Our Story
Interfaith San Antonio Alliance was launched under the legal name San Antonio Religious Leadership and Civic Engagement Project as part of a special nationwide initiative in 2018. That same year, the name was updated to the more descriptive “Interfaith San Antonio Alliance,” which serves as the documented DBA (Doing Business As).
Interfaith cooperation is not new in San Antonio. Civic leadership by diverse religious leaders has been taking place since the founding of the city, and Interfaith San Antonio Alliance is building on that strong foundation.
Several decades ago, for example, the cooperation of local leaders across several religious faiths was largely responsible for the peaceful desegregation of San Antonio’s schools and businesses. Likewise, ISAA expands relationships across the silos of faiths to meet vital needs.
Responding to the initiative, key members of the San Antonio faith community came together in February 2018 and agreed to work together for the city’s common good. Since then, significant progress has been made through meaningful cooperation.
Our Mission
The mission of the Interfaith San Antonio Alliance is to bring together major faith leaders representing diverse religious traditions into a sacred working relationship by collaborating on various civic projects that the leaders, through conversation and consensus, believe will serve the common good of the people of San Antonio.
Our Vision
At the heart of the Interfaith San Antonio Alliance (ISAA) is a commitment to harness the power of local religious leaders and their congregations across major faith groups for the purpose of reinvigorating civil dialogue and making San Antonio a more just and livable city.
What we’ve done, what we’re doing
The initial project of the ISAA, determined by consensus of its members, was to work with faith communities, with the city and other community partners to alleviate problems of homelessness and to facilitate affordable housing efforts. ISAA’s efforts were deemed a success with the passing of the city’s Affordable Housing Bond in 2022.
During the COVID pandemic ISAA became a significant resource to the greater community in organizing congregations to serve critical needs such as mask production and distribution, pop-up vaccination clinics at trusted congregational sites, and meeting hunger needs by coordination with the Food Bank.
In 2021-22 ISAA initiated the Communities of Welcome Project to pair Afghan refugee families with caring congregations.
As trusted community partners ISAA is continually called upon as a resource to enrich other organizations events with diverse and compassionate programs.
The Inaugural Festival of Faiths in January 2024 was a culmination of the years of cultivating relationships to encourage San Antonians toward compassionate understanding and respect for all faith traditions.
