Obama Engages Nonprofit Community

Obama taps officials from Echoing Green and Public Allies to foster innovation in his administration

Thanks to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.com: for this encouraging news about the way that the Obama administration is beginning to engage the nonprofit community:

Two Charity Heads Among Leaders Advising Obama on Innovation

Two charity leaders have been appointed to a group of more than 30 people that has been asked to help the incoming Obama administration devise an “innovation agenda.”

They are: Cheryl Dorsey, president of Echoing Green, in New York, which provides fellowships to entrepreneurial nonprofit leaders; and Paul Schmitz, president of Public Allies, in Milwaukee, which trains young people for nonprofit and public-service careers."

Their group — the Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Policy Working Group — will recommend ways to modernize government; use technology to expand the economy and solve pressing national problems; and promote “active citizenship” and government partnerships with civil-society organizations, according to the Obama transition project’s Web site.

Read the rest here:

http://philanthropy.com/news/government/index.php?id=6430

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Visionaries Wanted for Echoing Green Fellowship

From the folks at Echoing Green:

Visionaries Wanted for Echoing Green Fellowship
Do you have an incredible, new idea that could change your community, country, or world? Are you an entrepreneur who won't rest until your idea has been brought to life? Or a leader who has recently started an organization to do just that? If so, apply for an Echoing Green Fellowship. You could receive up to $90,000 in seed funding and support to launch a new organization that turns your innovative idea for social change into action.

Follow in the footsteps of the founders of Teach For America, City Year, and over 450 other social change organizations around the world and apply online. The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2008.

Watch the video: http://www.echoinggreen.org/video
Find out whether you qualify: http://www.echoinggreen.org/shouldyouapply
Questions? Contact Echoing Green at: apply@echoinggreen.org .

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2008 Echoing Green Fellows

I recently received this announcement from Echoing Green on thie 2008 Fellows program:

This year, for the first time in Echoing Green’s twenty-one-year history, more than half of our fellows are developing models for creating lasting change that harness market forces, including several who plan to launch socially focused for-profits. The 2008 class is also distinguished for its relative youth, reflecting Echoing Green's core belief that young people are key actors in sparking meaningful social change. One-third of the 2008 fellows are under 26 years old.

Learn more here:
http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/