Faith in Action

Program Mission Statement:

(self-reported)

To link adults with developmental disabilities to the faith community as well as the greater community.

Score Summary

Overall Score:	Excellent
Practice Principles:	Excellent
Faith Related Elements:	Excellent
Outcome Measures:	Excellent
Change Process:	Excellent

Program Facts

• Paid (FTE) Staff Working: 1
• Program Participants Last Year: 75
• Meets about 5 time(s) with each participant per month
• Participants remain in the program for 0 months

Board Activities

Funding Overview

(self-reported)

	This Program	This Organization
Organization Budget: $1,127,113 Program Budget: $55,000
Foundation Grants	70%	10%
Government Grants/Contracts	0%	9%
Individual Gifts	20%	15%
Business/Corporate Gifts	5%	15%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	5%	1%
Dues/Fees/Income	0%	40%
Other	0%	0%
	Average Program Funding From All Samaritan Programs	Average Organization Funding From All Samaritan Organizations
The next charts display the average funding sources for all programs currently in the Samaritan Guide for your comparison. Average Organization Budget: $3,817,897 Average Program Budget: $417,789
Foundation Grants	19%	18%
Government Grants/Contracts	6%	8%
Individual Gifts	37%	33%
Business/Corporate Gifts	9%	8%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	10%	10%
Dues/Fees/Income	8%	9%
Other	9%	11%

It is important to maintain diverse income sources for your programs and for your oganization as a whole. Doing so provides long-term financial stability to your organizations and programs. It is also important to note that government funding often comes with stipulations and restrictions. More information is available in the Raising Resources Toolkit - pdf.

Score Details

Program Focus
Program Mission	Clarity and specificity of the program's mission statement.	Good
Target Population	Clarity and specificity of the programs target clientele.	Excellent
Eligibility Criteria	Clarity and specificity of the program's eligibility criteria.	Good
Program Requirements	Well defined requirements for client participation.	Better
Referrals From Other Organizations	Do other organizations recommend this program to their clientele.	Excellent
Referrals to Other Organizations	Does this program recommend other programs to their clients?	Excellent
Volunteer to Staff Ratio	Are volunteers effectively incorporated into the program?	Better
Past Participant Recruiting	Are past program participants recruited as volunteers?	Good
Evaluation and Practice Princples
Practice Principles	How supports and resources are provided to increase outcomes.	Excellent
Outcome Measurement	The ability to measure stated program outcomes.	Excellent
Change Process	Specific and measurable statement of the program's goals.	Excellent
Faith Related Elements	Integration of faith related elements.	Excellent
Measurement Frequency	Frequency of measuring client outcomes.	Excellent
Program Evaluation	Level of the budget allocated to measuring client outcomes.	Excellent
Institutional Stability
Organization Age	A measure of the organization's durability.	Excellent
Board Oversight	How involved in the program are the members of its board?	Excellent
Program Duration	Average duration of a clients participation with a program.	Good
Finances
Budget Diffusion	Diversity of the programs funding sources.	Good
Government Funding	Does this program accept little or no government funding?	Excellent

Program Score Details

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Outcomes & Measures:

(self-reported)

Scoring for this section is based on the organizations ability to provide at least three clear and specific outcomes with corresponding measures in which a relationship is shown between outcomes and measures.

Outcome 1: Grow volunteerism in individual faith communities.

Measure Used:
Number of volunteers recruited.

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Outcome 2: Match and build individuals with developmental disabilities and faith volunteers to one-on-one relationships.

Measure Used:
Number and quality of relationships built.

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Outcome 3: Sustained "special friend" relationship for a year.

Measure Used:
Number of sustained "special friend" relationships for a year.

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Outcome 4: Congregations', synagogues', mosques' embracing of those in their community with developmental disabilities.

Measure Used:
Visible indications of inclusion into the life of their faith. For example, have these individuals be greeters, invited to congregational functions.

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Outcome 5: Congregations adopt this program and make it their own.

Measure Used:
Congregation asked to become part of the Faith in Action coalition.

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Change Process:

(self-reported)

Scoring for this section is based on the organizations ability to provide clear, measurable, client-focused stages of change based on participant participation.

Program participants change in the following ways through the love of God that is shared between volunteers and the disabled.

Individuals with developmental disabilities:

1) Self-esteem & self confidence grows

2) Become productive

3) Serve rather than being served

4) Strive to reach their fullest potential

5) Educate and edify unconsciously

"So many times people with disabilities are on the receiving end. It is nice to give back once in awhile." A person with a disability

Volunteers:

1) Experience transcendent moments

in their newly built relationship

with the "least of these."

2) Learn lessons from those they serve

that cannot be taught by words

3) Experience what it is to have a bit

of God's heart.

"The experience of befriending a person with a developmental disabilities is beyond words. There is an aura of heaven and simplicity that overcomes you, as well as a sense of profound humility." A volunteer

Program Score - Historical Review

Note: Significant decreases in scores may be the result of incomplete data in a Samaritan Award application.

End Notes

Incomplete Applications

Significant decreases in certain scores may indicate failure to comprehensively complete certain sections of the Samaritan Award application. Please be sure to fill out every question in the Samaritan Award application.

Relative Scoring

Total program scores are partially computed against other programs from within the same pool of applications and so are not cumulative.

Additional Reference Material

More information on scoring and methodology may be found on the Samaritan Guide and Award website.

Acton Institute Relationship

The Samaritan Guide and Samaritan Award are projects run by the Acton Institute. Inclusion in the Guide does not signify endorsement by the Acton Institute. More information on why the Acton Institute runs this project is available online.