• Federal Bills & Proposed Models
• State Models
• City Models

Click here for a summary document of all known government initiatives (including federal, state, and local levels, both executive branch initiatives and legislation)

FEDERAL BILLS & PROPOSED MODELS

The Social Innovation Fund/Community Solutions Grant Fund

Introduced by United States Senators Orrin Hatch and Edward Kennedy, as part of the Serve America Act. Signed into law April 21, 2009.

• Read the FAQs on the Social Innovation Fund - provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service
• Download the full legislation of the Serve America Act (text relating to the Social Innovation Fund begins on page 105)
  
• Read President Obama's June 30th remarks outlining a Community Solutions Agenda and Andrew Wolk's blog entry about the White House event
• Find the press release announcing passage of the Serve America Act
  
• Link to Andrew Wolk's blog entries about the bill: here and here
• Find the joint press release from Senators Hatch and Kennedy upon introduction of the bill

A New White House Office of Social Entrepreneurship

A chapter by Michele Jolin in A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President
The new president will take office with ambitious goals to solve our nation's
most urgent social problems, but he will be operating in a climate with lim-
ited tolerance for new government spending or government-only solutions. The
new president has a historic opportunity to turn to leading social entrepreneurs
and the non-profit sector to help develop and implement effective solutions.

Innovating the White House, Stanford Social Innovation Review

By Michele Jolin, Center for American Progress
An article outlining strategies for the next president of the United States to spur social entrepreneurship.

Investing in Social Entrepreneurship and Fostering Social Innovation

By Michele Jolin, Center for American Progress
This paper identifies some of the key ways in which policymakers can support the growth and spread of innovative non-profit solutions, and offers some policy guidelines and a framework that the Center for American Progress intends to explore and expand during 2008. It argues that government can d o more to expand the impact of the most successful social entrepreneurial models and to create a pipeline of future entrepreneurial efforts in the critical non-profit sector.

STATE MODELS

Kentucky

Kentucky Commission on Philanthropy
41 Foundation Place
Frankfort, KY 40601
Email: mhammons@fuse.net
Phone: (859) 866-2020
Contact: Mike Hammons, Executive Director

Read the press release from the launch of the commission. See the agenda and the press release for the Commission's October 2009 Philanthropy Summit and check out Public Innovators' related recommendation.

"The Kentucky Commission on Philanthropy was officially established in December, 2008, by Executive Order of the Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear. It is a private-public partnership aimed at encouraging voluntary private philanthropic investment in strategic solutions to challenges endemic to Kentucky, for the public good."

- Kentucky Commission on Philanthropy Website

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Louisiana

Louisiana Office of Social Entrepreneurship
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
263 Third Street, Suite 610 B
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
Email: ChangingLouisiana@crt.state.la.us
Phone: (225) 342-2038
Contact: Nadiyah Morris Coleman, Manager of the Office of Social Entrepreneurship

"The OSE aims to make Louisiana “the most hospitable place in the country for those who are testing and launching the best, most effective new program models for social change.”

— Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu

View an outline of the mission, model, strategies, and vision of the nation's first Office of Social Entrepreneurship and see our related blog entries here and here.

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Massachusetts

Social Innovators Initiative
Executive Office of Education
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Email: Beth.Peabody@state.ma.us
Phone: 617-979-8352
Contact: Beth Peabody

"The Social Innovators Initiative (SII) will harness nonprofit organizations and service providers to help address critical areas of need among Massachusetts school districts with pervasive dropout problems. These organizations can help to augment districts’ capacity and resources to provide services and programs that are proven to support students and keep them on the path to a high school diploma.”

— From the Project Description

Take a look at the project description here. 

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Michigan

Michigan Office of the Foundation Liaison
Office of the Governor
One South Harbor Dr., Suite #3
Grand Haven, MI 49417
Email: info@michiganfoundation.org
Phone: (616) 842-7080
Contact: Karen Aldridge-Eason

"Michigan's non-partisan Office of Foundation Liaison (OFL) was created in 2003 at the suggestion of foundation leaders and withsupport from newly elected Governor Jennifer Granholm. This cabinet level position - unique in the nation - helps to identify and broker strategic partnerships between the state and foundations likely to result in policy reforms that would improve the lives of children and families in Michigan."

        - Michigan Office of the Foundation Liaison Website

Check out the overview of the Office, the Fact Sheet, and and Findings from the 2006-2007 Assessment.

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Minnesota

Grants Innovations Advisory Group convened by State Rep. Paul Thissen to explore greater collaboration among sectors and across state agencies in addressing pressing social problems

• Grants Innovations Advisory Group - Final Recommendations Report
• Legislation introduced based on these recommendations to form the Minnesota Coalition for Innovation and Collaboration (MCIC)
• Read the press release

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New Mexico

New Mexico Office of Philanthropic Outreach
The Albuquerque Community Foundation
3301 Menaul NE - Suite #2
Albuquerque, NM 87107
Email: RBrule@albuquerquefoundation.org
Phone: (505) 883-3660
Contact: Robin Brule, director

"A collaborative initiative of Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, the Children's Cabinet, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Albuquerque Community Foundation, the Office of Philanthropic Outreach opened June 1, 2009 under the direction of Robin Brule.

The Office of Philanthropic Outreach “OPO” serves to foster social innovation, strategic collaboration and fund partnerships that align the priorities of the State government, local, state and regional social profits and national foundations. The OPO will impact our state’s most vulnerable communities by leveraging resources of all sectors and creating an underlying system that supports the economic and social viability of all New Mexicans."

- New Mexico Office of Philanthropic Outreach Website

Read articles announcing the founding of the office, Brule's appointment and the official launch of the office.

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Ohio

Ohio Social Entrepreneurship Initiative
The Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
77 South High St., 7th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Email: Greg.Landsman@Governor.Ohio.Gov
Phone: (614) 466-3398
Contact: Greg Landsman, Director of Ohio's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

"In partnership with the Ohio Department of Development’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business Division, the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (GOFBCI) has launched the Ohio Social Entrepreneurship Initiative to provide access to financing and funding information, training resources, and several current examples for organizations working to establish social enterprises.

GOFBCI and the Department of Development are working together to expand social entrepreneurship – low-profit ventures developed by for-profit and nonprofit organizations in response to a social problem. These efforts are pursued using entrepreneurial principles that can involve producing market value, earning revenue, and employing the chronically underemployed."

- Ohio Social Entrepreneurship Initiative Website

Check out the initiative's financing and funding information, training resources, and examples of social enterprise in Ohio.

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Texas

OneStar Foundation - Texas Center for Social Impact
816 Congress, Suite 900
Austin, TX 78701
Email: info@onestarfoundation.org
Phone: (512) 287-2000
Contact: Elizabeth Seale, President & CEO

“OneStar Foundation: Texas Center for Social Impact focuses on increased results for the people served by the nonprofit sector through promotion of innovation, entrepreneurship, sound business practices, well-managed volunteer programs, research and rigorous evaluation. OneStar also serves as the state's National Service Commission administering the AmeriCorps grant program and serves as the Faith-Based and Community Initiative office. OneStar carries out its mission for state government as a supporting nonprofit of the Office of the Governor.”

— OneStar Mission

Read Texas House bill 492, which would create government liaisons who foster partnerships between state agencies and faith- and community-based organizations.

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Vermont

State passes L3C legislation
Americans for Community Development
P.O. Box 236
Granite Springs, NY 10527
Email: info@americansforcommunitydevelopment.org
Phone: (914) 248-8443
Contact: Janice Lang

“The L3C is a new form of limited liability company which combines the best features of a for-profit LLC with the socially beneficial aspects of a nonprofit. It is the for-profit with a nonprofit soul.”

— Americans for Community Development

"Legislation has also been introduced in North Carolina and “there are ‘expressions of interest’ in Georgia, Michigan and Montana…Minnesota also is intrigued with L3Cs.”

— Burlington Free Press

Read the full bill text and Public Innovators' recommendation.

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Virginia

The Phoenix Project
PO Box 2304
Springfield, VA 22152
Email: info@phoenixproject.org
Phone: (703) 425-3532
Contact: Marion Werkheiser, Executive Director

“The Phoenix Project seeks to alleviate poverty by building a sustainable partnership between Virginia higher education and the Commonwealth’s most distressed communities that adds civic capacity to communities, strengthens the mission of universities, and provides a powerful context in which to prepare nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs for tomorrow’s Virginia. The Phoenix Project is accelerating social entrepreneurship in Virginia by hosting a conference series for stakeholders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors to exchange best practices and expand the dialogue about social entrepreneurship in the Commonwealth.”

— Phoenix Project Website

View Public Innovators’ recommendation on educating all three sectors, featuring Phoenix Project as the model, and read their latest report on the 2009 Social Innovation Program.

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CITY & COUNTY MODELS

Denver, Colorado

Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships
Denver Human Services
1200 Federal Boulevard
Denver, CO 80204
Email: mike.roque@denvergov.org
Phone: (720) 944-2552
Contact: Mike Roque, Director

“ The Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships supports Denver’s nonprofits, empowering them to improve the City’s quality of life. It fulfills its mission by partnering with individuals, foundations, corporations and nonprofits on the following objectives:

• Raising critical funding for cooperative initiatives
• Fostering innovative partnerships to support nonprofits
• Engaging the entire community in volunteer efforts

Check out the DOSP’s strategic plan, read its 2007 achievements, and learn about the Super Sweet 16 (including the Group of Ten and Six in the City).

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Boston, Massachusetts

Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Boston City Hall, Suite 703
One City Hall Square
Boston, MA 02201
Email: nigel.jacob@cityofboston.gov
Phone: 617-635-1387
Contact: Nigel Jacob, Co-Chair

“We are all urban mechanics. Smartphones, GPS, wireless technology, and a resurgent spirit of civic engagement mean that all of us are eyes and ears on the streets, that neighbors are our greatest source of data, and our citizens the best civic entrepreneurs. It's time to build on our early experiments, deliver on projects we've dreamed up, and make Boston a proving ground for dozens of novel solutions."

- Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Inaugural Address 2010

Read the Boston Globe article that features the office. Also check out this presentation on the Community Solutions Initiative.

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Durham, North Carolina

Bull City Forward
Durham, NC
Email: cgergen@newmountainventures.com
Contact: Christopher Gergen

"Bull City Forward is a community led effort to address challenges in Durham’s neighborhoods and lift the economic prosperity of the region by intentionally and dramatically increasing the level of social innovation and entrepreneurship in the Bull City – in turn establishing the triangle as a national model of innovative community and economic development."

- Bull City Forward Overview Document

"What I like to see [Bull City Forward] accomplish is to plant a flag in Durham and say that we’re serious about the connection about social innovation and entrepreneurship,” he said. “If you’re an IT person, you want to be in Silicon Valley. If you’re an actor, you want to be in Hollywood. If you’re a social innovator, you want to be in Durham."

- Henry McKoy, CEO, Fourth-Sector Financial

Check out the Overview, and read articles about the creation of Bull City Forward and their move into a physical social innovation campus.

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Fairfax County, Virginia

Office of Public Private Partnerships (OP³)
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 432
Fairfax, VA 22035
Email: patricia.stevens@fairfaxcounty.gov
Phone: (703) 324-5286
Contact: Patricia Stevens, Executive Director

“ The Fairfax County Office of Public Private Partnerships (OP³) creates and develops public-private partnerships to stimulate positive change in the community and encourage civic involvement and responsibility. The office brings together representatives and resources from public and private sectors to adddress community issues impacting the quality of life in the County. This pooling of resources has an effectiveness which surpasses government or private institutions acting alone.

Check out OP³'s spring newsletter.

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