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In the News: Obama Visits Year Up in Washington, D.C.
June 22, 2009
Commongood Careers client Year Up is closing the opportunity gap for urban young adults. Today, this high-impact organization was the focus of the President’s attention! As part of an afternoon devoted to promoting fatherhood and mentoring, President Obama visited Year Up’s site in Arlington, VA and sat down with Year Up students for a roundtable discussion.
Engaging with innovative nonprofits like Year Up is central to the Obama administration’s efforts to tackle persistent social problems and highlight what works in our communities.
Read more about Obama’s visit to Year Up in The New York Times.
Comments (1)
In the News, Social Innovation
June 01, 2009 Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced the creation of the Summer of Service initiative. This initiative will work to increase civic engagement across the country by connecting people with service opportunities and empowering people and organizations to create new approaches for solving problems through service. The Summer of Service effort will focus on four issue areas: energy and the environment, education, health care, and community renewal. CNCS is looking to develop creative partnerships with organizations across sectors to engage citizens in ways to address these issues and effect change in our communities.
If your organization is interested in getting involved with the Summer of Service initiative, please email for more information.
Comments (1) In the News, Social Innovation
May 01, 2009 Leadership succession may not be a top issue on many nonprofit leaders’ minds these days. According to a recent survey report published by Bridgespan, the need to recruit new talent and plan for leadership transitions is more pressing than ever before.
Published in April 2009, the report “Finding Leaders for America’s Nonprofits” suggests that the leadership deficit previously forecasted by Bridgespan in 2006 has widened. According to the report, senior job openings grew to 77,000 in 2008, a figure that is 43% greater than what had been predicted in Bridgespan’s 2006 survey report, “The Nonprofit Sector’s Leadership Deficit.”
Additionally, and despite the current economic conditions, 28% of organizations surveyed plan to fill over 24,000 senior management roles in 2009.
Where will these leaders come from? While Bridgespan suggests that talent recruited from the corporate and government sectors can step in to fill these roles, that is just one piece of the puzzle. The need for organizations to develop leaders from within has never been greater. The ability to identify “next generation” leaders within your own organization, and then provide career ladders, mentoring and other professional development opportunities will also help to address the leadership challenge. By thinking creatively and broadly – both within and outside of our organizations—there are solutions to the leadership gap.
Comments (0) In the News, Sector Reports, Talent Issues
April 01, 2009 It is with great excitement that we share the news that the House of Representatives passed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act yesterday! With a bipartisan vote of 275-149, the House approved the bill that the Senate passed last week and thus completed the legislative process. The bill will now go to President Obama, who we expect will sign it into law when he returns from Europe.
Earlier today, Obama made the following statement on the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act:
“I congratulate the House on passing the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. This is legislation that will usher in a new era of service in America, and I look forward to signing it into law when I return to Washington.”
“Because of this legislation, millions of Americans at all stages of their lives will have new opportunities to serve their country. From improving service learning in schools to creating an army of 250,000 Corps members a year dedicated to addressing our nation’s toughest problems. From connecting working Americans to a variety of part-time service opportunities to better utilizing the skills and experience of our retirees and baby boomers. This legislation will help tap the genius of our faith based and community organizations, and it will find the most innovative ideas for addressing our common challenges and helping those ideas grow. But while our government can provide every opportunity imaginable for us to serve our communities, now it is up to each of us to seize those opportunities. I call on all Americans to stand up and do what they can to serve their communities, shape our history and enrich both their own lives and the lives of others across this country.”
The passing of this legislation is largely due to the mobilization of a huge citizen movement, organized largely by the leaders and members America Forward and Service Nation. We are proud to be a part of both of these coalitions.
It truly is an historic time for social innovation and service in this country!
Comments (1) In the News, Social Innovation
March 25, 2009 Today, for the second day in a row, the United States Senate continued consideration of the Serve America Act. Several Senators spoke in support of the Act on the floor of the Senate including Democratic Senators Akaka, Cardin, Carper, Kaufman, Mikulski, Nelson and Udall and Republican Senators Hatch, Isaacson and Johanns.Thanks in large part to the ongoing cultivation by the Points of Light Institute and others, Republican Senator Johnny Isaacson of Georgia signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill.
Here a few amazing highlights resulting from the national mobilization around this legislation:
Comments (0) In the News, Social Innovation
March 24, 2009 Here’s an important update about the Serve America Act, provided by Alan Khazei of Be The Change. Be a part of history and help to get this important legislation passed! Read on for details…
Last Friday, members of Service Nation were asked to mobilize our networks in preparation for this week’s Senate vote on the Serve America Act. In just a few days, our coalition, working with Voices for National Service and America Forward, rallied and we are off to an extremely positive start.
Floor debate in the Senate began today at around 4:00PM with excellent speeches by Senators Mikulski, Hatch, McCain, Kerry and others. Senator Kennedy was also present on the Senate floor. It was followed by a cloture vote to allow the bill to proceed. The final vote on the cloture was 74-14 in favor of proceeding. This was an extremely strong bi-partisan vote, with 22 Republicans joining 50 Democrats and 2 Independents voting in favor. The full vote tally is pasted below.
As we move forward throughout the week, it must be our goal to first thank all of the Senators who voted in favor of cloture and continue to flood their offices with phone calls in support of Serve America so that we hold onto their vote throughout the week. This will be critical.
Debate continues on the Senate floor tomorrow.
In the meantime, thank you to all of you who have mobilized your networks and stepped up your efforts in support of the bill. Some achievements of the day include: Over 110 people have stepped forward to serve on the various committees. ThinkMTV has featured our call to action on their homepage; Mark Lazarra and Josh Randle helped secure an editorial in the Buffalo News and the Boston Globe published one as well (read them at http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/media/latest_news); Teach for America and City Year sent out an email to their entire alumni list; members of our coalition stepped up to be point people for 25 out of the 28 states we are focusing on (we are still looking for point people in Indiana, Wyoming and South Dakota); the National Council on Aging sent out a call to action to their listserve; Ashton Kutsher sent out a twitter message asking his thousands of followers to call their Senators; AARP has begun circulating editorials in their key states and is preparing an ad to run in the Roll Call and Hill Newspapers and Craig Newmark of Craigslist has been blogging about Serve America throughout the day. We have had reports of hundreds of phone calls being made. This is only a sampling of what we accomplished through our collective networks and what we must continue to do.
Over the next day, we must continue to focus on 1) Calling Senators and asking them to support Serve America, focusing especially on those Senators who voted in favor cloture and 2) securing favorable editorials in newspapers around the country and reaching out to other media sources.
This can be a historic week- but we have a few more days of extremely hard work ahead of us.
All Best,
Alan, Bridge, AnnMaura, Michael and Michelle
Comments (2) In the News, Social Innovation
January 27, 2009 Congratulations to DonorsChoose.org on two recent accomplishments! Founder and CEO Charles Best was named by USA Network as one of seven “Characters” for his work transforming philanthropy. USA defines Characters as “innovating, out-of-the-box thinking personalities who shape our world and our opinions.” Visit http://www.usanetwork.com/characterapproved/ for more information about Charles and the other Characters.
Also recently, DonorsChoose.org announced that Stephen Colbert, comedian, actor, and host of The Colbert Report, has joined their national board: http://blog.donorschoose.org/blog/2009/01/12/stephen-colbert-the-colbert-report-joins-donorschooseorg-board-of-directors/.
Comments (0) In the News
November 19, 2008 Earlier this week, the Chronicle of Philanthropy hosted an online discussion about how the current financial downturn is affecting the job prospects of nonprofit professionals.
The discussion explored if the financial crisis is causing shifts in the nonprofit job market, and how particular people are being affected. On one end of the spectrum, people seem to be postponing retirement and staying at their jobs longer. Younger employees are concerned about their long-term prospects in the social sector.
The overall financial situation may also result in sector-switchers from the corporate world wanting to enter the nonprofit sector, which creates more competition for fewer jobs overall.
How is the economy affecting you in your job search and/or current position?
Comments (1) Hiring Advice, In the News
November 10, 2008 During his campaign, Barack Obama spoke at length about his commitment to accelerating social entrepreneurship in this country, including making sure the neccessary funds were available for new social ventures. A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle explores this further, including:
Obama has pledged to create a Social Entrepreneurship Agency within the Corporation for National and Community Service, to generate more venture capital for socially conscious startups. The new agency would make it easier for small nonprofits to get federal grants, plus come up with a results-driven accountability system so government officials could make better decisions about which charities to fund.
Obama also wants to create a Social Investment Fund Network, which would steer private and government money to cities that identify innovative solutions to their most pressing social issues.
He estimates his ideas will cost $3.5 billion a year. He plans to pay for them through savings found by ending the war in Iraq and eliminating some corporate tax deductions.
Comments (1) In the News, Social Innovation
October 26, 2008 Some recent news items suggest that social entrepreneurs may be somewhat insulated from the current financial crisis.
In the news story, Investors Focusing on Social Enterprises, San Francisco Bay Area television station KGO reports that venture capitalists are investing their dollars in socially responsible businesses. “Social capital markets” are gaining more attention in investment communities, and both new and existing organizations are reaping the benefits.
Similarly, Venture Beat speculates if “social capital” is the next big market to emerge. With a lens on microfinance, fair trade, environmental, and social change organizations, this article looks at how investors are putting their faith—and dollars—into triple-bottom line ventures.
Comments (0) In the News, Social Innovation
October 08, 2008 Last month, a series of events unfolded in our sector that have brought about an enormous infusion of public policy leadership, media attention, funding, energy, and hope.
So what made September so special? In truly historic terms, ServiceNation launched a national and groundbreaking campaign, elevating the conversation about citizen service to a new level. For those who are unfamiliar, ServiceNation is a coalition of organizations dedicated to strengthening our democracy and solving problems through civic engagement and service, of which Commongood Careers is a proud member.
Kicking off the campaign on September 11th in New York City, Senators Obama and McCain set aside partisanship to speak together at a Presidential Forum about the importance of service and their views on how to expand its impact. The following day, the ServiceNation Summit brought together hundreds of leaders – nonprofit and for-profit CEO’s, elected and appointed government officials, army generals and celebrities – to discuss and embrace the future of citizen service. But the rubber really hit the road on September 27th’s “Day of Action,” during which more than 2,700 service events were organized across all 50 states to showcase the power and potential of service.
The month also brought some of the most powerful legislation in decades to expand and improve service opportunities when, on September 12th, Senators Kennedy and Hatch introduced “The Serve America Act” with co-sponsorship from Senators Clinton, Obama and McCain. When many policy efforts grind to a halt during an election cycle, waiting to see what the election will bring, it is tremendously encouraging to know that the next President of the United States has already endorsed this sweeping and important reform.
These developments are likely to have a profound impact on the workforce of the nonprofit sector, as more and more people are introduced to service and earn marketable experiences working to those ends. Particularly in response to conversations about the sector’s impending leadership crisis, there may be few more effective strategies for increasing the talent supply than to expand national service programs like City Year, Public Allies, Civic Ventures and Teach For America.
Finally, it is also worth noting that this work represents some of the absolute best tenants of social entrepreneurship – innovating new approaches to addressing social problems, pursuing audacious goals, measuring impacts, and building powerful cross-sector coalitions. As is often the case with successful examples of social entrepreneurship, and as was certainly the case during ServiceNation events, I found myself thinking daily about Margaret Mead’s often quoted observation: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
As a citizen of the world and on behalf of all of us…. thank you ServiceNation!
Comments (12) In the News, Social Innovation, Talent Issues
October 01, 2008 KIPP co-founder Dave Levin took KIPP’s message to the Colbert Nation Wednesday night as a guest on Comedy Central’s irreverent, faux-pundit show The Colbert Report. (See the interview here)
Levin emphasized the importance of bringing education to America’s students now, noting that KIPP does everything it can to make learning and teaching both fun and productive. “One of the things we want to do is make sure that every kid has a chance to work toward their own future,” he said.
“We can think of education like steroids for our kids’ futures,” he said. And while the analogy garnered some laughs, KIPP’s record shows that it really is improving kids’ futures astronomically. It isn’t steroids, but commitment, dedication and hard work on the part of students, teachers, and families that give KIPP’s kids the boost they need.
Only one question remains: When will the “Colbert Bump” kick in for KIPP?
Comments (0) In the News, Social Innovation
October 01, 2008 Attention American Express cardholders! Cast your vote in Members Project ‘08, and help a nonprofit project dedicated to creating positive change receive up to $1.5 million in funding. Winning projects will share $2.5 million in funding from American Express and will be announced Oct. 14.
This year, over 1,000 projects were submitted, which has since been narrowed down to five projects. We are thrilled to see that two Commongood Careers clients—DonorsChoose.org and Kiva—are amongst the top five nominees!
If you are an AMEX cardholder, you can cast your vote at: http://www.membersproject.com/
If you are not a cardholder, AMEX invites you to show your support by sounding off about your favorite nominated projects at: http://community.membersproject.com/category/Discussion-Board/3
Comments (0) In the News, Sites We Like, Social Innovation
September 30, 2008 Recently City Year announced that it has teamed up with Arnold Worldwide and Comcast to create and broadcast several public service announcements spreading the word about City Year’s work. (See one of the PSAs here)
The PSAs feature City Year corps members in meaningful moments that convey the impact they have as young people engaged in citizen service: tutoring in schools, mentoring students, cleaning up neighborhoods, and ultimately working together for a common purpose.
“The more you learn about City Year, the more you are inspired by the energy, passion and optimism that shine through everything they do,” said Brian Hayes, creative director, Arnold. “We hope that these new ads convey this feeling and motivate more young people to get involved in the program.”
The PSAs will be shown almost 2,500 times as part of Comcast’s three-year commitment of $27 million to City Year.
Comments (14) In the News, Social Innovation
September 03, 2008 In the 8/31/08 edition of the Los Angeles Times, national education entrepreneurs, including our partner Ted Mitchell of NewSchools Venture Fund, laid out the imperative for the next president to support the work of education entrepreneurs in transforming the lives of low-income children. The piece argues for a major expansion of innovation funding and an entrepreneurial mindset in federal education policy. Such expanded efforts—in charter schools, human capital, and tools that improve education—will speed the pace of positive change for systems, for schools, and for children.
Among the calls to action for our next administration are:
1. Expand innovation incentives and free them from the earmarks and conditions that have blunted past initiatives. Adequate incentives, coupled with rigorous accountability, would remedy this.
2. Use influence over state and local policy to sweep away regulations that hamper innovative thinking, such as caps on the number of public charter schools allowed and excessive restrictions on how teachers are trained and credentialed.
3. Continue the strong push of two efforts already underway. One is the move toward a common set of standards for what students should be expected to know and be able to do. Then, to make shared standards work, a national data infrastructure must be built to assess educational progress.
This op-ed also featured the outstanding work of other Commongood Careers partners such as KIPP, Teach for America, and New Leaders for New Schools.
Comments (0)CNCS Announces the Summer of Service
According to survey, leadership gap has widened by 43%
Serve America Act passes into law!
Service Nation Daily Update: Serve America Act
An Important Message from Service Nation: Serve America Act Update
Exciting news from DonorsChoose.org!
How is the Economy Affecting Your Job Prospects?
How Will Obama Deliver on Social Entrepreneurism Promises?
In Today’s Financial Climate, Investors are Drawn to Social Entrepreneurism
Letter from the CEO: A Momentous Month for Social Change
KIPP takes on Colbert!
Cast Your Vote in Members Project ‘08
City Year Gets Air Time
Social Entrepreneurs Offer a Lesson on Education Innovation to Presidential Candidates
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