Religious nuts

Charity | ACORN over the years has received strong support from mainline churches | Warren Cole Smith

Tom Williams/RollCallPix/Newscom

A tiny ACORN has grown into a huge mess.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has received more than $54 million in federal funding since 1994. But that federal funding is likely to end following scandal, allegations of illegal activity—and an overwhelming Sept. 17 vote by both houses of Congress to defund the group: 345-75 in the House and 85-11 in the Senate.

But over the years, Congress has been only one source of money for the controversial organization. Another source has been the church. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has given at least three grants to ACORN in the past few years. Among them: $7,500 from the Presbyterian Hunger Program for "general support," $10,000 to the ACORN New Orleans office for "community organizing," and $35,000 from the PCUSA Self Development of People fund "to address the issue of security."