Sometimes being ignored is just dandy

In the last eight years there has been a lot of discussion about "faith based initiatives" by the Bush White House and others. Both presidential campaigns have spent at least some time in making proposals to link the non-profit community closer to government. Today's Washington Post has an article which quotes one Robert Egger from something called the Capitol Kitchen. Egger urges government to become more involved with the non-profit world by saying "We're the only industry of this size and scope that doesn't have a real voice in this process. At best, we're humored. At worst, we're ignored."

The Post article also recognizes a group called America Forward which claims to be "a coalition of more than 60 results-oriented, entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations that are working in communities across the country to solve some of the most pressing problems facing our nation." Kim Syman who is a co-founder says "Philanthropy can fail in a way that government can't. But we can catalyze government investment in growing what works." All that is true but it may be a strong argument for reducing rather than enhancing the direct relationships between government and the non-profit sector.

As one who has worked at the intersection of government and the non-profit sector for more than thirty years, I agree with Congressman John Lewis, who is no slouch in the world of non-profits but also in the world of politics. Lewis is quoted in the article as suggesting that "Sometimes we (Congress) can get in the way."

The relationship between higher education and federal largess is a prime example. Aid to colleges and universities (after the GI bill) began to flow in the late 1950s with the National Defense Education Act. It expanded greatly in 1965 and 1972 with two major expansions of federal policy. However, as I have noted in an earlier post, the most recent iteration of the law federal law on higher education is very short on support and very long on regulation (by one count more than 140 new reporting requirements). For the last several years we've had a secretary of education who believes it is her job to manage colleges and universities into a disgusting uniformity.

On Saturday night, at the Saddleback Civic Forum, Senator Obama stumbled over an answer on faith based initiatives (this is not a criticism of his answer) because he seems to be genuinely struggling over how much of a relationship is appropriate between faith based organizations and the government. That was in no way a sign of the Senator's evasion of the issue but rather a reflection of the very deep issues that face deeper involvement between government and the non-profit sector. One person in the Post article suggests that we need a Nonprofit Administration to match the structure of the Small Business Administration. Excuse me but that would be a horrid idea.