2006 Annual Report

THE INTERFAITH ALLIANCE THE INTERFAITH ALLIANCE FOUNDATION Dear Friends of The Interfaith Alliance, For The Interfaith Alliance and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation, 2006 was an outstanding year. I am delighted to share with you our 2006 financial statements and this scrapbook of our most memorable moments of success. On January 15, 2006, The Interfaith Alliance Foundation launched State of Belief, our weekly, national radio show on Air America. What a joy to broadcast our message—in our spirit, with our words—to a growing national audience. Frankly, I have been stunned by our listeners’ overwhelming response and passionate devotion to the show. Another profoundly valuable new initiative that has inspired and challenged all of us is LEADD (Leadership Education Advancing Democracy & Diversity), the first innovative camping program for a new generation of diverse interfaith LEADDers. I wish you could The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy have looked into the faces of these young people and seen their excitement and commitment to religious pluralism and social-political activism. Already, our first LEADDers have organized new interfaith youth groups in several states. Also in 2006, in cooperation with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, we launched First Freedom First, a national campaign to educate the public and elected officials about the meaning and significance of religious freedom. We hosted town hall forums in six states and gathered more than 250,000 signatures on our petition affirming religious freedom and the constitutional separation of religion and government. These three new initiatives confirm the creativity, vision, and excellence of our work backed by our 185,000 members and beyond. On the following pages, you will see reports on other programs that are central to our ongoing work, challenging the political manipulation of religion, including One Nation, Many Faiths. Vote 2006, our comprehensive election-year program; our National Leadership Gathering in Nashville; and our ninth annual gala, where George Clooney accepted the Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award. Rabbi Jack Moline I sincerely wish that I could hand you this annual report personally, sit with you to talk about the importance of our work, and express our gratitude for your support. Without your involvement with us, there would be no annual report because no one else does what we do so well. Please enjoy this review and resolve to stay with us on this great journey to strengthen religious liberty and democracy in our nation. Sincerely, The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy President, The Interfaith Alliance and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation The Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich To my Fellow Members of The Dear Friends of The Interfaith Alliance, Interfaith Alliance, In August, 1971, just a few months before Richard Nixon nominated The snapshots and anecdotes in your hands help to convey some of him to the U.S. Supreme Court, Lewis Powell Jr. wrote a memo that the excitement of an exceptional year for The Interfaith Alliance. When launched a revolution. Powell viewed with alarm the progressive social I took over as chair of the board in the last weeks of 2006, I inherited a changes and political transformations of the 1960s, which he saw as a growing tide of enthusiasm from staff, members of the Board and, fundamental threat to the American enterprise system. He especially most important, those of you in the hundreds of communities that pilloried campus activists, Ralph Nader, and the media. have been touched by local activism. Powell argued that American business should make a long-term I grew up in a family devoted to our religion, our country, and our commitment to reverse these changes through persistent efforts on the community. My parents were activists in the best sense — they showed campus, in the media and the courts, and in the political arena. us the importance of building bridges and safeguarding the rights of all Inspired by the Powell memo, beer magnate Joseph Coors funded the Americans. In our family, we emphasized personal and civic Heritage Foundation, the first of many think tanks to champion responsibility. Like the prophet Isaiah, when the question was asked, corporate causes. Unfortunately, some of these organizations also “Whom shall I send?” we were taught to answer, “Here I am; send me.” became the intellectual and institutional incubus of the religious right. I watch with pride as our members from our westernmost alliances In order for the Interfaith Alliance Foundation to fulfill its founding to the East Coast stand up and say “Here I am.” I am continually goal of defending religious liberty against the forces of bigotry, we too impressed with our staff members who answer the call with, “Send have made an enduring commitment. We aspire to educate individuals me.” And what makes me proudest is that the call to faith and freedom and build institutions that embody our belief in our nation’s heritage of emerges from two people who exemplify those values — our President, religious diversity and intellectual tolerance. Welton Gaddy, and the Honorary Chair of our Board, Walter Cronkite. I’m delighted that we have made clear progress in these efforts. State The extraordinary members of our Board, who come from the diverse of Belief has added a thoughtful new voice to our nation’s airwaves; tapestry of America’s faith communities, have committed themselves to LEADD has trained dozens (and soon, I hope, thousands) of high school the work of raising consciousness, raising resources and, when necessary, students to be civic leaders in a religiously diverse nation; First Freedom raising a ruckus on behalf of religious freedom for all Americans. The First has rallied hundreds of thousands of individual citizens to the price of that freedom for all is our willingness to put the Constitution cause of religious liberty; and George Clooney gave unprecedented ahead of all other claims to civic authority. As one of our Board Members, visibility to our Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Awards Dinner. In the Rev. David Currie, says, “It’s what keeps America America.” addition to these program accomplishments, we have also reorganized Our Board is most enthusiastic about outreach to young people at the Foundation and Alliance boards to bring new vitality to our seminaries and college campuses and especially in high schools through our collaboration with the staff. LEADD program. Following my parents’ example, I have encouraged my This has been a banner year for The Interfaith Alliance. I hope you are own children to be involved with The Interfaith Alliance and other partners inspired by this report. I also hope it motivates you to find the place where in the sacred task of answering America’s call to religious freedom and you can make a long commitment to religious freedom in America. human dignity. I hope that our next annual report will include pictures of you and the children and grandchildren you love answering the call with, Sincerely, “Here I am; send me!” The Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich Board Chair, The Interfaith Alliance Foundation In faith and freedom, Rabbi Jack Moline Board Chair, The Interfaith Alliance Religion and Radio, Done Differently State of Belief’s First Year on the Air On January 15, 2006, The Interfaith Alliance Foundation took an economic and programmatic risk by launching State of Belief, “religion and radio done differently.” Broadcast weekly on Air America and XM Radio, State of Belief goes behind the headlines to see when religion is enhancing the public dialogue and when it’s being used as a political tool. In the most religiously diverse nation in the world, State of Belief explores issues and conflicts at the intersection of religion with politics, culture, media, and activism. We air commentaries on the news and interview religious and secular thinkers, including politicians, theologians, journalists, pundits, and authors. Among our notable guests in 2006 were Walter Cronkite; former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Arun Gandhi, a former TIA board member and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi; Senator Harry Reid; former Senator and Ambassador John Danforth; Senator Patrick Leahy; Al Franken; political scientist John Green; Newsweek Managing Editor Jon Meacham; NPR’s Krista Tippett; Chuck Todd, NBC News political director; former White House aide David Kuo; Republican fundraising pioneer Richard Viguerie; authors Chris Hedges, Kevin Phillips, Michelle Goldberg, Sam Harris, Susan Jacoby, and Esther Kaplan; and religious leaders Priestess Margot Adler, the Rev. Claire Butterfield, the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, the Rev. Dr. On State of Belief, we explore Marie Fortune, Pastor Joel Hunter, the Rev. Jennifer Kottler, Rabbi Michael Lerner, the Rev. Bill Sinkford, and Dr. Andrew Weaver. issues and conflicts at the intersec- For more information and where to listen: www.stateofbelief.org. tion of religion with politics, culture, media, and activism. LEADD: An Innovative Camp for a New Generation of Interfaith Leaders Leadership Education Advancing Democracy & Diversity A camp, a school, and a safe space, the first LEADD camp brought together 30 high school sophomores and juniors to study America’s founding principle, freedom of belief. They learned from adult pro- fessors, and by teaching each other. No other existing camp includes young people so fully representative of America’s racial, socio-economic, philosophical, and religious and nonreligious belief systems. During the 2006 inaugural camp, guided by an outstanding faculty, 30 students from 14 states studied government, law, and citizenship through the lens of religious liberty and the First Amendment. “After attending this program and seeing how well such a diverse group came together, I realized the importance of teaching religious pluralism,” said Aaron, a new LEADDer. Several others said coming together to learn and explore proved to be one of the most enlighten- ing experiences of their young lives.

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