Order Code RS21844
Updated February 28, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The Compassion Capital Fund: Brief Facts
and Current Developments
Joe Richardson
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
The Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), a Bush Administration initiative, was created
in appropriations law (P.L. 107-116; enacted in January 2002) and has since been
operated under the authority of successive annual appropriations acts and the general
research/demonstration project authority contained in section 1110 of the Social Security
Act. It is intended to help build service capacity and knowledge among faith- and
community-based organizations and encourage replication of effective approaches to
better meet needs of low-income persons and families. To date, the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) has spent over $112 million through the CCF: (1)
$91 million in matching grants to “intermediary” organizations that aid and make sub-
grants to local providers in order to help them improve their services; (2) almost $8
million in capacity-building $50,000 “mini-awards” given directly to faith-based and
community organizations; and (3) just under $14 million for research grants and other
types of support.
S. 6, the Family and Community Protection Act of 2005 (introduced January 14,
2005), contains provisions that would provide underlying law supporting Compassion
Capital Fund activities. The Administration’s FY2006 budget requests $100 million for
the CCF and indicates that some $50 million would be spent on activities supporting
youth-oriented “anti-gang” programs.
This report will be updated for new data and budget figures, major program changes,
and legislation.
What Is the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF)? The CCF is a federal program
(it is not a “trust fund”) that (1) provides grants to match private giving with federal
dollars to help small faith-based and community groups better serve social needs; (2)
gives startup funding directly to smaller groups to expand or emulate model programs;
and (3) provides technical assistance and other support for these efforts. It is a key
element of President Bush’s faith-based initiative, announced in January 2001, to expand
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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the use of faith-based and community groups as providers of social services.1 Its
expenditures depend on how much Congress chooses to appropriate for any given year.
Just as important, many federal departments (e.g., the Departments of Agriculture,
Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Veterans
Affairs) make grants to faith-based and community-based organizations as part of their
regular activities. These can “look like” CCF grants in that they provide money to faith-
based and community groups (as well as others), but are not CCF-funded.
In addition, a number of specific activities closely associated with the
Administration’s faith-based initiative (and faith-based and community providers) receive
federal money: a prisoner re-entry program, a project for mentoring children of prisoners,
the “Access to Recovery” substance abuse treatment program, an initiative supporting
maternity group homes, abstinence education, support for healthy marriages and
responsible fatherhood, and assistance for the homeless and in resettling refugees.
How Much Has Congress Appropriated for the CCF? To date
appropriations for the CCF have been: $29.9 million (FY2002, the fund’s first year),
$34.8 million (FY2003), $47.7 million (FY2004), and $55 million (FY2005). The Bush
Administration requested $89 million for the first year and $100 million annually for each
subsequent year (including FY2005).
How Does CCF Operate? The CCF is administered by HHS’s Administration
for Children and Families (ACF). The CCF program consists of three parts: grants for a
“demonstration initiative,” grants for a “targeted capacity-building initiative,” and various
technical and support services provided by the federal government (e.g., research,
information technology support, printing services). The ACF determines the balance of
spending among these three objectives, and demonstration and targeted grants are made
through the ACF, not states or, except in the case of the demonstration initiative (see
below), other entities.
What Are the Rules of the CCF Demonstration Initiative? This effort offers
matching funds (typically through three-year competitive grants) to “intermediary”
organizations having established relationships with faith-based and community
organizations. Funding is aimed at helping small faith-based and community
organizations improve their effectiveness, management, training, and other skills; it
generally does not support the actual provision of services. Intermediary grantees (1) use
the majority of funding to provide technical and other assistance to small faith-based and
community organizations and (2) make sub-awards to faith-based and community
organizations for training, technical assistance and capacity-building. Eligible groups for
demonstration awards include units of government, institutions of higher education,
federally recognized Native American tribal governments, non-profit organizations, small
businesses, and faith-based organizations. Grantees must provide 20% of the total cost
of the project. The program announcement for the second round of grants to
intermediaries (68 Federal Register38055, June 26, 2003) elaborated on rules for making
sub-grants. It said intermediaries must use at least 25% of their grants for sub-awards and
1 For related information on the President’s faith-based initiatives, see CRS Report RL32736,
Charitable Choice Rules and Faith-Based Organizations, by Joe Richardson.

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give priority to organizations meeting priority social service needs (such as the homeless,
elders in need, at-risk youth, families and persons in transition from welfare to work,
those in need of intensive rehabilitation) and to organizations that help couples who
choose marriage for themselves to develop the skills and knowledge to form and sustain
healthy marriages. Other sub-grant rules: participation must be open to faith-based and
community-based organizations; grantees must be chosen through a competitive process
and may not be pre-selected; selection criteria must not include consideration of the
religious nature of a group or the religious nature of the program it offers, but the
approach must include outreach to both faith-based and community organizations.
What Are the Rules of the CCF Targeted Capacity-Building Initiative?
The targeted capacity building initiative makes direct, competitive, one-time (typically
$50,000) “mini-grants” to small non-profit groups and faith-based groups. The purpose
is to assist grantees to improve their program effectiveness and sustainability, access
funds from various sources, and replicate model programs and best practices. These
awards, which are 100% federally funded, are for social service priority areas (see below).
The first year’s mini-awards (FY2003) required that a grantee have at least one year’s
experience in working with at-risk youth or homeless persons. In the second program
year, grantees were required “to be working in” one of four priority areas: at-risk youth,
homeless, marriage promotion, and rural community services The program
announcement (69 Federal Register 20890-20895, April 19, 2004) said mini-awards
could not be used to support inherently religious practices and that grant recipients,
therefore, “may not and will not be selected on the basis of religion.”
What Has CCF Spending Been? The table below summarizes CCF grant
awards and other spending (obligations) to date. The bulk of the money has been spent
for three-year grants to intermediaries. HHS says that as of September 30, 2004, some
1,900 organizations have received CCF aid. Nearly 200 organizations received direct
grants and about 1,700 got sub-grants through intermediaries. Grants are typically
announced near the end of a fiscal year (e.g., August 2004 for FY2004 awards). For
additional details on grants that have been made and newly announced grants, see the
[http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ccf].
CCF Spending: FY2002-FY2004
(in millions)
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
Total
Demonstration matching grants to
$24.8
$28.4
$38.0
$91.2
intermediaries (new and continuing
grants)
Targeted capacity-building mini-
0
2.6
5.0
7.6
grants to small organizations
Research grants, information
5.1
3.8
4.7
13.6
technology support, grant/review
panel costs, printing costs
All spending (appropriations)
$29.9
$34.8
$47.7
$112.4

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Sources: Budget justifications for Department of Health and Human Services, ACF: FY2003, FY2004, and
FY2005; ACF news releases announcing grant awards for FY2002, FY2003, and FY2004; the ACF Office
of Legislation and Budget (OLAB).
How Can One Apply for a CCF Grant? For details about the CCF and how to
apply for CCF grants, see [http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ccf]. Also see the
regulations cited above. The CCF Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA,
[http://www.cfda.gov]) number is 93.647.
Current Developments. On January 24, 2005, Senator Santorum introduced a
bill — S. 6, the Family and Community Protection Act of 2005 — that includes
provisions intended to provide underlying authorizing law for Compassion Capital Fund
activities that would be administered under the aegis of several federal agencies. Title III
of this bill proposes to authorize the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing
and Urban Development, and Justice, as well as the Corporation for National and
Community Service, to award grants (and enter into “cooperative agreements” with
nongovernmental organizations) that provide: technical assistance to small community-
based groups, information about and assistance in “capacity building,” information about
and assistance in identifying/using “best practices” for delivering aid (and encourage
research on these practices), information about and assistance in utilizing regional
“intermediary organizations” to boost community-based organizations’ capabilities, and
assistance in replicating effective programs. Appropriations totaling $150 million in
FY2006 (and “such sums as may be necessary” for FY2007-FY2009) would be
authorized. This bill effectively replicates the Compassion Capital Fund provisions of the
CARE Act of the 108th Congress — contained in H.R. 7 (passed by the House) and S.
476 (adopted by the Senate).
The FY2006 budget asks for $100 million for the CCF, with some $50 million set
aside for youth-oriented “anti-gang” projects. According to the White House website of
the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the President’s budget includes a
“three-year, $150 million initiative to help youth at risk of gang influence and
involvement” funded through the CCF.2
2 The Office’s website is available at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/].

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