Is Your Ministry Ready?

Before applying for government funds, your organization needs to be sure it knows what it is doing. That means not only knowing about the church-state standards that apply when government money is involved—including rules on religious expression and activities, and possible restrictions on religious staffing—but also about all the many other requirements and reports that accompany government money. And you need to know some fundamental things about your organization and its services: Is it a “brownie” or a “salad” ministry? Will it be able respectfully to serve people of different religions or of no religion? Does it intend to provide social assistance as well as it can, or is it mainly concerned with religious conversion? Is it willing to collaborate with other nonprofits as well as other government agencies to make sure that its help is coordinated with the other groups that need to be involved?

To help your organization assess its readiness, consult the resources on FBO-Government Collaboration offered by the FASTEN Network.