Kelly Ward, director of America Forward, sent an email update yesterday about the Serve America Act and the GIVE Act (Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education). 

She says:

On Tuesday, "the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing on the Serve America Act. America Forward coalition members Michael Brown (City Year) and Lester Strong (Experience Corps) testified in front of the committee, along with America Forward policy advisor Shirley Sagawa."

"Then [yesterday/Wednesday], the House Education and Labor Committee passed the GIVE Act (HR 1388), which improves opportunities for Americans to serve and has many of the same provisions as the Serve America Act. The bill passed out of Committee by a vote of 34-3, demonstrating strong bipartisan support. It will likely move to the House floor sometime next week."

"Representative Paul Tonko (NY-21) introduced the Social Innovation Fund as an amendment to the GIVE Act. See below for his remarks, in which he references America Forward coalition member Cheryl Dorsey and discusses the impact of social entrepreneurs."  [Pasted at the bottom of this post.  See also here and here for our related recommendations.]

So action at the federal level is moving forward and we couldn't be more excited to see support for social innovation as a priority for this Congress and for the Obama Administration!  To learn more about the Senate's Serve America Act or the House's GIVE Act, visit the America Forward blog.  We will also continue to post here as new developments arise.

Representative Paul Tonko's remarks in the House Education and Labor Committee today: 

This amendment establishes the Social Innovation Fund, which would support our nation’s social entrepreneurs.  As we heard last month in our hearing on national service, Cheryl Dorsey of Echoing Green explained that social entrepreneurs, “identify and take responsibility for an innovative and untested idea for positive social change, and then usher that idea from concept to reality. 

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.

Just as accountability, results, transparency and competition are an integral part of success in the private sector, the Social Innovation Fund will use these same principles to implement positive change in our communities.

This is a country of innovators and the Social Innovation Fund supports them and expands the good work that they now do and can further do.  Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to offer this amendment and I urge its passage.