The U.S. unemployment rate is surging, and faith-based organizations and their workers are feeling the effects. The Center for Public Justice hosted a webinar on what the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act changes to unemployment insurance could mean for faith-based employers and workers in the sacred sector. CPJ also published a resource that provides sacred sector employers and workers with helpful information regarding the unemployment insurance system and work-share programs.

Sacred Sector has created six different “Toolboxes” to guide organizations and emerging leaders in the faith-based nonprofit sector through the common challenges that they face. Each toolbox is composed of three parts: Public Policy, Organizational Practice and Public Positioning.

This resource is an excerpt of the Sacred Sector Government Partnerships Toolbox - Public Policy, which is available to members of the Sacred Sector Community and Sacred Sector Fellowship. This resource outlines the major public policy issues involved when faith-based organizations (FBOs) receive government funding to provide services. It also offers key principles for organizations that are considering competing for government funding. FBOs do not become an extension of government, required to act in the uniform secular fashion required of government, simply by receiving government support to provide services. On the contrary, government supports private organizations with a range of different views and practices.

In a Frequently Asked Questions document published April 3, the Small Business Administration affirmed the eligibility of religious organizations, including houses of worship, for the new payroll protection (PPP) forgivable loans, and confirmed protections for their religious identity and practices. Although not every issue has been resolved, churches and other faith-based service organizations needing assistance should contact their bank or other financial institution right away.

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which provides a variety of forms of emergency relief. The Center for Public Justice and the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance (a division of CPJ) have been monitoring the ways that the necessary relief will support essential components of civil society, notably faith-based organizations and their employees. This document highlights select elements of the CARES Act as well as the previously enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act, noting their potential significance for faith-based organizations, their employees, and those they serve. 

In this article from the Standards for Excellence® Institute, Jess Begue provides nonprofits with helpful information and resources for dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A unique public health crisis requires compassion, care, and resilience from all sectors of society. Religious communities have sprung into action, sustaining social ties in a time of social distance and caring for those most at risk of homelessness, food insecurity, and isolation. These same religious communities and faith-based institutions will need support now and as the crisis persists. As Congress and the Administration undertakes emergency measures, it should take care to safeguard the sacred sector, attending to both faith-based organizations and their employees. The COVID-19 crisis presents our nation with not a sprint, but a marathon. Public policy responses must respond to urgent needs while protecting those institutions -- including religious communities, faith-based charities, and the family -- that help keep our society strong.

The Center for Public Justice’s animating framework of public justice offers something unique to the global conversation surrounding COVID-19. The virus has dramatically impacted the institutions within which we live our lives, including faith-based organizations.

For faith-based organizations to comprehensively embody their missions to the fullest in challenging times, they must consider public policy, organizational practices, and public positioning. We believe this integrative approach can provide a helpful framework for thinking and acting through complex and challenging situations as they arise, including public health crises like COVID-19.

We invite you to read some of the resources written by CPJ staff for helpful information and perspectives regarding policies written in response to COVID-19 and living out public justice during the spread of the virus.