Today President Obama announced that the former White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives -- a controversial office initiated by the Bush Administration -- is being re-named the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The program is being broadened to include both religious and non-religious organizations primarily doing anti-poverty work.
This is not the venue to re-hash all of the controversies surrounding the Bush Administration's program, except to say that I have been unable to find out exactly which organizations received funds under the Bush program. I am told the Bush Administration deliberately decentralized record-keeping to obfuscate which groups were getting money, and how much. Whether any Buddhist groups were funded by the Bush Administration's program I do not know.
That said ... Buddhism in America is utterly unorganized and decentralized. Oh, there are some sects that have a degree of national organization, and others that, um, do not (and I'm talking to you, American Zen). If you are looking for a beginner Buddhist retreat, or you would like to volunteer for a Buddhist social outreach program, good luck finding one. There are many such retreats and programs, but unless you already have connections with the group hosting them you are unlikely to learn about them. There's no single place to go to find out who is doing what.
So, I'd like to ask that if you know of a Buddhist organization doing charity or social work, or a monastery or Buddhist center offering residential retreat programs, please leave a comment here or post the information in the "Help and Resource Center" folder in the forum.
Dharma Drum Retreat Center in the Hudson Valley area of New York State offers beginners’ classes, workshops, and retreats in the Chan tradition of Master Sheng Yen. Although the events scheduled for February have been canceled due to his recent death, those interested in beginner’s instruction can go to the Website at