This issue brief examines small black churches' participation in the Bush administration's Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI). This analysis includes the extent to which these churches have the capacity to conform to the federal regulations governing the program, their attitudes toward the FBCI, and the nature of their experiences in attempting to seek such funds.

The reason for focusing on small black churches is simple, but significant. When the Bush administration first introduced the program, using executive orders and administrative actions to implement it, the rationale was based on perceived discrimination against small religious organizations. The first director of the White House FBCI office, John DiIulio, Jr., released a report in 2001 entitled Unlevel Playing Field, which argued that the public administration of federal social service programs is irrationally biased against small nonprofit organizations, especially small religious ones. This issue brief assesses whether small black churches have the capacity to participate in the program, and identifies factors that might make small black churches more likely to participate.

The issue brief is based on a subsample of 125 small black churches from a larger Joint Center national survey of 750 black churches. Small churches here are defined as having 125 or fewer congregants. The survey was conducted between November 11, 2005 and January 24, 2006.

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Date Published: May 2007