Social Entrepreneurs Answer President Obama’s Call to Service

by Kelly Ward

Published March 19, 2009 @ 05:10AM PT

(March 23 - Ed. note: The Senate began debate on the Serve America Act this afternoon, voting 74-14 for cloture in order to speed the debate. To find out more about the Act, read below or click here)

Social Entrepreneurs take to Capitol Hill to invest in Social Innovation and Answer President Obama's Call to Service

As Nathaniel and others have discussed extensively on this blog, innovative solutions to very persistent social problems are making a measurable difference in communities across our country. We could have a profound impact on our nation if government invested in these proven solutions and fostered a true marketplace for social innovation and national service.

We may not have to wait much longer.

There is incredible traction at the federal level to invest in social innovation and create new opportunities for citizens to serve. Momentum continues to build for legislation-especially the Serve America Act in the Senate and the GIVE Act in the House-that would foster innovation in the social sector, invest in what works, and encourage citizens in all stages of life to serve their communities. In fact, these bills are on track to pass before the April recess!

Social entrepreneurs are taking to the Hill to educate policymakers about their work and the impact of social innovation. Here are just a few highlights of some of the exciting stuff being said on Capitol Hill:
First, the House.

Cheryl Dorsey, Founder of Echoing Green, testified to the House Education and Labor Committee several weeks ago saying:

"Social entrepreneurship or social innovation is, essentially, applying the principles of innovation that have served this country so well in the private sector to the social sector-to the work being done to address the pressing social challenges we face. Even though we don't often think of it in this way, the principles of innovation, entrepreneurship, accountability, results, and competition can exist in the social sector, just as they do in the private sector. Those of us who have toiled in the field of social entrepreneurship believe that social innovation is a key driver in identifying the most effective, highest-impact solutions to the difficult social challenges facing our nation."

The House Education and Labor Committee passed the GIVE Act out of Committee by a vote of 34-3, demonstrating strong bipartisan support. And it passed the House today by a vote of 321-105.
It is worth noting what Representative Paul Tonko (NY-21) said during that Committee meeting. As he introduced the Social Innovation Fund as an amendment to the GIVE Act, he said:

"Social entrepreneurs personify a richness in their communities and develop new and innovative solutions to the problems they see. Many social entrepreneurs and the community organizations that support them don't have the capital to expand their initiatives. The Social Innovation Fund this amendment creates would give these social entrepreneurs the capital to leverage private-public partnerships. This capital enables them to implement their solutions and replicate their successes in other communities."

It's incredibly exciting to see policymakers expressing such strong support for the work of social entrepreneurs!

And this support isn't just on the House side.

The Senate is responding to President Obama's call to pass the Serve America Act (the Kennedy-Hatch bill he mentioned during his State of the Nation speech a few weeks ago). Last week, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing on the legislation. Michael Brown, Co-Founder and CEO of City Year and Lester Strong, CEO of Experience Corps testified in front of the committee, along with social innovation policy expert Shirley Sagawa. In her testimony, Shirley Sagawa encouraged Senators to strongly support the Corporate for National Service because of its support for social innovation, saying:

"Another notable and surprising success of AmeriCorps is the contribution it has made to innovation in the social sector. When an organization takes an out-of-the-box approach to solving a problem, it often finds few sources available for sustainable funding. AmeriCorps, because it doesn't specify the strategy for problem-solving or the presumptive provider, has been a flexible source of funding and human capital to grow some of the country's most promising organizations, including Jumpstart, Citizen Schools, Experience Corps, and Habitat for Humanity... The Corporation for National and Community Service has been an agency that appreciates social entrepreneurs and the contribution they make to social innovation."

The Senate is expected to pass the Serve America Act (S277) next week. To contact your Senators and encourage them to vote for this legislation, click here.

It's worth noting that President Obama and his Administration are also demonstrating support for social innovation. In his FY2010 budget proposal, President Obama included the Social Innovation Fund, saying:

"Innovators often come up with great ideas for addressing critical national challenges, but too often lack the capital to develop, evaluate, and scale up successful ideas. The Budget would create a new social innovation fund, charged with testing promising new approaches to major challenges, leveraging private and foundation capital to meet these needs, and scaling up research-proven programs."

It's incredibly exciting to see such strong support from our federal leaders! Stay tuned for more updates, and click here if you'd like to be more directly involved in these legislative efforts.