For years, Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP) has housed two distinct missions under one “roof” — an education program for students and a lobbying arm to evoke change in the state Legislature.
But this year, that changed when ALCAP split its ministry into two separate entities, a move Executive Director Joe Godfrey said allows more clarity and better potential for funding.
The 501(c)3 nonprofit that was the former ALCAP is keeping the education component and changing its name to American Character Builders (ACB). It will continue to provide volunteer teachers to schools across the state to teach students to make good decisions about issues ranging from bullying to drugs.
The new entity, a 501(c)4 organization, is taking the name ALCAP.
“That new organization will be the one that continues to go to the Legislature and lobby, as well as consult with churches that are fighting wet/dry votes and other things of that sort,” Godfrey said.
This change was in the works before Godfrey came on board as associate executive director in 2007, and it was made for two main reasons, he explained.
First — funding.
Gifts to ALCAP continue to fund the base budget of both entities, including staffing and office space, and church giving to ALCAP is not affected by the new 501(c)4 status, Godfrey explained. He remains executive director over both entities, though their boards will be divided come Feb. 2, 2010, ALCAP’s next board meeting.
In the past, the education program’s connection to the lobbying arm prevented it from pursuing some avenues of funding, so Godfrey said it is hoped the division of organizations will remedy that problem and make more options available. Those options like private funding and grants will come in handy for a project ACB has in the works — educational kits for ACB teachers or schoolteachers to use.
“Currently we have 14 different modules, and we are wanting to turn those into kits that will have a teacher’s guide, a DVD and student booklets,” he said.
This will help especially in geographical areas where ACB might not have as many volunteer teachers available, said Bill Day, ACB director.
“With this approach, we will be able to put into their schools something they could use, either teachers themselves or for substitute teachers, with material that is almost self-presenting,” he said.
ACB is aiming to have the first four kits — on the most popular topics of drugs, tobacco, alcohol and bullying — ready for distribution by fall 2010.
“We want to have them made top quality, professionally produced, so to do that, we are going to have to raise some substantial monies,” Godfrey said.
The second benefit of the division is the clarity that comes with ACB’s new name.
The education program’s name change gives it a more recognizable name for its ministry, as well as casts a vision for the future, he added.
“We envision that someday we could make this material available outside of Alabama. There’s the possibility of it becoming a nationwide resource,” Godfrey explained.
That’s exciting, Day said, because many other states don’t have resources like this available at all and “what we are doing here has been very successful.”
There’s also talk of eventually making the material available to colleges’ Baptist Campus Ministries or churches’ student programs for ministers to teach.
“We are even looking at the possibility of repackaging this into a corporate context,” Godfrey said. “Many companies require affiliates to have some sort of drug education program for employees, and we could potentially provide that.”
For now, the ministry is focusing on its ongoing mission and producing the first set of kits. But the future looks bright for ALCAP and ACB, Godfrey said.
“We are excited about how this division of our ministry will help us to expand our alcohol- and other drug-abstinence programs into schools, churches and other venues in areas where we have never been and in ways we have never done before,” he said.
For more information, visit alcaponline.org or call 205-985-9062.
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