Faith-Based Initiatives
Download Letter of Interest Instructions in PDF format here.
The Foundation maintains an interest in supporting programs that incorporate religious faith as an integral part of their efforts. The Foundation will consider programs that are based on successful models and/or have demonstrated previous success. Such programs may include:
· Youth Mentoring – the special importance of adolescence in the maturing process has long been recognized. Crossing these turbulent years can be eased by the presence of a trusted adult to whom the adolescent can turn for guidance. Several studies have documented the growing number of young people growing up without good adult support. The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development concluded: “Many young people feel a desperate sense of isolation. Surrounded only by their equally confused peers, too many make poor decisions with harmful or lethal consequence.” (1989).
Applicants whose requests involve programs directed towards youth substance abuse prevention are encouraged to consult with Youth First, Inc. prior to submitting their letter of interest. Youth First is the area’s leading resource on youth substance abuse prevention interventions.
The greatest potential for positive outcomes appears to be most strongly influenced by the quality and length of time of mentoring relationships. This holds true whether the relationship is one-on-one or small group. Successful relationships are likely to grow progressively more effective over time as trust and respect grow. These findings are found to be true for both girls and boys.
A note of caution – research indicates that poor quality mentoring relationships and those of short duration can actually harm youth. These relationships lead to feelings of rejection and disappointment at a life stage during which issues of acceptance and rejection are especially crucial to young people. This may lead to negative emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes.
Some best practices shared by the most successful mentoring programs include:
o a mentoring model supported by a strong infrastructure
o partnering with other organizations to recruit enough volunteers
o carefully screening potential mentors
o ensuring that adults are prepared for their new roles as mentors by providing good orientation and training
o ongoing supervision and support
o matching of mentors and youth; mentors who focus their efforts on building trust are more likely to develop an effective relationship with their youth than are those who do not.
· Prison Ministry – The greatest prison ministry is the one that prevents people from becoming incarcerated, especially the one that helps young people avoid that first traumatic experience with the justice system that leads them into a downward spiral that is difficult to escape. Each person kept out of the prison system is a link towards breaking the cycle.
Children of incarcerated parents are especially vulnerable and are six times more likely than others to become involved in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. For additional information, click here.
For people who end up incarcerated, local law enforcement describes prison as “college for criminals”, where they learn more criminal behavior and make contacts with more hardened prisoners, which may follow them after they are released. They describe the prison system as a “revolving door” that encompasses multiple generations of the same families. The most often-cited root cause of this situation is drugs and alcohol, which also contribute to the self-perpetuating cycles of domestic violence, child abuse, and family instability. National studies cite 3 to 4 generations of family members in prison at the same time, a statistic echoed locally.
Research and discussions with local law enforcement identify several key community needs, as well as certain interventions that have some proven success. Among these are transition programs that assist persons who are being released from prison as they try to return and adjust to their communities. Ex-offenders face tremendous challenges upon their return home, if they still have one. Some end up homeless. Relationships with families may be strained. It is easy for them to fall into the same harmful coping habits that led them to prison.
Evangelical Outreach – the Foundation seeks to support programs that address community issues using components such as prayer, worship, and the study of sacred texts to accomplish their goals. These programs should be well-defined, offer community benefit, have measurable goals (including a means of measuring success) and have a definite beginning and end.
Health Ministries
– Please refer to
Improvements to Community Health Status
Substance Abuse
Prevention – Please refer to
Healthy Adolescent Development
This year, there is a
Microsoft Word on-line template that you may download and
utilize in the development of your Letter of Interest. ALL LETTERS OF
INTEREST SUBMITTED VIA E-MAIL MUST USE THIS TEMPLATE.
Please note that the template requires Microsoft Word.
Download Letter of Interest Cover Page and Instructions
(rename the file and save
it to your hard drive)
Additional Links and Resources:
Amachi Mentoring: http://www.amachimentoring.org/
Federal Resource Center for Children of Prisoners: http://www.nicic.org/Library/020332
Parenting Among Substance-Abusing Women Offenders (abstract, The Prison Journal): http://tpj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/86/1/89
Public/Private Ventures Youth Mentoring Publications (free downloads): http://www.ppv.org/ppv/youth/youth_publications.asp?section_id=7#pub167
For purposes of funding by the Welborn Baptist Foundation, churches are defined as legally-recognized organizations composed of a body of members sharing common religious beliefs.
Faith-based organizations are legal entities which have either their origin in a religious organization or have been founded by individuals who share a purpose, all of which have a primary mission to further religious principles and practices through programs of philanthropic good works.