Why ShareNetwork - Does Not Take Federal Funding

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A Public Standard for Independence, Trust, and Local Control

ShareNetwork exists to help communities feed people and meet real needs locally - with dignity, transparency, and participation.

To protect that mission, ShareNetwork and Certified Share Nodes follow a simple rule:

We do not accept federal cash funding or contracts tied to migration, relocation, or population-movement programs.

This is not about politics.

It’s about structural integrity.

The Problem We Refuse to Repeat

Across the country, large institutions lost public trust because they became dependent on government funding streams that:

• changed with administrations 
• came with shifting requirements and messaging 
• created perceptions of political alignment 
• turned service organizations into subcontractors 
• pulled attention away from local needs and local donors
   

Even when intentions were good, the result was predictable:

The mission got captured by the funding.

Trust collapsed. Communities divided. The work became controversial.

ShareNetwork is designed to avoid that trap - permanently.

Our Three Non-Negotiables

1) Independence

When funding comes from Washington, control eventually follows - through rules, reporting, priorities, and pressure.

ShareNetwork must remain free to serve locally, based on local realities, not national agendas.

2) Trust

Local food relief only works if communities believe the work is:

• honest 
• non-partisan 
• transparent 
• rooted in the people it serves
   

If people suspect the work is driven by political programs or federal contracts, trust erodes-even if the work is legitimate.

We don’t gamble with trust.

3) Local Ownership

ShareNetwork is built on a simple principle:

The people closest to the need should control the response.

Federal program money often centralizes decision-making, reporting, and priorities.

ShareNetwork is intentionally the opposite.

What This Standard Actually Means

Clarification on Food Commodities

ShareNetwork’s standard against federal funding applies to cash grants, contracts, or pass-through funding that create programmatic control, political alignment, or operational dependency.

The distribution of in-kind food commodities, such as USDA-donated foods provided through emergency food assistance programs, is not considered “federal funding” under this standard.

These commodities involve no cash transfer, no migration or population-movement mandates, and no control over ShareNetwork’s governance, messaging, or local decision-making.

ShareNetwork accepts food — not federal money — to feed people locally and responsibly.

Prohibited (Under the ShareNetwork Name)

Certified Share Nodes may not accept federal funds that are tied to:

• migrant transport or relocation 
• migrant housing placement 
• population movement programs 
• any program where the Share Node becomes a government operator/subcontractor for migration logistics
   

This includes direct awards or pass-through funds where the practical effect is the same.

Allowed

Share Nodes may accept:

• individual donations 
• business sponsorships 
• church and community funding 
• private foundations 
• local grants aligned with local relief 
• earned revenue that supports mission
   

Share Nodes may also engage in lawful, compassionate service to anyone in their community - without federal program entanglement.

Transparency Is the Enforcement

This standard is not just “a promise.” It’s a system rule.

Each Certified Share Node maintains a public profile that includes:

• funding source categories 
• basic spending categories 
• activity reporting (food distributed, households served, volunteer participation) 
• certification status
   

If a Share Node violates this funding standard, certification can be revoked and the public status updated accordingly.

Trust is protected through visibility.

Compassion Without Capture

ShareNetwork believes in serving people. Period.

We will not outsource our moral credibility to any administration, party, or federal contract system. We will not allow funding to redefine what the work is - or what it is perceived to be.

This is how we stay:

• credible 
• local 
• resilient 
• scalable
   

We don’t take federal migration funding because ShareNetwork must remain independent, trusted, and locally controlled - forever.
 

Start a Share Node

If you want to build local relief that stays clean, credible, and community-owned: