America Forward

First-of-its-kind effort aims to strengthen the voice of community-based problem solvers in local, state, and federal policy December 13, 2019 (Washington, D.C.): America Forward has announced the launch of its new Advocacy Institute to empower social entrepreneurs, social innovation organizations, and their constituents to more effectively engage in critical policy debates at the local, state, and federal level.  The launch

This morning, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, by a vote of 28-22, passed H.R. 4674, the College Affordability Act to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Below is America Forward's statement on this step of the reauthorization process: “America Forward is encouraged by the work of the House Committee on Education and Labor to advance the

By America Forward Policy Director Roger Low Today, the Stanford Social Innovation Review published “The Evolving Promise of Pay for Success,” a piece co-written by Sindhu Lakshmanan, a senior investment associate at Living Cities, a Pay for Success (PFS) investor; Caroline Whistler, co-founder and CEO of Third Sector, a PFS advisor; and me detailing the current state of the PFS

By Deborah Smolover. Deborah Smolover is a Managing Partner of New Profit and Executive Director of America Forward.  Lately, an idea close to the hearts of many social innovators is gaining traction among Democratic primary candidates: scaling national service.  Within the past few months, Mayor Pete Buttigeig released a policy proposal to build a network of 1 million paid service

As Congress enters the August recess, we can enthusiastically report on several recent important bipartisan developments in the U.S. House of Representatives, all on key priorities for members of the America Forward Coalition. We applaud our allies in Congress for this legislative progress, and for working to advance an equity, outcomes and innovation agenda, even when it doesn’t grab national

By Deborah Smolover. Deborah Smolover is a Managing Partner of New Profit and Executive Director of America Forward.  This week, 20 Democratic presidential candidates will debate over two nights in Miami.  Based on debates of the past, we can predict many of the questions the numerous moderators will ask.  But this week we’ve been asking ourselves a different question:  what

By Deborah Smolover. Deborah Smolover is a Managing Partner of New Profit and Executive Director of America Forward.  If you had five minutes with each candidate running for President, what would you want them to know? What game-changing policy proposals do our community of innovators want to see signed into law in the first 100 days after the next inauguration?

Jessica Crawford Director, Coalition Engagement and Communications America Forward Lee Foley America Forward Policy Adviser Capitol Hill Partners Pay for Success and evidence-based programs, projects, and policies have been designed to address a large range of issues, including early childhood education, workforce development, homelessness, recidivism, and child welfare. The following brief includes federal, state, and local updates on significant policy

Signed into law this summer, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act - also known as Perkins V - includes a number of provisions that promote innovation, modernization and the alignment of workforce skills with labor-market needs (see our full summary here). Notably, the legislation also includes the first-ever federal authorization of Career and Technical Education

Washington, D.C. | September 27, 2018 - America Forward issued the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives passed Fiscal Year 2019 (FY 2019) minibus appropriations package on September 26, which includes the FY 2019 Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bills. The legislation passed the House by a vote