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Targeting Human NeedsVolunteerism and Private Strategies
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Compassion Spotlight
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The Need
The Response
USA Freedom Corps
Expanding Federal Partnership with Frontline Nonprofits
Tax Policies
Private Giving
Public-Private Partnerships
Americans provide a vast number of hours of service and financial support that enable FBCOs to address the full spectrum of human needs.
While sharing of one’s time, skills, or money to aid a neighbor in need is a personal choice, this decision can be encouraged and facilitated nationally in a variety of ways. The President honors volunteers with the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) for those who have answered his Call to Service. To date, President Bush has personally awarded more than 700 PVSAs.
Alongside these efforts to invigorate America’s spirit of service and giving, the Bush Administration has created and/or enhanced numerous robust national initiatives to expand volunteerism and giving.
USA Freedom Corps
President Bush created USA Freedom Corps (USAFC) in 2002 to strengthen the culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility in America. Working closely with the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Peace Corps, and other agencies (see below), USAFC promotes and expands volunteer service by partnering with national service programs, strengthening the nonprofit sector, honoring volunteers, and helping to connect individuals with volunteer opportunities.
Peace Corps volunteerism is at a 37-year high, with more than 8,000 volunteers serving in 74 countries, engaging needs from education to health to the environment.
AmeriCorps has grown to provide slots for approximately 75,000 members annually. In 2007 alone, these members mobilized and/or managed 1.7 million community volunteers.
Senior Corps helps support the volunteerism of nearly 500,000 senior volunteers annually, totaling over 100 million hours in service—from mentoring at-risk youth to aiding other seniors in need.
Learn and Serve America, in 2007 alone, supported 1,700 grantees that engaged more than 1.4 million students in service-learning projects totaling 27.9 million community service hours.
Citizen Corps has grown since its launch in 2002 to serve over 78% of the population through nearly 2,300 Citizen Corps Councils nationwide, which support a range of disaster preparedness efforts.
Take Pride in America was relaunched at the Department of Interior in 2003. Today, it supports more than 100 partners and 30,000 skilled volunteers who are helping to preserve and protect America’s public lands.
Volunteers for Prosperity has helped mobilize more than 120,000 volunteers through nearly 300 partner organizations to promote health and prosperity in developing countries.
USA Freedom Corps Volunteer Network is the largest clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities, offering more than four million volunteer opportunities both in the United States and abroad. Since its creation in 2002, more than two million volunteer opportunity searches have been performed by over 22 million site visitors.
President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation created in January 2003 by President Bush, brings together leaders from the worlds of business, entertainment, sports, education, government, philanthropy, and the media to grow the spirit of service in America and to recognize the important contributions citizens of all ages are making within their communities through service and civic engagement.
Expanding Federal Partnerships
As part of the FBCI, the Federal government has launched grants programs that greatly expand Federal partnerships with FBCOs who excel at recruiting and managing volunteers. For example, 247 small FBCOs received minigrants (typically $25,000 to $75,000) from the Department of Labor Grassroots Grants Program to help high-need individuals find and succeed in employment. These groups multiplied the impact of the Federal funds by collectively leveraging 89,875 volunteer hours. Among other outcomes, these volunteers helped the FBCOs place more than 15,000 of the hardest-to-serve clients of the Federal Workforce System in jobs.
Tax Policies
New tax policies promoted by the Bush Administration have helped to stimulate charitable giving and activity.
Private Giving
Alongside President Bush’s personal calls to the American people to respond generously to human need, a range of specific initiatives help foster and guide this generosity:
Public-Private Partnerships
By enlisting private-sector partners in Federal projects to address poverty and other challenges, government multiplies its impact through private funding, expertise, and other resources.