Foundation to grant $100M to help 'faith' groups

By Laurence McQuillan, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announces plans today to give $100 million over six years to religious organizations that run volunteer programs to help elderly, disabled or chronically ill Americans.

The grant comes as President Bush is promoting his proposal to expand government funding of "faith-based institutions" that provide social services.

The amount, intended to help 10 million people, is among the dozen largest grants ever made. It will be used to set up or further develop at least 3,000 programs across the country. The money will be used to expand a volunteer network that helps with basic needs such as picking up groceries or taking someone to the doctor.

The foundation has spent $40 million over 18 years for the same purpose. The $100 million expansion follows a five-year review and is meant to address growing needs as the population ages.

"It is really serendipitous that the administration's proposal on faith-based initiatives is in the headlines," says Paul Jellinek, the foundation's vice president in charge of its Faith in Action program.

"The good news from our standpoint is that (Bush's proposal) has gotten a lot of people thinking about the role of the faith community," he says.

The foundation's plan has the approval of the White House, where staff members of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives met with foundation representatives in February.

The Johnson Foundation requires that the funds go only to coalitions of organizations from several religions rather than to a program set up by one faith. "It guarantees that there will be no proselytizing," Jellinek says.

A key objection to Bush's plan has been concern that directing federal funds to religious groups would violate the constitutional separation of church and state.

The foundation was established in 1972 after industrialist Robert W. Johnson died in 1968. His will directed that most of his fortune from the Johnson & Johnson health products conglomerate be used to create what became one of the largest private philanthropies.

A recent study by Independent Sector, a coalition of 800 corporations, foundations and private charities, found that half of the 109 million Americans who do volunteer work do so through a religious organization.

A survey for the foundation by Harris Interactive and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found:

• 93% of Americans who said they are willing to volunteer would be likely to participate in a program with a religious affiliation.

78% agreed that it is difficult for people with chronic health conditions to rely only on family members for their basic needs.