Policy Regarding the Use of Federal Funds for Religious Activities

A. Grant funds shall not be used to support inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization.

B. Grant funds shall not be used to purchase religious materials or pay for the supervisory, administrative, labor, or other costs of construction, maintenance, or repair of buildings that are used primarily as houses of worship or primarily for inherently religious activities.

C. Grantee’s officers, employees, and volunteers shall not pressure or coerce any beneficiary of or participant in the funded program to attend or participate in any inherently religious activities.

D. If the grantee offers or engages in inherently religious activities, the activities must occur separately in time or location from the funded program, must be voluntary, and must occur in a manner that protects beneficiaries of and participants in the funded program from any pressure or coercion to take part in the activity.

E. The grantee shall keep the grant funds separate from any funds used to support inherently religious activities, and shall maintain separate financial records for the account that contains the grant funds.

F. In identifying or admitting beneficiaries of or participants in the funded program, and in rendering assistance to beneficiaries of and participants in the funded program, the grantee must not discriminate against or among beneficiaries or participants based on religion, a religious belief, a refusal to express or hold a religious belief, or a refusal to attend or participate in an inherently religious activity.

G. If your agency contracts or subgrants any portion of the grant funds to a third-party contractor or subgrantee the requirements shown above must be included in the third-party contract or subgrant terms, and your agency must agree to monitor the contractor’s or subgrantee’s compliance with those requirements as follows:

i. Conducting site visits (unannounced when reasonable), as reasonably necessary in response to complaints alleging violations of the terms of items A through F above or on your own initiative where there exists reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred.

ii. Annual reviews of fiscal reports submitted by the subgrantee/contractor that relate to the grant funds; further review of financial and/or accounting records maintained by the subgrantee/contractor as reasonably necessary in response to complaints alleging violations of the terms of items A through F above or where there exists reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred; and imposition, upon receipt of a complaint or other reasonable cause, of such additional reporting requirements upon the subgrantee/contractor as may be reasonably necessary in order to determine whether a violation of the terms of items A through F has occurred or to prevent future violations.

iii. Preparation of written reports documenting each visit referenced in item G above.

iv. Such other measures as may be required by applicable law and contractual provisions.