet Revolution" report from the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (WHOFBCI).  This report, available at www.fbci.gov, offers a portrait of the successful implementation of President Bush's vision to reshape government's approach to addressing human need.  By leveling the playing field for faith-based charities and strengthening grassroots nonprofits to effectively help Americans in need, the Faith-Based and Community Initiative is having a tremendous impact on countless lives across our Nation and around the world.

  • To further highlight progress under the Faith-Based and Community Initiative, WHOFBCI will sponsor a Conference on Research, Outcomes, and Evaluation, June 26 and 27, in Washington, D.C.  This conference will highlight the wide range of research on new initiatives and the changes in governance that have occurred under the Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) over the past seven years.  

Faith-Based And Community Nonprofits Are Renewing Communities, Restoring Hope, And Changing Lives

The Initiative is now active across virtually every Federal effort to address human need by making grant programs and other opportunities more accessible to new faith-based and community partners.  For example, through initiatives such as the voucher-based Access to Recovery program, the Administration is working to expand individual choice so that Americans in need of substance abuse treatment and recovery support services can receive help from the program that best suits them.  In addition, the Compassion Capital Fund, another signature program of the Initiative, is helping small, grassroots organizations that have never received Federal funding build the capacity they need to compete for Federal grants and serve their communities.

  • The President's vision is producing real results for people in need.  For example:
    • Prisoner Reentry Initiative: Returning non-violent offenders are linked with FBCOs that help them find work and avoid relapse into criminal activity.  Released inmates who participate in this Initiative are returning to prison at less than half the national rate. 
    • Mentoring Children of Prisoners: More than 70,000 children whose parents are behind bars have been matched with caring mentors under the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program since 2003.  The program is on track to reach its goal of 100,000 matches this year. 
  • Access to Recovery: To date, nearly 200,000 recovering addicts have been served under the Access to Recovery (ATR) program through vouchers that allow them to choose among a range of clinical and supportive services, including those offered by faith-based providers.  Thousands of FBCOs have provided services through ATR, many of them partnering with government for the first time. 
  • Health in High-Need Areas: The President's Health Center Initiative has reached the goal of creating new or expanding 1,200 community-based health center sites.  The latest numbers reveal the Initiative boosted the number of low-income individuals receiving medical services from local clinics by 4.7 million since 2001.  Funding for community-based health centers in 2008 represents a nearly $900 million, a 77 percent increase over 2001 levels.  Faith-based centers are an important part of this work, with $70 million won by faith-based organizations in 2006 alone. 
  • Reducing Homelessness: From 2003 to 2006, the number of direct nonprofit grantees of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department's Continuum of Care program to reduce homelessness grew by more than 30 percent, from 1,609 to 2,096.  The latest data show that from 2005 to 2006, the number of chronically homeless individuals across America dropped by 12 percent, meaning more than 20,000 individuals moved from the streets or shelters to a new residence.

The Faith-Based And Community Initiative Is Taking Root At The State And Local Level

Thirty-five Governors – 19 Democrats and 16 Republicans – and more than 100 mayors have offices or liaisons dedicated to strengthening faith-based and community organizations and extending their vital works.  Twelve of these States have changed Governors, some across party lines, but not one has ended its office Faith-Based and Community efforts. 

Even in States without a formal office for this work, the FBCI is active.  For example, California does not currently have an official Initiative, but in 2006, its nonprofits won more than 1,550 competitive Federal grants totaling nearly $1.1 billion dollars to serve their neighbors in need. 

FBCI Has Led A Quiet Revolution In The Way Government Addresses Human Need  

The FBCI works to place locally-rooted solutions at the center of Federal efforts to help those in need.  The Initiative has:

  • Removed barriers and launched innovative programs to enable the government to partner with small, community-based nonprofits as never before. 
  • Established a level playing field for faith-based organizations and set clear, Constitutional guidelines for their use of public funds. 
  • Delivered in-person training to more than 100,000 social entrepreneurs, by teaching them how to better track their outcomes, write grants, and develop other key skills that help their organizations maximize impact for the people they serve.

Federal competitive awards are expanding the good work of both faith-based and community organizations across America and beyond.

  • In 2006 alone, the Federal Government provided more than 18,000 direct, competitive awards to America's nonprofit organizations to aid the homeless, at-risk youth, recovering addicts, returning offenders, AIDS victims, and others.    
  • These grants totaled more than $14.7 billion to boost services to people in need.  Faith-based organizations were welcomed as a central part of this work, winning more than 3,000 grants in 2006 totaling nearly $2.2 billion.

Seven Years Of The Faith-Based And Community Initiative: A "Determined Attack On Need"

President Bush launched the Faith-Based and Community Initiative on January 29, 2001 by signing an Executive Order creating the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.  This Order charged the office with leading a "comprehensive effort to enlist, equip, enable, empower, and expand the work of faith-based and other community organizations."  The President has since established Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at 11 Federal agencies, where they are successfully strengthening partnerships with these grassroots organizations and implementing the FBCI vision within their agency's human service programs. 

The Faith-Based and Community Initiative is empowering faith-based organizations and other grassroots service providers to address the needs of their communities.  Over the past 7 years, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the Agency Centers it oversees have worked to strengthen both faith-based and community organizations and to extend their work in partnership with government. 

The Faith-Based and Community Initiative has assisted in programs such as the Helping America's Youth Initiative and helped communities connect children and youth with caring adults and community organizations that are helping them avoid risky behavior and achieve success.  In 3 short years, hundreds of communities have participated in regional Helping America's Youth conferences, which have helped identify best practices and spotlighted the successful efforts of such youth-serving programs as a leadership camp for fatherless boys, gang-prevention programs, and faith-based after-school programs.  

Faith-Based And Community Groups Are Supporting The President's Compassion Agenda Around The World

International programs like the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President's Malaria Initiative, and other U.S.-funded efforts represent massive-scale implementation of the President's vision by empowering both American and indigenous FBCOs.  In 2007 alone, approximately 2,213 partners, or 81 percent of partners in PEPFAR's 15 focus countries were indigenous organizations – nearly one-quarter of which were faith-based. These partners have supported 15,000 project sites for prevention, treatment, and care.

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