A New Era of Partnerships
By The White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships | March 9, 2010
Report of Recommendations to the President of the United States from the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
*Note: Dr. William J. Shaw, Immediate Past President of the National
Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. was a member of the President's Advisory
Council
It is difficult to overstate the generosity of the American spirit. From
the rubble of Haitian neighborhoods to under served communities across
our own country, Americans are working to address the needs of the most
vulnerable among us. The Government is often partner in this critical
work, collaborating with local groups to serve those in need.Although
partnerships between the Government and community-serving organization
have existed for centuries, until recently the United States Government
had never formed a body comprised of grassroots leaders and other
experts to assess and strengthen those partnerships. On February 5,
2009, President Barack Obama created the Advisory Council on Faith-Based
and Neighborhood Partnerships to do this work. In an executive order,
the President noted:
The Council shall bring together leaders and experts in fields
related to the work of faith-based and neighborhood organizations in
order to: identify best practices and successful modes of delivering
social services; evaluate the need for improvements in the
implementation and coordination of public policies relating to
faith-based and other neighborhood organizations; and make
recommendations to the President, through the Executive Director [of the
White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships], for
changes in policies, programs, and practices that affect the delivery of
services by such organizations and the needs of low-income and other
under served persons in communities at home and around the world.
Within this report, the Advisory Council proposes a number of such
recommendations, and it urges President Obama and his Administration to
adopt them. As members of this Council, we are encouraged by the fact
that the President and his Administration have made sustained dialogue
with a diverse set of leaders a key part of this process, and we thank
them for inviting the recommendations we present here.
President Obama asked the Council to focus its attention on making recommendations in the following priority areas:
Economic Recovery and Domestic Poverty
Environment and Climate Change
Fatherhood and Healthy Families
Global Poverty and Development
Inter-religious Cooperation
Reform of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Each chapter of this report includes a number of recommendations in a
specific issue area. No introduction could do justice to all of the
recommendations, and this one certainly does not. We urge individuals to
read the full report.