We are a nonprofit performing arts organization based on Christian values and beliefs. All full time staff and board of directors must be committed to Christian values and beliefs. As a result, the city of Seattle, WA excludes us from arts funding because we discriminate based on religion. We are not a church and do not have alter calls. We just view art from a Christian perspective. Any thoughts on how to deal with this funding issue?
Based on my reading of your questions, I think the core issue you are grappling with is one of employment practices, and not necessarily one of organizational mission, vision, and values. It sounds like you've had feedback that your practices may be perceived as discriminatory, and this is limiting your funding sources.
If you haven't done so yet, we strongly suggest that you consult an attorney (labor/employment), to be sure that you aren't violating any laws, and that you aren't inadvertently jeopardizing you not-for-profit status.
As far as seeking funding sources for whom your values-based hiring practices aren't an issue, the best I can suggest is that you contact a fundraising clearinghouse, like the Foundation Center or the Grantsmanship Center. They might have experience with situations like yours.
Comment
You may have a pretty big challenge ahead of you. Many (most?) foundations and other funding sources around the Seattle area tend to operate with fairly liberal sets of values. The value conflicts between the relatively liberal funding sources and a (seemingly) conservative Christian organization can be quite challenging to overcome. I’m sure you do this already but I would suggest focusing less on foundation and government support and more on gaining support from individuals and other organized Christian groups. The City would be one of the last places to turn to because aside from not being able to support an organization that discriminates based on religion they can also not support organizations that discriminate against other communities that they support (see below). I agree that you may also have some legal issues if you blatantly say you discriminate based on religion. A good attorney can help you figure out how to be selective without breaking the law.
Here’s an example of a value that our foundation has that sometimes conflicts with Christian organizations:
Like the city of Seattle, our foundation has a definition of diversity that includes support for the LGBT community. We don’t work in that community exclusively but we do work with youth and families who are sometimes LGBT and we believe they deserve the same support and services as everyone else. Internally we have mandatory LGBT diversity training to ensure our staff are also aware of the issues and needs of that community and of staff who may be from that community.
If we were to support a clearly conservative organization that due to their values cannot support LGBT youth we would upset our staff, supporters, and other constituents. I imagine a conservative organization would upset their staff and supporters if they were to accept LGBT youth and families so the values argument goes both ways.
Christian organizations do wonderful work all over the world. There are times we would like to support Christian groups but most of the time (not always) their values require them to discriminate against LGBT youth and families. We can’t reconcile that value conflict in any way that would make a relationship work.
Every group has the right to determine and operate by its values. Those decisions sometimes limit our choices and options. Unfortunately in Washington State and particularly in Seattle being a Christian organization can make it difficult to tap in to the most notable and common funding sources.
On a more philosophical note, it seems most conservative foundations focus their energy on politics, public policy, and on moving the conservative agenda forward. There are certainly liberal foundations that do the same. The difference is that it is nearly impossible to find large, conservative foundations that focus funds on the arts, education, and other “traditionally liberal” causes. That general focus of conservative ‘money’ makes it even more of a challenge for an organization such as yours to find funding. The arts are incredibly valuable so I wish you the best of luck.
»» Posted by: NDM on March 6, 2008 01:31 PM