Our interviews revealed the wide diversity among faith groups present in the nonprofit sector and how the organizations espousing different traditions relate to the secular world. Some do not view themselves as religious, but merely spiritual; on the other end of the spectrum, some believe in the importance of evangelism and spreading their worldviews. Thus, these organizations build relationships with secular funders in diverse ways. They often build funder relationships on a personal level and focus on the secular benefits of their programming.
Profiles: Faith-Based Grantees
We’re trying to attract more than just the Jewish community…our goal is to attract anybody who aligns and resonates with our work and the worlds that we work in.
Jewish Movement for Environmental Preservation
Serene and Secure World
Serene and Secure World (SSW) is a Buddhist nonprofit that provides meditation and self-defense classes to the community, as well as programs to help high school and college students navigate the social and emotional challenges of school. Unlike Abrahamic religions that focus on belief in God, Buddhism focuses on achieving enlightenment. Consequently, SSW does not identify as a faith-based organization, since faith in a deity is not a focus of Buddhism. Additionally, SSW’s programming leans more towards Western Buddhism which takes on a more secularized framework compared to Eastern Buddhism. Eastern Buddhism is rooted in culture, while Western Buddhism is commonly practiced in upper-middle class communities as a meditative practice. SSW has received funding from secular foundations with relative ease because many of the foundations are more familiar with Western Buddhism, which does not have strong associations with faith.
Holy Lamb Educational Foundation
Holy Lamb Educational Foundation (HLEF) was created to support Catholic education by helping students attend Catholic schools. HLEF believes both in the importance of the education Catholic schools provide and in the Catholic evangelizing mission of their organization. In addition to Catholic-focused fundraising efforts, they receive funding from various non-Catholic groups, including secular foundations. The secular funders often focus on the educational aspect of HLEF's mission, and there is often a person in the organization with a connection to Catholic education who supports funding HLEF.
Jewish Movement for Environment Protection
The Jewish Movement for Environmental Protection (JMEP) receives the majority of their funding from Jewish foundations, which can be broken into Jewish Community Federations and Jewish family foundations. A smaller portion of funding is received from secular donors (foundations and government), much of which goes towards capital projects. JMEP’s programs are inspired by the Jewish religion, but they run some programs that support secular activities. For example, JMEP teaches people of all faith backgrounds about sustainability in a secular way, but these programs are inspired by Jewish beliefs and culture. While the majority of the staff are religious, being Jewish is not a requirement for employment. JMEP also collaborates in a limited capacity with other faith-based organizations.