202 Pageviews Read Stories
Causes: Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy, Crime & Law, Domestic Violence, Homeless & Housing, Homeless Shelters, Human Service Organizations, Human Services, Protection Against Abuse
Mission: Investigating religious fraud/low income housing-the overriding purpose of trinity foundation is to act as a catalyst for christ's love by confronting self-absorption and excess in the church. As a public foundation, guarding against and exposing religious fraud and excessive misuse of donor funds falls squarely within our mission. As a practical matter, it also includes meeting needs when possible and/or facilitating solutions to problems brought to our attention such as hunger and homelessness.
Programs: Watchdog on ministry abuse (investigating religious fraud)--the foundation is one of the nation's leading religious-media "watchdogs". Information requests are met regularly from local, regional, national and international media outlets as well as various government agencies--including the senate finance committee. The foundation maintains an 800-number help line and an online questionnaire for victims of televangelists. We have worked with organizations such as prime-time live, inside edition, nbc dateline, a current affair, abc 20/20, cbs sixty minutes, the bbc, and espn. In addition, hundreds of newspapers, magazines and talk shows have used our services. The foundation maintains a nationally recognized video archive of televangelism broadcasts, a print-media clip file and extensive direct-mail files on several hundred televangelists and other ministries. Donor advocacy: our website, www. Trinityfi. Org , facilitates the information needs of donors and victims of religious ministries. In may of 2005, we were asked by the general council of the senate finance committee to furnish reports on conversion and inurement to the committee on religious not for profit organizations. This consumed most of our activities from 2005 through 2011. To date, we have submitted 38 reports to the finance committee. In 2015 we helped the hbo program last week tonight with john oliver expose televangelist abuses of donor money. We continue to provide reports to the exempt organizations division of the irs on a regular basis.
service corps--specifically started as a practical resource for our community and for providing an on-going work rehabilitation program for the poor and homeless we care for. It now includes community service restitution for persons who are performing court-ordered hourly restitution--we provide a place for these persons to work off their mandatory hours.
low income housing--in 1995 and again in 1998, trinity foundation acquired multifamily housing facilities in oklahoma city and then in dayton, oh to provide low cost housing for the poor and distressed. Alongside the housing provided, trinity foundation implemented programs to provide hands-on assistance to those tenants in need. In 2005 and 2009 these large projects were ended. However, we continue to investigate local opportunities to provide low-income housing in the north texas area.
meeting need/shelter--the dallas project includes the traditional responsibility of religious organizations in meeting the basic needs of the poor and the weakest members of society. Though we have passed much of this program service to the community on columbia (church), we continue to work hand in hand with them to meet these kinds of needs.