A United Way of Delaware Community-University Partnership:

Assessing Faith Resources for Effective Community Planning in Wilmington

Community partners United Way of Delaware, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the Interdenominational Ministers Action Council (IMAC), and Interfaith Coalition Building Blocks for Wilmington (ICBBW) have collaborated on a special research project to create a better understanding of how Wilmington’s faith congregations and nonprofits currently deliver health and human services. The project also capitalized on the expertise of two distinguished university professors in the area of faith-based social services (see project description for additional information).

This searchable online database provides access to important data about the social contributions of local religious congregations and the relationships among the community of nonprofit and public service providers and the religious service providers in Wilmington.

The United Way and its community partners will now be able to strengthen collaborative partnerships by understanding what services the faith community is providing and how it is currently collaborating with social service providers. In addition, a better understanding of the faith based social services will enable United Way of Delaware to engage faith based providers as partners in the community.

Congregations - Click the Congregation name to see more details

---

Non-Profit Organizations - Click the organization name to see more details

---

Government Agencies - Click the organization name to see more details

---

Project Description

Today, more than ever, the city needs its religious groups to be its strength, offering moral guidance and making sure the lessons of peace and love are not limited to sermons. An active and engaged religious institution is especially important in the highest poverty and most crime-ridden parts of the city, where some young people have lost touch with these moral institutions of the community. The City's faith-based community will be counted on to be leaders and co-partners in implementing the recommendations of the Hope Commission.

Hope Commission: A Wilmington Plan (Page 14)

The primary goal of this project was to provide The United Way of Delaware and its community partners with new and important baseline data about the social contributions of local religious congregations and the relationships among the community of nonprofit and public service providers and the religious service providers in Wilmington Delaware.

In the short term this information will assist the United Way of Delaware by enhancing its overall capability to create collaborative partnerships with social service organizations and faith based organizations. The long range goal of this project is to help the United Way of Delaware provide a model that effectively uses the resources of local religious congregations for comprehensive community planning and enhancing the quality of social services in Wilmington.

While the United Way of Delaware is familiar with the services provided by public and nonprofit service providers, its planning capabilities will be sharpened by understanding more about the services provided by local religious congregations and their support to nonprofit and public service providers. The social activities of local religious congregations in most American cities are well beneath the radar screen; consequently their potential for participation in service partnerships is rarely incorporated in comprehensive efforts to enhance community collaborations. Existing planning systems and new initiatives will be more effective by thoughtfully integrating the valuable resources of local religious congregations into the process. The quality of life of residents of the City of Wilmington will be advanced greatly by harnessing the valuable contributions of the religious community and integrating them into the social care system.

The United Way of Delaware is working to address community problems by creating collaborative partnerships comprised of non-profit organizations, corporations, foundations, and government agencies. These partnerships seek to commonly define core issues and gain alignment on best practice strategies. The United Way will be able to strengthen its collaborative partnerships by understanding what services the faith community is providing and how it is currently collaborating with social service providers. In addition, a better understanding of the faith based social services will enable United Way of Delaware to engage faith based providers as partners in the community.

What we are learning

Congregations, small and large, are interested in helping their neighbors. Through careful planning and coordination the resources of the congregations the United Way of Delaware can enhance the network of social services provided to the city residents. Strengthening these partnerships will also enhance the capacity of Wilmington’s agencies.

More specifically our learning has centered on:
• The scope, locations, and characteristics of the local religious congregations.
• Nature and scope of Wilmington’s congregational resources.
• Kinds of partnerships that prevail among community agencies and congregations.
• How to utilize congregational resources for community planning purposes.
• The potential to enhance civic life by fully understanding and better using religions organizations’ resources.
• How to encourage the use of suburban recourses to benefit Wilmington.
• How to integrate research findings into planning efforts.
• How to nurture and sustain community-university partnerships.

Researcher Bios

Dr. Ram A. Cnaan

Dr. Ram A. Cnaan is a professor, associate dean for research, and chair of the Doctoral Program in Social Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy & Practice. He received his doctorate from the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh, and his B.S.W. and M.S.W. from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Cnaan has published numerous articles in scientific journals on a variety of social issues. He is the author of: The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in Partnership (Columbia University Press, 1999) and: The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare (New York university Press, 2002). The former book discussed the need to link social work with religious social services providers. The latter book discusses how American congregations became the hidden safety net of the American welfare system. Dr. Cnaan 2006 book deals with congregations in one large city, titled: The Other Philadelphia Story: How Local Congregations Support Quality of Life in Urban America (University of Pennsylvania Press). Currently, along with Carl Milofsky from Bucknell University professor Cnaan edits the Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations (Springer’s series of Handbooks of Sociology). This volume aims to capture the field of community practice from a theoretical and conceptual levels using knowledge from a multidisciplinary approaches.

Dr. Cnaan is the director of the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research (PRSPR) at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy & Practice. He carried out the first national study on the role of local religious congregations in the provision of social services and introduced an innovative new course on social work and religion. He is considered a leading expert in studying faith-based social services. He also carried the first ever census of congregations in an American city (Philadelphia). Dr. Cnaan is also known as an international expert on nonprofit organizations and voluntary action with a specialty in the study of volunteerism. He studied the role of volunteers in human services, volunteer management, and volunteerism as a social construct. Previously, Dr. Cnaan researched and published in the areas of information technology in social work practice, mentally-ill homeless persons, and practice evaluation. Dr. Cnaan serves on the editorial board of seven academic journals.

Robert J. Wineburg

Bob Wineburg is currently The Jefferson Pilot Excellence Professor of Social Work at UNC Greensboro. His research for the last 20 years has been on trying to understand the relationship between how policy is formulated at the federal and state levels, and how those policies actually affect agencies and organizations at the local level. His major focus is on determining how public and private nonprofit organizations use resources from the religious community to meet local needs. His former students endowed The Bob Wineburg Scholarship in Community Service.

He works nationally, regionally, and locally with many agencies and organizations in program planning and development. He was an advisor to Catholic Charities USA on its Vision 2000 Project, was a panelist at the United Jewish Communities bi-annual conference on the President’s Faith-Based Initiative. He currently advises the Eisenhower Foundation, and is a consulting scholar to the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s Roundtable on Religion and Welfare.

Wineburg was a member of the Governor of North Carolina's Task Force on Community Initiatives. He is the advisor for Welfare Reform Liaison Project, the nation’s first faith-based Community Action Agency. Wineburg has authored numerous scholarly articles, essays, and is the author of the book titled: The Limited Partnership: The Politics of Religion, Welfare, and Social Service, published in 2001, by Columbia University Press. His current book, Faith Based Inefficiencies: The Follies of Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative is scheduled for publication in January 2007. Wineburg received a Ph.D. from The University of Pittsburgh.

Community Partners

Jessie Ball duPont Fund

www.dupontfund.org

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund invests in organizations and communities that were important to Jessie Ball duPont.

The Fund organizes its resources around five focus areas:
• Strengthening the Independent Sector
• Building Assets of People, Families and Communities
• Building the Capacity of Eligible Organizations
• Stimulating Community Problem Solving
• Helping People Hold their Communities Accountable

Interdenominational Ministers Action Council (IMAC)

The three strategic initiatives of IMAC are:

• Economic and Social Justice, Holistic Health and Wellness, and Education.

Interfaith Coalition Building Blocks for Wilmington (ICBBW)

www.interfaithcoalition.net

The Interfaith Coalition’s strategic focus is on developing and sustaining a coordinated effort of neighborhoods and faith-based organizations to work with youth in at-risk environments, and their families, in order to minimize the likelihood that they will become involved in delinquent and criminal behavior and to set them on a developmental path towards higher achievement.

It’s work is centered around:
• Facilitating energies around neighborhood capacities and assets to build a sustainable “neighborhood based delivery system” with a common vision and shared ownership, that will work with hard to reach youth/families by identifying needs, referring them to appropriate existing services, and supporting them during the process
• Employing a nationally recognized model (Search Institute’ developmental asset framework) for intentional community asset building and positive youth development
• Mobilizing faith-based organizations for strategic ministry opportunities, to be accountable for the streets around their Congregation, and to facilitate urban/suburban faith-based partnerships
• Using technology solutions to better match youth/family needs with existing resources, and to track and measure our work

Final Report

Assessing Faith Resources for Effective Community Planning in Wilmington, DE

Dr. Ram A. Cnaan
Dr. Bob Wineburg

April 20, 2009

Click here to read the final report. (in PDF format)