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We’re delighted to see national service pushing even farther to the forefront of politicians’ and media leaders’ minds! Only last week, Richard Stengel, managing editor of TIME magazine, trumpeted the launch of Be the Change’s ServiceNation campaign in September as a real “place for not only dialogue but also action.” Be the Change, a member of the America Forward Coalition, is organizing grassroots efforts and supporting legislation to bring about “better public policy, promote active citizenship and citizen democracy.”

The face of social entrepreneurship isn’t just that of the young and energetic. Rather, giving back is something that more and more Americans at all stages of life want to do. Even after traditional retirement, almost half of the 78 million aging baby boomers are considering taking up “encore careers” in the social sector. “Our dodderdom may have consequences for society every bit as profound as our youth did!” writes Nicholas Kristof in Sunday’s New York Times. When service is no longer a passing passion of the young, but an integral part of the national ethos, America’s “leaders and citizens will [be able to] work together to foster innovation in the social sector!” The leadership that experienced, older Americans bring to the social sector can provide a model for full national involvement in service, and add weight and authority to the innovations of social entrepreneurs.

This Fourth of July weekend, Albert Hunt, Executive Editor of the Washington Bureau for Bloomberg News, spotlighted America Forward and the power of social entrepreneurship in an article in the International Herald Tribune. Hunt connects the America Forward message to the common commitment of both Senator McCain and Senator Obama to national service and public-private partnerships to solve America's pressing social problems. Hunt writes, "Social entrepreneurs are pushing a new paradigm that bridges partisan and philosophical divides," he calls social entrepreneurs "idealists without illusions" and praises the work of coalition members like Teach For America, Year Up, and New Leaders for New Schools.
ders for New Schools.

Senator Obama has once again included the America Forward policy ideas in one of his national speeches! Yesterday he gave a speech in Colorado Springs about citizen service and included the America Forward policy ideas of a Social Investment Fund Network and Social Entrepreneurship Agency in the speech. Click here to read a Washington Post article on the speech. Our ideas are also on his website, under the "Service" Issue tab and categorized as "Investing in the Nonprofit Sector."

It’s strange to think that even though the vast majority of Americans live and work in cities, “urban still equals “bad” in the minds of many Americans and in the stories of the American press.” Shouldn’t they be homes and centers of life and light for those who live there? CEOs for Cities and NOLA YURP (New Orleans Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals Initiative) certainly think so; and together they’re hosting the Urban Next Summit in New Orleans from July 24-25 to share ideas on how to revitalize sagging urban communities.

What difference can national service volunteers make to us? “I can literally tell you that if it was not for them, […] we would be much worse off,” says Mike Russell, Alderman of Clarksville, Missouri. To be exact, if it were not for the efforts of AmeriCorps relief teams, the surging Mississippi River would likely be running through Clarksville’s City Hall today.

The Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program of the Aspen Institute recently released a major report highlighting ten policy innovations for the nonprofit and social sector. According to Aspen, “This report puts together in one place the proposals of leading think­ers in the field who are working to address social problems and improve the lives of those in need through improved nonprofit-government policies. We believe these ideas, if implemented, would go a long way towards strengthening nonprofit organizations and communities throughout the United States.”

I'm encouraged to see Jill Medvedow's recognition of the importance of music and arts to our emerging, creative economy.  In addition to bringing billions of dollars into the Commonwealth through cultural entertainment, Ms. Medvedow and Governor Deval Patrick clearly view the arts—along with technology, science, and entrepreneurship—as a key driver of economic innovation itself.