Global Faith Initiative
Equipping Faith Based Organizations to serve those most in need throughout the world.
The Children’s AIDS Fund International (CAFI) and the Institute for Youth Development (IYD) have come together to continue their commitment to the faith community in a more meaningful and strategic way by creating the Global Faith Initiative.
Background
Ever since the organizations were founded over 33 years ago, they have worked to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of community (CSOs) and faith-based organizations (FBOs), particularly focused on FBOs. In 1987, CAFI competed and won a grant from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to educate and support the faith community in America in its involvement in the HIV/AIDS issue.
The first guidance that was produced by CAFI was a booklet titled “The Church’s Response to AIDS” which was followed by a book “Christians in the Age of AIDS”. Both were designed to encourage local faith entities deal appropriately with this disease of rising concern. CAFI developed a holiday gift program for children and families affected by AIDS, and rather than run it entirely CAFI taught others how to establish a similar program in their own communities and become light to those in darkness. Realizing the epidemic was spreading into communities of color CAFI then produced the first comprehensive guide to US Government funding opportunities. The Office of Minority Health bought copies for every one of their conference participants, so all people could compete equally for federal grant opportunities.
When IYD began its own platform promoting risk avoidance messages to youth for alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco, and violence it produced instructional materials for youth serving organizations in the U S and around the world. Under an initiative by President Bush–and having developed a record of service to others– IYD competed for and won the largest Compassion Capital Fund award, designed to help local faith-based and community organizations apply for US government grants. IYD developed instructional material that was presented to over 11,000 groups who attended its seminars, with over 500 of them winning more than a half a billion dollars in federal awards. IYD was also a sub-contractor to USAID’s New Partners Initiative.
Simultaneously CAFI opened treatment sites in Africa prior to PEPFAR, all designed to ultimately turn the sites over to local partners. After helping local faith-based and other organizations work on US government grants, CAFI transitioned out and 85% of CAFI’s sites then competed for and won US government grants because they had been well trained and were equipped to do the work themselves. CAFI’s respectful treatment of patients, their high adherence rates (over 90% in one study), their high ratio of men to women, and their extremely high retention of patients has been the hallmark of their work.
The future of GFI
It is not just gaining knowledge of how to apply for and win government grants that will position FBOs, but also excellence in performance and documented Impact. Building on what these two organizations accomplished, GFI will centralize and focus on the identification of current and potential recipients of the United Sates Government and other donor nations; the data base that will be created will be accessible by public or private funding organizations seeking partners through whom they can accomplish the goals of various funding opportunities. GFI’s significant experience will be used to mentor and strengthen community and faith-based groups at no-cost to them.
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