2016

Seven Students the Next Congress Needs to Meet

The following post was written by America Forward Manager Sarah Groh,. This year, America Forward traveled across the nation to meet students striving to succeed in post-secondary. From Ohio to Pennsylvania to Nevada, we heard powerful stories of persistence and resilience. Without a doubt, many of our assumptions about Today’s Students are wrong. Those striving to earn post-secondary degrees are more diverse
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State of Play: Pay for Success and Evidence-Based Policy December 2016

It has been an extremely productive year for Pay for Success and evidence-based policy in this second and final session of the 114th Congress. A number of pieces of legislation, as well as amendment and budget authorities, have been introduced, reauthorized, or funded on a bicameral and bipartisan basis this year. In this end of the year wrap-up of our
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Part Two: Lifting Up Policy Ideas for the Next Administration and the Next Congress

The following post was written by America Forward Managers Juanita Tolliver and Sarah Groh. Since Election Day, the America Forward Coalition has been hard at work conducting outreach and further developing a strong set of priorities we urge Congress and the next Administration to move on. With alignment now between the party at the helm of the White House and
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A Look Back At America Forward On The 2016 Campaign Trail

The following post was written by America Forward Director of Strategic Partnerships, Jessica Crawford. America Forward celebrates its ninth anniversary this year. Launched during the last open Presidential election cycle, America Forward works to unite social entrepreneurs with policymakers and advance a public policy agenda that champions innovative and effective solutions to our country's most pressing social problems. America Forward
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Part One: Lifting Up Policy Ideas for the Next Administration and Next Congress

The following post was written by America Forward Government Affairs Director Nicole Truhe. Over a year ago, America Forward launched its 2016 Presidential campaign engagement effort to promote the best ideas and most effective approaches to address the biggest challenges facing our nation. Our community of social entrepreneurs shaped these ideas that are focused on ways for policymakers to scale
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Two opportunities for PFS to add value to federal programs

The following post was written by America Forward Government Affairs Director Nicole Truhe and Bryan Boroughs, General Counsel and Director of Legislative Affairs at Coalition organization the Institute for Child Success, and was originally featured on the Urban Institute's blog. Pay for success (PFS) is not the only tool in the toolkit for driving federal, state, and local government funding
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Moving America Forward: Countdown to Election Day

The following post was written by America Forward Government Affairs Director Nicole Truhe. Only five days until the almost 150 million Americans who are registered to vote cast their ballot for who they want to serve as the 45th President of the United States along with a myriad of other federal, state and local positions that will collectively influence policies impacting
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Presidential 2016: LIFT – Helping Americans Realize Big Dreams & Better Futures

Thanks to the persistence of social innovators across the country, every day we see strategies that are working and delivering results in a rapidly changing world. This ongoing blog series highlights the voices of our Coalition of more than 70 social innovators and their solutions to our country’s most pressing social problems, as well as examples of how this powerful
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Presidential 2016: Making the FAFSA More Accessible for Today’s Students

The following post was written by Kelly Graham, a Senior at Northeastern University in Boston and Co-Op on the America Forward team. Kelly is supporting America Forward’s Today’s Student work during the Presidential cycle. Before today’s students even set foot on a college campus or enroll in a post-secondary program, and think about balancing competing priorities while attending school, they
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Helping students stay on track: What we are learning about leveraging early warning indicators to make data-driven decisions that support student success

The following guest blog post was written by Jim Balfanz, President of America Forward Coalition Organization, City Year. At City Year, we believe in young people. We believe that every child has the potential to succeed and that a high-quality education is one of the most direct and powerful ways to unlock that potential and open up pathways to opportunity.
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