The Administration commends the House for acting promptly to move bipartisan legislation to expand high-quality service opportunities and position the Corporation for National and Community Service to support both growth and excellence in the programs it oversees.

The White House emphasized the important role the legislation will play in fostering social innovation.

The Administration is pleased that the Committee added to the bill the President’s Budget initiative to create a “Social Innovation Fund” to provide seed money and scale up innovative and evidence-based efforts in the nonprofit sector to address social problems, leveraging private and foundation capital to meet major social challenges.

We are excited to see the Obama administration championing social innovation!

Read the Statement in its entirety here.

This is an exciting day for America Forward, our coalition members, and champions of social innovation everywhere. The passage of the GIVE Act is an important step in transforming the way government partners with social innovators to solve our nation’s most challenging problems.

We would like to pause and thank all of the champions of this effort.

• We would like to the thank the House Committee on Education and Labor, in particular –Representative Carolyn McCarthy for sponsoring the GIVE Act, Representative Paul Tonko, for introducing the Social Innovation Fund, and Chairman George Miller for his strong support for this legislation.
• We would also like to thank members and champions of America Forward, ServiceNation, and Voices for National Service– your voices were heard and it made a real difference!

This is very exciting news for the community of social innovators, however there is still work to be done. We must continue to rally together to support the Serve America Act in the Senate and see this legislation all the way through!

See below for the letter and email info@americaforward.org if you would like to add your organization to the list of supporters.

March 12, 2009

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer and Minority Leader Boehner,

Americans are stepping forward in record numbers to serve, many inspired by the bold vision articulated by President Obama, and all motivated to roll up their sleeves to address the mounting challenges we face in communities across the country. Communities are struggling to meet the growing demand for services, due in large part to the economic downturn, and nonprofit organizations need human capital to meet the increasing needs of families struggling to make ends meet.

We are deeply grateful that the House Education and Labor Committee has recognized the pivotal moment we are in as a country and responded by passing H.R. 1388, The GIVE Act. Service can play a critical role in getting our economy moving again, engaging Americans in productive work in difficult times and meeting the growing needs in communities. We need to reinvest in service, starting with the reauthorization of national and community service programs operated by The Corporation for National and Community Service, which have not been reauthorized in 16 years.

We believe that the provisions in H.R. 1388 will make it possible for more Americans to serve, stimulate more volunteering and increase the diversity of those serving. We also believe that the reforms contained in the bill will ensure accountability, transparency, and results, while providing administrative simplification to help faith and community-based organizations—particularly those smaller nonprofits operating in rural areas and in economically disadvantaged communities—to more effectively meet community needs.

There are new approaches for expanding the capacity of the nonprofit sector to tap the ingenuity and innovation of citizens working together in local communities to address the problems we face. Many of these ideas, including the Volunteer Generation Fund, are included in S.277, The Serve America Act, which was introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators led by Senators Kennedy and Hatch on January 16. We look forward to working with the House to see that these new ideas, which we believe are essential elements of a new platform for highly effective service, are incorporated into the legislation that will ultimately be sent to President Obama for signature. We look forward to working with you in the coming days to ensure swift and successful passage of H.R. 1388 on the House floor so that it can be quickly delivered to the President for signature.

We also look forward to working with you to ensure that the legislation is fully funded through the appropriations process.

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to service.

Click here to read more on the GIVE Act and yesterday’s events.

ABC News and Newsweek recently profiled the House bill and outlined some of the ideas it features, including:

• A boost in the educational stipend offered in exchange for service to $5,350, with the provision that it will continue to rise in tandem with Pell grants. (Pay for full-time AmeriCorps service is about $11,000 a year.)

• A $500 education award for middle-school and high-school students who take part in a “Summer of Service” or other service activities.

• The establishment of a Clean Energy Corps, Education Corps, Healthy Futures Corps and Veterans Services Corps.

• The establishment of new ServeAmerica Fellowships.

• The expansion of the Civilian Community Corps to include work on weatherization and other energy-conservation projects.

• The expansion of the Peace Corps (to 16,000) and other existing programs.

• The designation of September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Click here to read the article on ABC News and here to read the coverage in Newsweek.