Inter-Faith Council for Social Service

The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC) strives to fill gaps in the social safety net. With help from community volunteers and support from our donors, IFC works to alleviate homelessness, hunger and poverty—helping people become self-sufficient by providing shelter, food, direct support, medical services and referrals. IFC provides safe accommodations for some 100 homeless people every night. Our community kitchen provides hot, nutritious meals every day (including holidays) to anyone who is hungry. Our food pantry distributes emergency food assistance. We also provide substantial amounts financial assistance and have partnered with Piedmont Health Services that provides medical/mental health/dental clinics for our residents.

Our clients usually come to us when they are faced with a crisis. They may be homeless, food insecure, unemployed, fleeing domestic violence, unable to pay a utility bill or facing eviction. Crisis situations are often brought on by an accident, serious illness or the loss of a job. Many of our clients are elderly, disabled or they suffer from addictions or mental illness. The IFC provides food, shelter and other basic services to help them get back on their feet again. Recent cutbacks in state and federal human service programs make IFC services even more critical and necessary.

IFC is hoping to consolidate the community kitchen and food pantry into a food operations center called FoodFirst in Carrboro. Having a combined food program in one location will maximize space, staff and volunteer resources and offer a more efficient and effective way to feed the hungry in our community.

IFC continually mobilizes in-kind donations (donated facilities, goods and volunteer services) to complement our cash resources. We are not in a position to purchase the quantity of food we provide through either of our food programs. Our agency receives more in-kind donations than monetary contributions.

While the IFC relies heavily on volunteers and in-kind donations, operating expenses are unavoidable. The IFC has a long history of keeping administrative costs to a minimum while providing critical services that have positive impact on the community. We have 20 full and 8 part-time employees who help coordinate our hundreds of volunteers. With this modest staff, we operate critical food and residential programs, including two homeless shelters that operate 24/7 year round. Our latest audit shows that 85% of our budget went towards program expenses.

We receive funding and other support from our local governments (the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and Orange County). IFC currently receives support from HUD's Emergency Solutions Grants and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). However, the Federal Government and the State of North Carolina have been making drastic cuts to social programs in recent years. Proposed cuts in food programs such as food stamps (SNAP) and WIC might result in increased demand for food from IFC. Steadily eroding government funding makes it hard for the IFC to maintain its current levels of services, but during these difficult economic times, scaling back is not an option for us. We are employing a variety of strategies to meet the needs of our clients in order to sustain current service levels.

In order to accomplish so much with a small staff and limited financial resources, the IFC relies on partnerships with other community organizations. Our key strategy for success is to rely on donations from the community and the active involvement of caring individuals, congregations and businesses. We actively collaborate with over 60 faith-based community partners. We have over 100 restaurants that participate in our annual anti-hunger fundraiser called Restaurants Sharing Ten Percent (RSVVP). Volunteer medical professionals provide free health and mental health care to our homeless residents.

The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC) meets basic needs and helps individuals and families achieve their goals. We provide shelter, food, direct services, advocacy and information to people in need. We accomplish this through strong partnerships with volunteers, staff and those we serve. We rely on the active involvement of caring individuals, congregations and other community organizations.

The IFC was founded in 1963 to address the significant gaps that existed in the social safety net of our community. Seven local churchwomen created the IFC "to discover unmet needs and to respond through the coordinated efforts of volunteers. More than 50 years later, the IFC is the principal agency in Orange County for mobilizing our community to address homelessness, hunger and economic disparity.

So, the IFC began as a volunteer-run organization. Without volunteers, the IFC would not be able to provide the same level of services to those in need. Volunteer social workers coordinate care and connect residents with resources for stabilization and progress toward permanent housing. Throughout the agency, volunteers and interns work more hours than our full-time staff.

The IFC partners with large numbers of congregations and faith groups that bring hope and opportunity to local households and our neighbors in need. The IFC has an active Congregations Committee serving under its Board of Directors. The Congregations Committee is comprised of liaisons who serve as a link between their respective congregation and the IFC.

The IFC relies heavily on volunteers and in-kind donations. With only about 10% of our revenues coming from public sources, we rely on the generosity of individuals, congregations, businesses, foundations and other friends. The United Way of the Greater Triangle named IFC a “Partner Agency of Excellence" for meeting all their essential best practices criteria.

The IFC has succeeded in operating critical safety-net programs: a homeless shelter for men, transitional housing for women and children, a soup kitchen, a food pantry and crisis intervention. We managed to weather the Great Recession, when many local non-profits were struggling, and when demand for our services increased.

Our food pantry has never run out of food, so we never had to turn anyone away. When supplies are low, we turn to our congregations and other community groups for donations. We have thousands of household members who are eligible for monthly groceries on an as-needed basis. The Community Kitchen serves real, home-cooked food on a shoe-string budget. The Kitchen has only one paid staff who works with a host of volunteers. Almost all the food is donated by local businesses and would otherwise end up in the landfill. Thanks to the IFC, people do not have to go hungry in this community.

IFC operates a Crisis Intervention Program to prevent homelessness. This program provides food, clothing, rent, utility assistance, help obtaining IDs, bus passes, information and referrals. Some local churches worked with IFC to create a shared database that member congregations can access to better coordinate the distribution of discretionary funds. IFC facilitates collaboration among congregations so that they can respond more effectively to local poverty issues.

HomeStart offers homeless women a variety of services through community partnerships. Our women are able to acquire education, job training and skills for independent living while staying with us. Community House men's transitional housing facility offers programs and supportive services to empower its 52 homeless male residents to transform their lives.

The IFC hopes to consolidate it with the Food Pantry in downtown Carrboro. This new food operations center will called FoodFirst. Combining IFC's kitchen and pantry into one location will maximize food, space, staff and volunteer resources and provide a more effective response to local food insecurity.