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Compassion in Action ReportsPromoting Service and Civic EngagementPreface In January 2007, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives launched a series of monthly Compassion in Action Roundtable meetings to highlight organizations, programs, and policies addressing critical social needs. The Roundtables convene and facilitate discussion between policymakers, government officials, philanthropists, and faith-based and community service providers around targeted issues. The events reveal the President’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative as a broad-based, community-centered reform agenda; showcase innovative projects and promising practices; and draw attention to government efforts to expand and support the work of faith-based and community organizations actively engaged in serving their neighbors and communities. The following report offers an overview of the April 16th, 2007 Compassion in Action Roundtable, entitled The President’s Compassion Agenda: Promoting Service and Civic Engagement. Please note the statistical information presented throughout the report reflects data available up to the time of Roundtable, and excludes any data collected after April 2007. Introduction On April 16th, 2007, the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) hosted its fourth Compassion in Action Roundtable, entitled The President’s Compassion Agenda: Promoting Service and Civic Engagement. The Roundtable explored the Administration’s efforts on civic engagement, announced new trends and tools in volunteer service, commemorated National Volunteer Week, and highlighted the efforts of those answering the President’s call to service. Jay Hein, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, said the premise of the April Roundtable discussion was to underscore the fact that the President’s compassion agenda was built upon a citizenship framework. Quoting President Bush’s 2001 Inaugural speech, Hein described the President’s vision of an America where citizens served not as spectators or subjects, but as responsible citizens serving their nation and neighbor. Hein added, "It does take all of us to solve social need. It takes enlightened businesses, it takes government and it takes community. Academics refer to this as multi-sector social change." Government’s role, and in particular that of the OFBCI, is to eliminate barriers, level the playing field, and to share information and strategies with the nonprofit sector. Hein described the OFBCI as "a leadership engine to try, on behalf of the President, to bring life to this vision and to serve the Federal agencies who are operating on its tenants and indeed, most importantly, to the nonprofit leaders and the private leaders who are in communities trying to work this out on a day to day basis." Understanding how to effect multi-sector social change requires a healthy appreciation of the sectors involved. For example, according to research prepared by the Council of Economic Advisors, the nonprofit sector encompasses more than 1.5 million organizations with combined annual revenues of over $670 billion. Based on assets totaling $1.76 trillion, nonprofits alone would comprise the sixth largest economy in the world. To Hein, recognizing the scope and scale of this sector is critical to the success of government and nonprofit partnerships. He explained, "This is a substantial sector we are talking about. This is a business-driven sector; business by way of its principles, focus and outcomes…. We need it to perform at a high level if we are solving social problems, because they are the greatest problems and opportunities to serve that we have." To ensure optimal performance among all sectors involved, the OFBCI and the 11 Federal agency Faith-Based and Community Initiative Centers have worked together to strengthen and empower those answering President Bush’s call to service. They have done so by spearheading regulatory reform; providing training and capacity building resources to nonprofit organizations; and by bringing life to President Bush’s vision of citizens building communities of service and a nation of character. The President's Call to Service
On January 29, 2001, just nine days after his inauguration, President Bush established by Executive Order the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI). Inspired by the “uncounted, unhonored acts of decency” performed by so many faith-based and community organizations throughout the country, President Bush honored his inaugural pledge to lead a nation that serves its neighbors in need, giving direction to the freedom that defines us as a people. From the outset of his Administration, President Bush championed the work of everyday citizens fighting on the frontlines of need, saving lives, restoring hope, and healing the wounded traveler. Yet the events that would take place over the next few years would challenge these ordinary citizens in extraordinary ways: with one of the worst acts of terrorism committed on American soil, and a natural disaster reaping unprecedented levels of destruction, Americans would witness great suffering and devastation. And they would respond. Between 2002 and 2005, the number of Americans volunteering grew by 5.6 million. In 2006, 61.2 million Americans volunteered, representing 26.7% of the population. The recent, historically high rates of volunteerism have been fueled in part by President Bush’s multi-prong effort to foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility. In his 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush called on every American to commit at least two years, or 4,000 hours, to the service of neighbor and nation. To help meet that goal, he announced the creation of USA Freedom Corps (USAFC), a White House office working in partnership with national service programs to connect individuals with volunteer opportunities and to strengthen the nonprofit sector. That same year, the President also created Citizen Corps, expanded AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and renewed the promise of the Peace Corps by pledging to increase its overseas volunteer base. Since USAFC was created, AmeriCorps has grown by 50 percent to support 75,000 members each year; the Peace Corps reached a 30-year peak in the number of volunteers in the field; and nearly 2,000 communities across the U.S. established Citizen Corps Councils to help inform and train people in emergency preparedness and response. To further encourage Americans to serve a cause greater than self, in 2003 President Bush announced the formation of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation and created Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP), a program utilizing the skills of thousands of professional Americans interested in flexible time volunteer service overseas. To date, VfP has helped mobilize 21,000 volunteers through 220 partner organizations. The State of Volunteering in America These new programs, and the President’s expansion of existing ones, demonstrate the Bush Administration’s steadfast commitment to strengthen nonprofits and to promote volunteerism in communities across America. As part of this effort, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), an independent Federal agency that provides grants, training, and technical assistance to develop and expand volunteer organizations, conducted a study to better understand volunteering and its connection to the broader civic health of our nation. Entitled Volunteering in America: 2007 State Trends and Rankings in Civic Life, the reportprovides a national, regional, and State analysis of volunteering trends. Produced in partnership with the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, the report showed that Americans are turning out in record numbers to volunteer. People of all ages are volunteering on college campuses, through religious communities, at schools, and in social service organizations in a wide range of volunteer activities. Many volunteers teach and mentor children, help older individuals live independently, and work with communities to recover from hurricanes and other disasters. The report found that the growth in volunteering from 1974 to 2006 has been driven primarily by three age groups: young adults; mid-life adults; and older adults. In particular, volunteer rates among the young adult population (16-19 years old) showed a dramatic rise between 1974 and today. While volunteer rates among young adults declined between 1974 and 1989 (20.9 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively), the percentage of young adults who volunteer almost doubled between 1989 and 2006 (from 13.4 percent to 26.4 percent, respectively). Similarly, the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) recently reported that the percentage of entering college students who believe that it is “essential” or “very important” to help others who are in difficulty reached a 25-year high in 2005, with that rate slightly increased in 2006. Although the report revealed unprecedented rates of civic engagement in recent years, it also drew attention to the fact that one out of three volunteers (or 20.9 million) who served in 2005 dropped out in 2006. According to David Eisner, chief executive officer of CNCS, this retention rate is cause for concern. During remarks made at the OFBCI Roundtable, Eisner explained, “When we talk about engaging citizens, all of this research shows us that it has to be as much about training our nonprofits about the right way to engage and hold their volunteers as it is about actual recruitment.” Eisner said he believes that “increasingly, people want to serve in ways that are meaningfully connected to solving key problems in their society. They want to be able to see, touch, and understand why their volunteer work is connected to being an important part of their local solution.” Eisner, a former executive with AOL and Time Warner, said far too often nonprofit managers fail to recognize that volunteers are an amazing source of social capital. “Unfortunately, I have seen many nonprofits assign the President to manage a $1 million gift, but assign the intern to oversee $5 million in social capital. This is a mistake.” And it is a costly one at that. According to the Independent Sector, one volunteer hour is worth the equivalent of $18. In 2006, the 8.1 billion hours of service performed by volunteers was valued at an estimated $150 billion. Failing to recognize this tremendous asset is a mistake nonprofit organizations simply can’t afford to make. Fortunately, the value of social capital is becoming more widely acknowledged. Since serving as CEO of CNCS, Eisner has seen more State governments, companies, and foundations invest in civic engagement as they have grown to understand that building social capital leads to more people voting, knowing their neighbors, helping others, and engaging in local affairs. From foundations like the Surdna Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies, and from businesses like Home Depot, State Farm, and Target, Eisner said there is increasingly more public and private programming to promote vibrant civic life in America. Eisner added that because more resources have been devoted to measuring civic life, there is now greater access to substantive research about volunteering statistics and the benefits of civic engagement. This data helps guide public policy and aids in the recruitment, management, and retention of volunteers. Some key findings pulled from the data collected in the Volunteering in America: 2007 State Trends and Rankings in Civic Life report include:
Eisner pointed out findings from a separate CNCS study, entitled Leveling the Path to Participation: Volunteering and Civic Engagement AmongYouth from Disadvantaged Circumstances, which revealed a substantial civic engagement class gap between those who are educated and those who come from disadvantaged circumstances. Disadvantaged youth are less likely to volunteer or take part in service-learning or school civic clubs than peers who do not come from low-income households. This gap is disconcerting, Eisner said, because studies have shown that when disadvantaged youth volunteer they are more likely to become politically engaged, graduate from college, and believe they can make a difference in their communities. Eisner noted that one of the reasons disadvantaged youth are not volunteering to the extent they should is because the types of organizations through which they typically volunteer are being overlooked. “When we engage disadvantaged youth in service, we are disproportionately doing it out of churches and faith-based organizations. And yet we are now finding that more than 85 percent of nonprofit organizations that engage volunteers do not have a relationship with their local churches or with faith-based institutions. This means that they are structurally disadvantaged in being able to engage the exact people we want to see serving the most.” Eisner emphasized that when people volunteer and are civically engaged, “they spread good will, solve critical problems, and create tangible benefits for themselves and their communities.” Because high levels of citizen engagement are vital to a healthy society, CNCS has committed to increasing the total number of volunteers in America to 75 million by 2010. As part of its strategy, CNCS plans to:
Eisner believes these goals can be reached because there is a greater mindshare and awareness of the importance of civic engagement within the business community, philanthropic sector, nonprofits, and within government. He added, “The concept that service is not just nice but necessary and that we can’t solve problems without active engagement of our citizens is something that we are seeing everywhere.” Volunteering as a Governing Strategy Now more than ever, the promotion of civic service throughout faith and secular communities is viewed among many government leaders as a public policy priority. But this wasn’t always the case. During the Roundtable discussion, Steven Goldsmith, chairman of CNCS, recalled the challenges he faced as Mayor of Indianapolis when he tried to partner with faith-based organizations, and the misperceptions people had about government forming such alliances. In 1997, Mayor Goldsmith created the Front Porch Alliance (FPA), a movement that encouraged religious organizations to improve their run-down neighborhoods. The FPA formed 600 partnerships with over 400 faith-based organizations, most of whom, Mayor Goldsmith said, wanted nothing more from government than a level playing field and a certain degree of cooperation. “They weren’t after government funding—they wanted to have the opportunity to reach out to those in their communities and they wanted government to close the crack house or to clear the neighborhood vacant lots so that it could become a park…. But they weren’t in it for the money. They were in it to leverage their services.” Throughout his campaign to clean up the most neglected communities within Indianapolis, Mayor Goldsmith noticed that his work was gaining the most ground in the communities that had strong civil-society roots. In particular, those communities rooted in strong faith traditions had a unique advantage over communities without a similar presence. Out of all the sectors involved in the clean up effort, “the religious organizations were the most common assets in the community and where there was a substantial amount of capacity for these religious institutions to sort of capture volunteers, the efforts of the government were working.” In spite of what Mayor Goldsmith saw as an obvious advantage to partnering with faith-based organizations, discriminatory policies precluded many public-private partnerships from forming. At the time, if a faith-based organization wanted to leverage government services by competing for funding, it had to compromise its faith identity in the process. When Mayor Goldsmith tried to contract with the Salvation Army by using Community Development Block Grant money to expand the reach of homeless shelter services, he encountered restrictive regulatory barriers. He realized the City could only partner with the Salvation Army if “they removed the crosses and started looking like a government program rather than a faith-based program.” Frustrated by these prejudicial government practices, Goldsmith fought to create a level playing field on which organizations could participate regardless of their faith identity, or lack thereof. “The fact of the matter is that for those of us that deliver services to those who need it, the goal is not to have a faith-based organization, or a secular organization, or even a government organization, it’s to leverage a series of assets in such a way as to help the most amount of people possible,” he explained. Over the course of his two mayoral terms, Goldsmith’s work to increase government partnership with nonprofit organizations gained considerable momentum. At an Indianapolis church on July 22, 1999, a national spotlight was put on Mayor Goldsmith’s efforts when then-Governor Bush delivered his revolutionary “Duty of Hope” speech. In that speech, the President thanked Mayor Goldsmith for setting an example of innovative, compassionate government, and for creating community centered programs like the Front Porch Alliance, which the President described as “a model for the nation.” The speech outlined candidate Bush’s campaign promise to rally the armies of compassion by looking first to faith-based organizations, charities, and community groups that have shown their ability to save and change lives. As one of the architects of the faith-based and community initiative described in that speech, Mayor Goldsmith became President Bush’s chief domestic policy advisor in the 2000 campaign and later served as special advisor to the President on faith-based and community initiatives. Goldsmith told the Roundtable audience that he has seen substantial progress throughout his years as policy maker, practitioner, and campaign advisor. “We have cleared away a lot of the Federal regulatory brush that prevented people from participating [in the past].” However, Mayor Goldsmith also stressed the importance of increasing the capacity of organizations on whom local and State governments have increasingly relied. “There’s a tendency…to put too many demands on local organizations… when you find somebody who is doing good you just keep giving them more things to do until you reach the breaking point.” Because nonprofits rely so heavily upon the efforts of their volunteers, Goldsmith said preventing their overextension is critical to every faith-based and community organization answering the President’s call to service. If government can strengthen nonprofits by increasing their capacity, whether through Federal agency training or the use of grant funding, those organizations can better recruit, manage, and retain their volunteer base. Goldsmith concluded, “So we have something really important to do here—which is to extend the reach of volunteerism, allow more people to volunteer, more people to benefit. And the exciting thing is that the research shows that a mentor really makes a difference and a properly trained tutor does make a difference. That we can help folks who are aging out of foster care, we can help prisoners reenter their communities and we can do this through connecting volunteerism and those skills with people who need it.” Connecting individuals with volunteer opportunities is one of USA Freedom Corps’ (USAFC) primary objectives. Establishing this connection is critical to faith-based and community organizations because, according to research conducted by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, four out of five charities use volunteers to help meet organizational needs and one in three congregations manage volunteers in social service outreach programs. In addition to its recruitment efforts, another key objective of USAFC is to help organizations retain the volunteers with whom they have made a connection. This is essential because charities and congregations are not always fully equipped to make the most of their volunteers. In fact, the Urban Institute study found fewer than half of charities and congregations that manage volunteers have adopted most volunteer management best practices advocated by the field. In 2003, in an effort to help charities better manage their volunteer infrastructure, USAFC created a toolkit entitled, Answering the President’s Call to Service: Best Practices for Charities and Congregations in Volunteer Management and Mobilization. With research conducted by the Urban Institute, the toolkit is based on a series of four reports produced through a volunteer management capacity survey project, which was supported by CNCS and the UPS Foundation. The Toolkit highlights the following eight best practices for volunteer management and mobilization:
For nonprofits directly affected by the alarming rates of volunteer retention, another valuable resource is the USA Freedom Corps Volunteer Network website (www.volunteer.gov). The world’s largest clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities, the website provides links and resources to sound recruitment and retention strategies that have an important part in well-designed and well-managed programs. Studies show that satisfied, long-term volunteers who are passionate about their work will benefit nonprofits with continuity of service, reduced costs, increased recruitment, and outreach support. Compassion in Action: Answering the President’s Call to Service Three charitable organizations that have successfully employed some of the aforementioned best practices joined the Roundtable discussion to share their experiences. Whether in times of crisis or calm, these nonprofit leaders embody the spirit of President Bush’s call to service by developing strategies that leverage multi-sector resources. Through their innovative, comprehensive, and entrepreneurial approaches to solving human need, they represent the future of social service provision. Here are their stories. Mark Sloan is the director of the Harris County Citizen Corps (HCCC) in Texas. HCCC is an innovative, award-winning citizen preparedness initiative that is recognized as a National Best Practice. During the Katrina relief effort, Mark was assigned to the Unified Command to coordinate more than 60,000 volunteers. Over the course of 21 days, he and his volunteer team helped over 65,000 Katrina evacuees arriving in Houston. In addition to mobilizing volunteers, Mark and the Council coordinated private sector contributions and created an evacuee “city,” which at its peak sheltered more than 27,000 people. During the Roundtable, Sloan described how his organization took command of the situation as the catastrophic events unfolded: “As the residents of the Gulf Coast began to pour in we realized immediately that we needed to coordinate the volunteers more effectively with the 100 agencies that were on site…we put the word out through our faith-based partners, through our business partners, and through our program partners that we needed volunteer support… when I put the request out through an email the response was incredible. I received a thousand emails an hour, saying; when, where, and how? The message then was forwarded and I think it went global. We had volunteers that came in from Ireland, Spain, England, Austria, Canada, and Mexico. We had trained volunteers that came in from all across the United States. And we coordinated those through the unified command structure. Each one of our partner agencies understood their role and responsibility….We knew each other by face and by name.” Sloan said HCCC focuses on three priorities when working with volunteers: planning, practicing, and partnerships. When he asks people to serve, he makes sure they have a clear understanding of what he expects from them. He trains them so they will become resources and assets that he and his disaster relief partners can call upon whenever disaster strikes. And before that happens, he encourages volunteers to partner with programs and agencies that are doing things within the community on a daily basis. This, Sloan explained, gets volunteers in the practice of serving, better preparing them for the next catastrophic event. Since 1993, Laurie Beshore has been the pastor of Outreach Ministry at Mariners Church in Irvine, California. Under Laurie’s leadership, the Outreach Ministry has seen the development of multiple volunteer-led ministry teams, which have expanded community involvement from a few hundred volunteers to over 6000. Beshore told the audience, “The church’s role in all of this is just to provide a framework, to create a culture and an environment that really empowers volunteers and leaders to make a difference.” Beshore is indeed making a difference through her leadership of over 30 unique ministries serving the poor and needy both locally and globally. Each ministry recognizes people in need, relates to them with compassion, and responds in personal, tangible ways. The ministry is born out of the belief that when a volunteer serves others, it not only changes the life of the person being served, but it transforms the one serving into a more grateful, compassionate, and generous person. This ministry has impacted tens of thousands of lives through the years and throughout the world as people have been cared for and empowered by this army of volunteers. Lighthouse Ministries, the local outreach program of Mariners Church, began with partnerships with existing community based nonprofits. Over time, a dedicated learning center in downtown Santa Ana, California was created. This humble beginning has now grown to include a full service community center, mentoring programs, foster & orphan care, housing rehabilitation, programs for seniors, support for military families, college programs, camps and more. Lighthouse continues to extend care and compassion through its collaboration with nonprofits and government agencies, such as Habitat for Humanity, Orange County Rescue Mission, Teen Challenge, Social Services and Family Court. Global Outreach develops partnerships with local churches in countries around the world to provide relief and assistance. Over 1,400 volunteers will travel to serve in Uganda, China, India, Sri Lanka, Peru, Congo, Mexico, and Egypt this year alone. As volunteers see needs first hand, they actively seek new solutions. Also, in response to Hurricane Katrina, Global Outreach volunteers partnered with Celebration Church in New Orleans to develop the largest relief distribution center, and continues to assist in the rebuilding of the community. Mariners Church is also focused on engaging the congregation in funding micro-business, abolishing human trafficking and child slave trade, as well as providing adequate housing for people around the world. About 17 years ago, Michelle Nunn, co-founder and chief executive officer of Hands On Network and a member of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, sat in a living room in New York with roughly 12 people discussing ways in which they could make a difference. However, their conversation wasn’t just about what they could do as individuals, but what they could do to make it easier for their peers to make a difference as well. Out of that discussion grew the concept of the Hands on Network, a nonprofit organization bringing more than a half million volunteers together to strengthen communities through meaningful volunteer action. Nunn explained, “That movement has grown from that handful of folks to a group of people that last year created, developed, managed, and completed over 60,000 service projects.” In true entrepreneurial fashion, Nunn started one of the three founding affiliates employing the “Hands On” model of service. As Hands On Atlanta’s first staff person, Michelle played a central role in the growth of the national movement that became Hands On Network, which now has a membership of more than 68 affiliate organizations across the country and around the globe—all based on the model of service that started with the Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C. founding affiliates. Nunn said the Hands On Network has successfully provided an entry point for people to get involved. “We made it easier for them to start and gave them some flexibility about how they engaged. We enabled them to have the social reinforcement of a team or to work with others to create connectivity. We tried to create a meaningful experience with tangible results and also to give people a continuum of engagement. Many of the efforts were led by other volunteers and there was a pathway for people to get increasingly involved.” Volunteers engage in projects ranging from tutoring children to building wheelchairs to partnering with organizations like KaBOOM! and Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers choose from a variety of service projects that connect community needs with their time and interests. Hands On Network also finds ways for people to meaningfully cross the divide between those who want to help and the unmet needs in communities. People, Nunn explained, “who are willing to roll up their sleeves and to make a difference.” Working in partnership with the Federal and State government, Hands On Network has received $9.2 million in AmeriCorps*State and national grants, and $466,000 in Americorps*VISTA funds to support 28 AmeriCorps*VISTA members. They have received over $1.4 million in other grant initiatives, including Training and Technical Assistance, Challenge Grants, and Martin Luther King Day of Service grants. When then-Governor George Bush presented his vision of government in an Indianapolis church back in 1999, he laid a foundation upon which future public and private partnerships would form. The new role of government, he said, will be one “that serves those who are serving their neighbors. It will be government that directs help to the inspired and the effective. It will be government that both knows its limits, and shows its heart. And it will be government truly by the people and for the people.” Government would begin to focus on supporting change from the bottom up rather than from the top down, and through partnerships formed by members of both the private and public sector. Diana Aviv, president and chief executive officer of Independent Sector, a national leadership forum for charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs, told the audience that these partnerships really do matter, and that they can make a big difference in the lives of those they serve. “When we come from our different spheres of engagement, whether we’re working in government or we’re working in the charitable sector or we are working in the private sector. If we come together to address these problems, together we are likely to achieve greater outcomes than when we work alone.” The role that volunteers play within this collaboration is tremendous, and, as Aviv mentioned, it is their civic engagement that “really defines the American Character in a way that just about nothing else does.” Aviv emphasized the need to realize the enormous potential within certain population groups, and to provide meaningful experiences for new volunteer recruits so they are motivated to continue their service. However, as important as it is to increase the number of people serving, Aviv insisted that one thing must never be forgotten, “Making a difference is at the core of what we are doing.” She continued, ”It’s not recruiting volunteers, it’s not retaining volunteers, it’s not strengthening social service organizations—it’s about making a difference in our communities that matters to volunteers. I would suggest to you it matters to the organizations that we run, it matters in the positions that we hold both in government, in the private sector, and in the charitable sector and in the end that should be at the core of what we are doing.” Federal Efforts to Encourage Volunteerism and Civic Responsibility To make sure that those Americans choosing to give their time and talent have the most resources available in their search for volunteer opportunities, several Federal programs have put information together to help them in their effort. These include: USA Freedom Corps For more information, visit www.volunteer.gov. White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives For more information, visit www.fbci.gov. National Volunteer Week For more information, visit: www.usafreedomcorps.gov/about_usafc/special/nvw.asp. For more information, visit: www.usafreedomcorps.gov/about_usafc/newsroom/local_vols.asp. The President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation For more information, visit: www.usafreedomcorps.gov/council/overview/index.asp. Corporation for National and Community Service For more information, please visit: www.nationalservice.gov. AmeriCorps*State & National For more information, visit: www.americorps.gov. AmeriCorps*NCCC For more information, visit: www.americorps.gov. AmeriCorps*VISTA For more information, visit: www.americorps.gov. Citizen Corps For more information, visit: www.citizencorps.gov. Learn and Serve America For more information, visit: www.learnandserve.gov. Peace Corps For more information, visit: www.peacecorps.gov. Senior Corps For more information, visit: www.seniorcorps.gov. Take Pride in America For more information, visit: www.takepride.gov. Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service For more information, visit: www1.va.gov/volunteer. Volunteers for Prosperity For more information, visit: www.volunteersforprosperity.gov. The President’s Compassion Agenda: Promoting Service and Civic Engagement April 16, 2007 3:00pm – 3:10pm Welcome and Introduction 3:10pm – 3:25pm State of Volunteering 3:25pm – 3:45pm Volunteering as a Governing Strategy 3:45pm – 4:45pm Panel: Answering the President’s Call to Panelist: Michelle Nunn, Co-Founder and CEO Panelist: Laurie Beshore, Pastor of Global Outreach and Lighthouse Ministries Panelist: Mark Sloan, Director 4:45pm – 4:55pm Closing Remarks 4:55pm – 5:00pm Wrap Up 5:00pm – 6:00pm Reception Diana Aviv Diana Aviv is the president and CEO of Independent Sector, the national leadership forum for charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs committed to advancing the common good in America and around the world. Diana also serves as executive director of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, an independent panel of charitable and philanthropic leaders convened by Independent Sector in October 2004 at the encouragement of the leadership of the Senate Finance Committee. The Panel’s charge is to consider and recommend actions that will strengthen good governance, ethical conduct, and effective practice of public charities and private foundations. Ms. Aviv came to Independent Sector in April 2003 after nine years at United Jewish Communities. As UJC’s vice president for public policy and director of the Washington Action Office, she worked closely with federations and national agencies concerned with the domestic health and welfare needs of vulnerable people. Ms. Aviv was formerly associate executive vice chair at the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, director of programs for the National Council of Jewish Women, and director of a comprehensive program to serve battered women and their families. She has had a private psychotherapy practice in New York and New Jersey and has served as an expert witness in capital cases in New Jersey. She is immediate past chair of the National Immigration Forum, is an advisory board member of the Stanford Social Innovation Review and The Center for Effective Philanthropy, a member of the Board of Governors of the Partnership for Public Service, and a board member of GuideStar. A native of South Africa, Ms. Aviv graduated with a B.S.W. from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and received a Master of Social Work degree at Columbia University. Laurie Beshore Laurie Beshore has been the outreach pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, California, since 1993. Mariners Church is an inter-denominational church of 12,000 people. Currently, the Outreach Ministry is comprised of over 30 unique ministries serving the poor and needy both locally and globally. Each ministry began as a calling on someone’s life and paired with her vision and passions have become God given opportunities, to bless people in the community and around the world, who are impoverished, isolated or in pain. Under Laurie’s leadership the Outreach Ministry has seen the development of multiple volunteer-led ministry teams, which have expanded the ministry and community involvement from a few hundred to over 6000 and growing. Those same teams have recognized people in need, related to them with compassion, and responded in personal tangible ways. David Eisner David Eisner is chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Federal Agency that oversees America’s service and volunteering programs, including AmeriCorps, VISTA, NCCC, Senior Corps, Learn and Serve America and other domestic service and volunteering programs. Mr. Eisner came to the Corporation in December 2003, at a time of challenge and difficulty for the organization, and immediately brought strong management and passionate advocacy to its service programs. Under Mr. Eisner, the Corporation has expanded the reach of its programs. Today, operating under the guidance of a new five-year plan, Mr. Eisner is leading the Corporation in forging powerful alliances with other agencies and private sector leaders to use service as a support platform for youth in disadvantaged circumstances, to engage more college students in service, to harness the skills of retiring Baby Boomers and, generally, to drive greater numbers of Americans to have greater impact through service and volunteering in communities. Prior to his service with the Corporation, Eisner was an executive with AOL and AOL Time Warner, where he oversaw the AOL Foundation and became a nationally recognized leader on nonprofit capacity-building, infrastructure, and organizational effectiveness. He has served on the boards of several national nonprofit organizations, including Independent Sector, the National 4-H Council, and Network for Good. A graduate of Stanford University, he received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Stephen Goldsmith Stephen Goldsmith, a Dan Paul Professor of Government at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, is a nationally recognized expert on government management, reform and innovation. He is the author of several books, most recently, “Governing by Network: The New Face of the Public Sector,” and his columns have frequently been published in such papers as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. He currently is a Partner in Knowledge Universe Learning Group one of the world’s largest private education companies. While serving two terms as Mayor of Indianapolis, he earned a national reputation for innovations in government. Mr. Goldsmith was chief domestic policy advisor to President Bush in the 2000 campaign and then served as Special Advisor to the President on faith-based and not for-profit initiatives. He currently serves as chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Jay F. Hein Jay F. Hein was named deputy assistant to the President and director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives on August 3, 2006. He is the founding president of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, an international public policy research firm headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Hein also served as vice president and chief executive officer of the Foundation for American Renewal, a public charity established by Ambassador Daniel R. Coats. Prior to the Sagamore Institute, he was executive director of Civil Society Programs at Hudson Institute, including the Welfare Policy Center, the Faith in Communities initiative, community-based healthcare reform and the director of Hudson’s field office in Madison, Wisconsin, where he conducted hands-on research and analysis in support of the State’s welfare reforms. He also served in Wisconsin State government as a policy director. In both of these roles, Mr. Hein helped design and implement Wisconsin’s ground-breaking welfare replacement program. Michelle Nunn Michelle Nunn is the co-founder and CEO of Hands On Network. Prior to co-founding Hands On Network, Michelle was the founding director of Hands On Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that helps individuals, families, corporate and community groups find flexible volunteer opportunities at over 400 service organizations and schools. Hands On Atlanta volunteers, now 37,000 strong, are at work every day of the year building community and meeting critical needs in schools, parks, senior homes, food banks, pet shelters, low-income neighborhoods and more. From her initial leadership as Hands On Atlanta’s first staff person, Michelle has played a central role in the growth of a national movement that became Hands On Network with a membership of more than 68 affiliate organizations across the country and around the globe–all based on the same “Hands On” model of service that started with three founding affiliates in Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C. Michelle currently serves on the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. She has received a variety of awards and was recently named by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians.” Michelle graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia in 1989. She has studied at Oxford University and in India. She was a Kellogg National Fellow and has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has also received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Oglethorpe University. Desiree T. Sayle President George W. Bush created USA Freedom Corps at the White House to help foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility. Under Ms. Sayle’s leadership, the USA Freedom Corps has served as a coordinating council for federal agencies, national service programs and non-governmental organizations as well as the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation to strengthen and expand volunteer service throughout the country and the world. Ms. Sayle believes that national service and volunteering are cost-effective investments that improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster active citizenship. Ms. Sayle has been a lifelong volunteer and currently serves as co-leader for Girl Scout Troop 6632 of the Nation’s Capitol. Mark Sloan Mark Sloan is the outreach coordinator for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. He oversees various special projects relating to homeland security initiatives, including numerous grant applications, community preparedness and training programs. He is also the director of the Harris County Citizen Corps, an innovative, award-winning citizen preparedness initiative. During the Katrina relief effort at the Astrodome, Mr. Sloan was assigned to the Unified Command to coordinate the volunteers. During the 21 days volunteers helped over 65,000 evacuees from New Orleans. Mr. Sloan serves on the advisory board of ‘Ready Houston!’ which is committed to teaching individuals and families, houses of worship, nonprofit organizations and small businesses how to be more disaster resistant. He also served as a director of Homeland Security & Special Projects on the staff of Harris County Judge Robert Eckels from February 2002 to March 2007. Appendix C: Proclamation of National Volunteer Week, 2007 National Volunteer Week, 2007 Throughout the history of America, volunteers and civic organizations have helped extend the blessings of liberty and opportunity to our citizens. People across our Nation answer the universal call to love their neighbor by giving their time, talents, and energy to comfort those in despair, support others in need, and change lives for the better. The optimism and determination of our country's volunteers reflect the true spirit and strength of our Nation. My Administration encourages Americans to seize the opportunity to help someone in need. Individuals can find ways to serve in communities throughout our Nation by visiting the USA Freedom Corps website at volunteer.gov. The USA Freedom Corps works to rally America's armies of compassion and bring together individuals and faith-based and community organizations committed to volunteer service. These efforts are helping to build a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility across our country. America's volunteers demonstrate that the strength of our Nation lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. During National Volunteer Week, we recognize all those who have touched the lives of others with their kindness and who have made our country a better place by helping their fellow Americans. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 15 through April 21, 2007, as National Volunteer Week. I call upon all Americans to recognize and celebrate the important work that volunteers do every day throughout our country. I also encourage citizens to explore ways to help their neighbors in need and serve a cause greater than themselves. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.
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