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Leadership Summit for National Service & Community Volunteering [3]
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289844664
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Leadership Summit for National Service & Community Volunteering [3]
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Records of the Office of National Service (Clinton Administration)
Shirley Sagawa's Files
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FOIA Number: 2013-0661-F (2)
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
National Service
Series/Staff Member:
Shirley Sagawa
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
24265
FolderID:
Folder Title:
Leadership Summit for National Service & Community Volunteering [3]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
S
66
1
9
1
who at the Corporation can be helpful:
gim Scheibel - Mayors, Seniors, auti Party
Dene Soler - Amernors, May irs
Susan should - Higher Ed, K-12, Federal agrices
melinda Hadson - Private Sector
Mark Feldwan -
and Maura Conuolly - Private
Diana algra - ameri Coups, State Commissions
J Toscano- Media
Don Scott - relitary
Lance Potter - Evaluahin
Deb tospin . Legal, Board leaisin
other
Database - dracy, Nicole
Community Shate - (Caren Pleanda, Ten, Mal
Peg, Gary
= attended
Sr staff mly
SENIOR STAFF MEETING
MONDAY, JULY 29, 1996 - 11:30 A.M.
CONFERENCE ROOM 8410
AGENDA
1. Introduction of Summer Interns:
Various Supervisors
Emily Johnson (General Counsel)
Debbie Jospin
John Nidhiry (Recruitment)
Tracy Gray
Roperto Rodriquez (A*Corps)
Peter Heineru
Amanda Watson (NSSC)
Tom Endres
2.
Points of Light Foundation
Gregg Petersmeyer
Chairman, President's Summit
Points of Light Foundation
The Presidents' Summit
A New Era of Citizenship
MASTER CHECKLIST
Summit
POLF,
Staff
CNS,
Focus Areas of Responsibility:
Other
1. Message Development
All
2. Communications Plan (Edelman)
GP
Internet Piece (EDS)
GP
3. Invitation strategy
SCL
4. Summit Agenda
GP
5. Philadelphia, PA (conference prep and logistics)
Berkowitz
6. Commitments:
PB
Corporations
pb
Media
gp
Non-Profits and Foundations
pb, ccm
Youth and Educational Institutions
ccm
Communities of Faith
scl
Government
ccm
CNS?
7. Role of the Presidents and First Ladies
GP
8. Satellite Summits
SCL
9. Post-Summits
?
10. Fundraising
GP
11. Summit Outcomes/Evaluation
GP, PB
12. Intern Responsibilities
SCL
13. Responsibilities: Volunteers
SCL
other POLF Staff
CNS Staff
Advisory Board
Strategic Planning Committees
14. General
SCL
Internal and External Office Communications
Addendum:
Job Responsibilities: STAFF
Chairman
Executive Director
Conference Administration
Administrative Assistant
Consultant/Strategic Planner (p/t)
Planning Associate (p/t)
Project Managers (2)
1
7/19/9
1. Message Development
(Staff)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
1.1 define the main, public outcomes of the summit
a. break them down by sectors
b. identify them with the framework
1.2 create talking points for each of these public
values
1.3 identify 10 most important individuals in order
discuss message of Summit
1.4 set appointments with each of these individuals
1.5 create agenda to be used in meeting with each
of these individuals
1.6 meet with joint board of POLF and CNS to
discuss the message and public outcomes
1.7 create listing of potential supporters of the
summit (organizations)
1.8 identify and create listing of potential critics of
the summit (organizations and individuals)
1.9 meet with 4-5 of the potential critics
1.10 create message that will drive communications
and public relations plan
1.11 create reading list for summit staff which both
supports and criticizes the message of the
summit - relative to the work of the summit agenda
committee - using not only academic resources, but
identifying the public leaders
1.12 identify Case Studies which support the
message of the summit, where "a new
era of citizenship" is working
1.13 select universities around the country to
engage in serious dialogue about the summit's
message and contact them
1.14 develop questions or curriculum to support
dialogue or gatherings to discuss the summit's
message
1.15
1.16
1.17
1.18
2
7/19/9
2. Communications Plan / Public Relations
(GP)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
2.1 identify communications firm to develop
the communications plan
2.2 develop a communications strategy in concert
with firm
2.3 develop in concert with the communications
firm the publications for the summit
a. executive summary
b. brochure
C. pamphlet, etc. etc.
2.4 identify national gatherings and conferences --
local and national -- which summit can utilize for
advertisement and promotion of dialogue
concerning the summit
2.5 create a "listserv" distribution list for
communications on the internet including project
staff and volunteers, CNS and POLF board
members and staff, summit sponsors, all summit
committees and strategic planning groups,
2.6 set up meeting with EDS to begin preliminary
discussions regarding internet package for
the summit
2.7 INTERNET strategy: work in consultation
with EDS to establish technology and internet
piece prior to the summit
a. design a web page
b. develop text for web page
C.
2.8 establish date for public announcement of
summit
2.9 collect "stories" from POLF and CNS that
simply tell the summit's message
2.10 contact Harris Wofford at CNS to obtain
"stories" from CNS programs
2.11 target talk shows, news programs, and
television outputs for summit advertisement and
promotion of dialogue concerning the summit
2.12 target literary sources (national and
international newspaper resource organizations,
magazines, and internet journals) for summit
advertisement and promoting dialogue concerning
the summit
3
7/19/9
2.13 develop a strategy for creating distribution
lists for summit advertisement and materials
(i.e. public libraries, Presidential libraries,
educational institutions, churches, non-profits,
corporations, media organizations, and
government entities -- state, local, and national)
2.14 send memo to Edelman re: inclusion of literary
sources in communications plan, listserv, national
gatherings, networks, talk shows, educational
materials
2.15 Establish steering committee for
Communication strategy
2.16 establish steering committee for internet
strategy
2.17 manage work with Edelman
2.18 make appointments to meet with all major
networks
2.19 incorporate the ideal community with the
internet strategy of the "virtual" community
2.20 collect examples of the ideal community
2.21 define in consultation with the information
technology firm the role of the ideal/virtual
community in the Internet strategy
4
7/19/9
3. Invitation/Representative Strategy
(SCL)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
3.1 develop criteria for summit participants,
defining the following distinctions:
a. resource persons
b. "good works" people
C. non-traditional participants
d. individuals with unused capacity
e. public teachers
f. moral authority
3.2 set up meeting with Dot Ridings to discuss role
of foundations in invitation strategy
3.3 create plan to involve foundations in
nomination process and participant development
3.4 create Registration forms
3.5 create list of percentage breakdowns for all
summit participants including the following
distinctions
a. location
b. profession (the six sectors, summit
sponsor, media, and membership in
national organizations)
c. summit participant distinctions
d. race and ethnicity
e.
3.6 develop the invitation strategy using
community foundation model
3.7 identify staff person and volunteers to assist
with nomination process
3.8 create steering committee for invitation and
nomination strategy
3.9 develop a list of CEOs to involve in the
invitation strategy and contact them
3.10 visit with 3-4 CEOs to discuss invitation
strategy and potential of leading this steering
committee
3.11 select chair of invitation/nomination steering
committee
3.12 set date for steering committee on invitation/
nomination process to meet
3.13 create list of community foundations and their
geographic grantmaking area (number and
scope of community foundations across the
5
7/19/9
nation)
3.14 answer the following question: Are
there any sections of the country that are
not represented by community foundations
6
7/19/9
4. Summit Agenda
(GP)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
4.1 collect remarkable volunteer stories to promote
on the day of the summit
4.2 collect examples of what is working
4.3 create video/documentary highlighting
volunteer stories, neighborhoods, communities,
Presidents' and First Ladies' involvement to be
used in summit
4.4 continue to develop summit agenda in concert
with communications strategic plan
4.5 create list of potential facilitators at summit, i.e.
Ted Koppel, Robert Bellah, Robert Coles
4.6 target these individuals for summit facilitating
4.7 establish Summit Agenda committee
4.8 ask Dr. Art Naparstek to serve on Agenda
committee
4.9 discuss different mediums for showcasing the
programs and places which are examples of
the summit message
4.10 create educational materials to be discussed
and disseminated at the summit
4.11 develop agenda along the following themes:
I. Sharing and Affirming
II. "Virtual" Community Framework
III. Signing Party
IV. Regional Emphasis for Post-Summit
opportunities
4.12 define and create "Virtual" community
4.13 visit potential sites to be highlighted at the
summit
a. Cleveland Poverty Commission project
b. Dudley Street in Boston
C. James River?
4.14 develop expectations for the ideal community
4.15 define the utility of ideal communities in the
summit and post-summit activities
4.16 define in simple terms "the ideal community"
a. who is involved, what are the
necessary pieces
b. where do we see it today
c.
7
7/19/9
4.17 create educational materials which simply
explain the ideal community
4.18 establish 2-3 focus groups on the idea of the
"ideal" community for the purpose of:
a. brainstorming ideas
b. collecting examples
C. knowledge of first-hand experience
d. intellectual utility of the idea
e. identifying effective means of
communicating the ideal community
4.19 establish dates for the summit staff to visit an
ideal community
8
7/19/9
5. Philadelphia, PA
(Carolyn Berkowitz)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
5.1 establish host committee involving
representatives from all six sectors
5.2 locate and develop potential service experiences
during summit
5.3 identify potential vendors and national
organizations who will participate
5.4 meet with Carolyn Berkowitz to discuss:
a. in what way and how much help can the
summit staff provide
b. summit agenda
C. establishing a connection between the
communications firm and her
5.5 identify local stories of successful civic
engagement
5.6 identify dates for staff to visit Philadelphia
5.7
5.8
5.9
9
7/19/9
6. Commitments
(PB)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
6.1 develop approach to each type of institution
appendix A
6.2 test the approach developed on 4-5 clients
6.3 create list of target contacts for at least 30
commitments (5 from each sector)
6.4 visit target contacts
6.5 establish commitments from at least 30
institutions
6.6 breakdown potential commitments into the
following six sectors:
1. media
2. corporations
3. non-profits and foundations
4. communities of faith
5. government
6. youth and education institutions
6.7 continue to nurture commitments after they
have been created
6.8 create list of contacts (Board members, Bob
Goodwin, Harris Wofford, corporate CEOs) who
will be able to:
a. assist the staff in securing these
commitments, i.e. who do they know?
b. publicly endorse the Summit
C. identify their own organizational skills
talents, and resources and determine what
they can do to accomplish the outcomes
6.9 secured at least 10 major commitments
6.10 develop year-long approach to commitments
6.11
6.12
6.13
10
7/19/9
7. Presidents, First Ladies, and General Chairman
(GP)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
7.1 contact Colin Powell's chief of staff
7.2 establish communication with President
and Mrs. Carter
a. either through Jodi Powell
b. or through Stu Eisenstadt
C. or Andy Young?
7.3 contact Mike Deaver to introduce Summit to
Mrs. Reagan
7.4 contact Peggy Circle regarding the involvement
of President and Mrs. Ford
7.5 draft letter to Mrs. Dole for commitment from
Senator and Mrs. Dole
7.6 find out about availability of Mrs. Johnson
7.7 continue to work with President and Mrs. Bush
regarding their commitment and roles in the
Summit
7.8 continue to work with President and Mrs.
Clinton regarding their role in the Summit
7.9 work in consultation with Presidential staffs' to
define the roles they will play
7.10 from the definition of their roles, develop
and draft a Presidential credo, something
that can be signed at the Summit
7.11 develop in consultation with the
communications plan the "collective moral
authority" of the Presidents' involvement
7.12 define the role of the Presidential Libraries
a. Satellite Summits
b. regional Post-Summits
C. creation of Presidential resources on
citizenship
7.13 define security issues
7.14
7.15
11
7/19/9
8. Satellite Summits
(SCL)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
8.1 develop agenda for Satellite Summits, i.e.
what will happen
8.2 create advisory group for satellite summits that
will perform the following duties:
a. investigate and implement necessary
technology plan for "satellites"
b. assist summit staff in identifying cities
where satellites will take place
c. establish joint ventures with other
institutions who have the technological
capability to hold a satellite summit
d. identify key individuals who can run a
satellite summit
e. train these key individuals to run a
satellite
f. create program guide for satellites
8.3 investigate and target communities to
hold satellites
8.4 consult with national university and service
organizations in this venture
8.5 develop cost report for a satellite summit
8.6 contact the Civic TV Network to discuss
their potential role in the summit
8.7
8.8
8.9
12
7/19/9
9. Post Summits
(SCL)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
9.1 develop program guide for post summit
activity
9.2 incorporate post-summit vision in with summit
outcomes and communications/internet plan
9.3 incorporate vision of post-summits with
strategy for inviting summit participants
9.4 incorporate vision of post-summits with
involvement of Presidents
9.5 contact Kettering Foundation for assistance on
post-summit activities
a. use of their knowledge base with the
National Issues Forums, and
b. list of individuals who are NIFs trained
9.6
9.7
9.8
13
7/19/9
10. Fundraising
(GP)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
10.1 ask Bob Goodwin if the Kellogg $ has arrived
10.2 contact Gwen Foster regarding the Packard $
10.3 send 3 years of POLF financial statements to
Pew Charitable Trusts to complete grant
application
10.4 contact Harris Wofford about Ford
Foundation $ and MacArthur Foundation $
10.5 contact AnnMaura Connolly at CNS
(she is the Independent Sector liaison) regarding
funding
10.6 collect information about Lutheran
Brotherhood
10.7 contact Lutheran Brotherhood (suggestion of
Virginia Austin)
10.8 create expense report for summit start-up costs
from April to the present
10.9 consult with Bob Goodwin regarding start-up
fees
10.10 if necessary, send expense report to Ray
Chambers for cover-up payment
10.11 contact Lilly Endowment
10.12 contact Rockefeller Foundation
10.13 contact Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
10.14 send memo to Board members asking
suggestions of Foundations for seeking funds
10.15 contact Kauffman Foundation through
Gene Wilson
10.16
10.17
10.18
14
7/19/9
11. Summit Outcomes/ Evaluation
(GP)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
11.1 create an assessment/evaluation plan which
includes a method for analyzing
a. an increase in American, public dialogue
about the central theme of the summit
b. an increase in actual numbers of citizens
engaging themselves in public, social
problems
c. more problems are solved
11.2 incorporate all summit activity to achieve the
following three products:
1. A Signed Document by all summit
participants, Presidents, and Institutions
of commitment
2. A plan of action stated by the summit
3. A demonstration both affirming the great
work being done and showcasing what good
can be done if we choose to act
11.3 follow up on commitments made at the summit
over the next three years (evaluation)
11.4 create a post-summit booklet for the
purposes of:
a. assisting in establishing post-summit gatherings
b. connecting the ideas of the summit to real
life and real communities
11.5 survey of the 3000 summit participants
(evaluation)
11.6 work with a public opinion polling firm to
analyze the public will
11.7 integrate FERA requests into evaluation plan
and follow up on them
11.8 identify organization that will work with
Summit staff to create an assessment/evaluation plan
which is consistent with the Summit's objectives
11.9 begin process of evaluation by analyzing:
a. ability of staff to meet weekly objectives
b. ability to gather and meet objectives
outlined by Summit proposal
11.10
11.11
15
7/19/9
12. Intern Responsibilities
(SCL)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
12.1 create job descriptions for each intern position
12.2 fill the following intern positions
1. internet text editor
2. internet text editor #2
3. assist CB with Philadelphia set-up
4. 6623
5. geographic linkages
6. 6693
7. Satellite summits
8. 6677
9. P.R./Communications Plan
10. 6693
11. Invitations
12. Intern Coordinator
13. Project Associates
14. supplementary press operations
12.3 set-up intern placement announcements for
local universities
12.4
12.5
16
7/19/9
13. Volunteer Responsibilities
(SCL)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
13.1 inclusion of POLF staff in summit
preparation
13.2 inclusion of CNS staff in summit preparation
13.3 create a volunteer strategy
13.4 create job descriptions for volunteer
opportunities
a. serving on a sub-committee
b. working on a particular project
c. promoting the message
d. recommending other volunteers
e.
13.5 secure a list of community and national
volunteer organizations, inquire with local
voluneer centers
13.6 secure a list of potential local volunteers in
D.C. area
13.7 establish expectations of advisory board
members on the steering committee and target
members for assistance
13.8 establish local Washington volunteer
steering committee through local volunteer
centers assistance
13.9 contact Marian Heard regarding the
Loaned Executive program and develop job
description for this individual
13.10
13.11
13.12
17
7/19/9
14. General
(SCL)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
14.1 creation of an operating system which fits the
kind of activities and needs that must
be accomplished
14.2 management of the bugdet
14.3 create and maintain address roster and
phone list of all:
a. Steering Committee members
b. Summit Strategic Planning Group
C. Volunteers
d. Summit staff
e. Interns
14.4 create checklist for staff members and interns
with appropriate timeline
14.5 create calendar of when all Boards,
Committees, and Sub-committees meet
14.6 set up monthly meetings with steering
committee
14.7 establish staff expectations for all meetings and
travel with communication to other staff
and volunteers
14.8 establish model for visiting another
city including:
a. agreement on purpose of the meeting
b. which staff need to be involved
C. who should be invited from that city to attend
d. what should be the outcome of the meeting
e. who should follow-up on the meetings
f. what other meetings should be scheduled while
in that city
14.9 develop a meeting reporting strategy
including the meeting outcomes
14.10
14.11
14.12
18
7/19/9
Addendum: Staff Responsibilities
(SCL)
Activity:
Completion:
(by whom / by date)
Chairman of the Summit
a.
b.
C.
Executive Director
a.
b.
c.
Conference Administration
a.
b.
c.
Administrative Assistant
a.
b.
c.
Consultant/Strategic Planner (p/t)
a.
b.
C.
Planning Associate (p/t)
a.
b.
C.
Project Manager (A)
a.
b.
C.
Project Manager (B)
a.
b.
C.
19
7/19/9
Criteria for the Delegation Team for the Summit:
We suggest that the local Delegation consist of eight to ten persons who collectively
demonstrate:
1. Commitment to the common good.
There is evidence that they are doing outstanding work in their local
communities and could share their learnings with other participants.
2. Commitment to community renewal.
3. Ethical congruence between life and work.
The quality of their personal life is conjoint with their work. They are respected
for their deeds even more than their words.
4. Engagement with diversity and complexity.
They are aware of the global quality complexity that characterize contemporary
life. See the systemic implications of their work, and have a critical perspective on
their own culture.
5. Work focused on solving serious social problems in the community.
6. Personal and moral authority.
they are respected and viewed by the community as one who cares about the
well-being and health of the community.
7. Support from the community foundation.
the community foundation will agree to work with other organizations in the
community the help the individual representatives to the national summit to lead,
organize and support post-Summit meetings in their own communities and regions.
8. Connection to community resources and assets, human and financial.
9. Emerging leadership qualities.
Persons of unused capacity.
The Demographics:
When selecting persons from local communities to be a part of the Delegation Team.
the committee should be concerned about the representation of the local delegation.
the Delegation will need to work together to develop an action plan to lead a post-
Summit.
The following demographics should be considered:
1. Gender
2. Ethnicity
3. Youth
4. Social economics:
a. Persons who receive services
b. Persons from the Working class
C. Persons from the Middle class
d. Persons from the Upper middle class
5. The six sectors:
a. Media
b. Corporations
C. Communities of Faith
d. Non-profits and Foundations
e. Government
f. Youth and Educational Institutions
Size of the National Delegation to the Summit
In order to make this a national meeting (approximately 3,000 people) we will both be
able to have the entire local Delegation Team attend the Presidents' Summit - we are
asking that once the local committee has met and began to work together on the local
community action plan, that the delegation would nominate two to three persons to
attend the national Summit and represent their local community.
The Delegation
The participants at the Summit will attend working sessions on how to further develop
their local action plans for a post-Summit meeting, and meet with other delegation from
their state to discuss strategies and build partnerships on addressing the message of
The Presidents' Summit on A New Era of Citizenship in America.
MEMORANDUM
To:
Bob Goodwin, President and CEO, The Points of Light Foundation
Harris Wofford, CEO, The Corporation for National Service
From:
Stuart Lord, Executive Director, The Presidents' Summit stt
Re:
Summit Staffing Issues
Date:
July 23, 1996
As we move forward in planning "The Presidents' Summit on A New Era of
Citizenship in America" there is an increased concern about staffing issues. I
will like an opportunity to sit and discuss with you these needs.
Currently we have in place the following personnel:
Gregg Petersmeyer --
Chairman
Pat Bland --
Strategic Planning Consultant
Stuart Lord--
Executive Director
Chad Mayer --
Program Manager
Greer Forsyth --
Administrative Assistant
--
Manager not yet on board
We are working well together and it is clear to all of us there is need for
additional staff in the following areas:
Administrative Support: This person to provide additional general
administrative support to the Summit's staff and assist in typing of letters, drafts,
documents, filing etc.
Development and Funding: This person will work with Funders, draft and send
proposals for additional fundraising to off-set costs of transportation and
accommodation for youth and interns at the Summit. Design and implement the
strategy for involving corporations in the sponsorship of several mini-Summits
and post-Summit initiatives.
Public Relations: This person will assist staff in getting the "MESSAGE" of the
Summit to the right people and also assist in the implementation of the
communications plan which is being developed by Edelman Public Relations
Worldwide. Making sure the Summit message is consistent in all materials,
communications and speeches made by Summit staff or other assisting persons.
Commitments:
Non-Profit: This person will contact potential agencies and organizations for
securing commitments to be announced at the Summit.
Corporations: The person will work with CEOs and corporations helping them
develop and design commitments that will also be announced at the Summit.
Manager - Community Foundations: This person will work with the community
foundations nationwide, (24 regional and 404 national), in implementing the
Invitation Strategy for approximately 3,00 participants. This person will be
assisted by several part/time interns.
In addition we plan to have 15 part-time Interns, who will provide stability and
energy for this project and will be working with different Summit staff members
providing programmatic assistance.
I look forward to discussing this memo with you at your earliest convenience.
Thank you.
CC: Pat Bland, Greer Forsyth, Chad Mayer, Gregg Petersmeyer,
The Points of Light Foundation
Shirley Sagawa, The Corporation for National Service
DRAFT
7/23/96
The People's and Presidents' Summit
On
A New EΓa of Citizenship in America
Role of Community Foundations in
Nomination and Representation Strategy
Introduction:
On President's Day and the day following, February 17 and 18, 1997, a national Summit
will be convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to help usher in a new eΓa of citizenship in
America in which citizens taking action in their own communities to help solve our serious
social problems becomes the nation's defining philosophy for systemic and lasting change.
It is anticipated that the conveners of the Summit will be the next President of the United
States and First Lady and former Presidents and First Ladies. A meeting of this kind
between a President and his predecessors is without precedent in American history.
The Summit will result in a substantial increase in volume of activity focusing on serious
social problems
The Role of Community Foundations:
We are asking community foundations to play a major role in localizing the effect the
Summit outcomes willl have on the nation. the strategy for incorporating a large
percentage of the American public in the preparation for and follow through of the
Presidents' Summit will do this. Community foundations, if they agree to serving as a
partner on the local level, will have the opportunity to be involved in the design, selection,
and support of local citizens who will attend the Philadelphia Summit. Community
foundations will:
1.
design a strategy for nominating and selecting individuals who will represent their
community at the Philadelphia summit;
2.
select the individuals from their community who will serve as the nomination
committee, of which ultimate power to select local citizens will be bestowed;
3.
convene the local citizens and summit delegates prior to the Philadelphia summit to
discuss local needs, community assets, and community plans for increasing the
volume of citizen action;
4.
support the work produced by summit participants and others by continuing the
spirit of the national summit with community summits that initiate and further
develop the community action plans.
The Goals of Local Participation:
A principle objective of the Summit is to help community leaders and active citizens
engage more people in the work of their community. We are in a defining moment in
American history in which Americans taking action in their own communities is proven to
be an effective way of solving our nations most serious social problems. The Summit will:
1.
invite people to come together who normally do not sit at the same table, either
socially or professionally, to discuss their community's most serious problems;
2.
engage citizens in thinking about the same issues and focusing on not only
community problems, but community assets and resources;
3.
offer a framework which will allow citizens to come together from different
backgrounds and interests, and yet still be able to have a collective, positive,
community-wide impact; and
4.
increase the volume of effective citizen action going on in our communities.
The Role of the Summit Staff
The Presidents' Summit staff with assistance from national associations of community
foundations and grantmakers will:
1.
develop representation and nomination strategy for Presidents' Summit which will
include the criteria and necessary support materials for the community foundations;
2.
allocate the number of Summit participants that will attend the national summit
from each state and region;
3.
test the representation and nomination strategy with several community
foundations and community foundation leaders,
4.
recognize appropriate community foundations for which to lead this effort;
5.
work in conjunction with local delegation team and community foundations to
establish post-summit activities, local summits, and town meetings.
Criteria for Nomination Committee:
The Presidents' Summit is asking that each community foundation take into consideration
the following criteria when selecting their nomination committee. The purpose of the
nomination committee is to select a representative sample of community delegates who
will work in consultation with the local community foundation and summit staff to meet
the outcomes of the Presidents' Summit. Individuals nominated will attend the national
summit and work in consultation with the community foundation and other people from
their community to meet the objectives of the summit.
The suggested criteria for the nomination committee are as follows:
1.
A representative from the local community foundation (Program Officer or
Trustee)
2.
A Business/Corporate Leader
3.
A representative of the Local Media (newspaper editor, television news
producer)
4.
A Youth
5.
An elected government official
6.
A local school teacher, principal, or school superintendent
7.
A pastor, minister, or rabbi of local church
8.
Leader of volunteer center or director of local non-profit
9.
A representative from a local university
10.
Community person at large
Once the Nomination Committee has been selected, their charge will be to establish a local
delegation team made up of a cross-section of people from the community. The summit
delegation team will work in consultation with the summit staff to meet the outcomes of
the Presidents' Summit. In addition, the local delegation team in concert with the
community foundation will set up local town meetings to follow the Summit in order to
discuss local needs and community resources. The local delegation team is not necessarily
to be participants who are well-known throughout the community. Rather, we seek
people with a moral and deed-based authority within their own community.
How will we do it?
The Summit staff will work in coordination with the regional and association groups of
community foundations and grantmakers to identify local community foundations with
which to work.
Draft
7/23/96
A SUMMIT OF THE PRESIDENTS AND THE PEOPLE
ON
A NEW ERA OF CITIZENSHIP IN AMERICA
Introduction
On President's Day and the day following, February 17 and 18, 1997, a national Summit will
be convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to help usher in a new era of citizenship in America
in which individuals and groups taking action in their own communities to help solve our
serious social problems becomes the nation's defining philosophy for systemic and lasting
change. It is anticipated that the conveners of the Summit will be the next President of the
United States and First Lady and former Presidents and First Ladies. A meeting of this kind
between a President and his predecessors is without precedent in American history.
The Need for the Summit
Many of our nation's most serious social problems now seem overwhelming in scale. For too
many Americans and American communities, indeed for the nation itself, many of these
problems are crises. In addition, there is an ominous quality to some of the worst problems
because it seems that the road we are on is not leading to solutions. In fact, without curbing
and reversing our most serious problems, in the words of the late George Romney who called
for the Summit, they are problems that within two or three generations "will render us non-
competitive globally and terminate us as a great nation."
Problems are being overcome and lives are turned around every day. But it is one by one and
the volume of effective work is certainly not sufficient to change the course of these problems
nationally. The urgent need, therefore, is to find pragmatic ways to restore citizen
engagement as an essential way of life in America, where individuals are more personally
engaged in the problems, challenges, and opportunities of the communities in which they live,
work and learn. Fortunately, we are uniquely equipped among all nations to succeed at this
challenge because America's most distinctive virtue, the one most recognized around the
world, is our willingness as individuals to serve others voluntarily. Not only are there
countless examples of effective engagement to be affirmed and celebrated. The Summit can
help communities build on these examples in a strategic way that begins to create the volume
of effective activities that will change the trajectory of the nation.
The Vision of the Summit
The Summit is a defining of a "new era of citizenship where authority and responsibility for
change lies primarily with local people directly engaging in their own communities. We will
ask all participants in the Summit to publicly endorse the following vision:
"The People's Summit will usher in a new era of citizenship in which Americans take
action in their own communities to help solve our serious social problems. In this new
era, citizen action, often in partnership with government, business and non-profits, is the
nation's defining philosophy for sustaining and systemic change.
The Summit will challenge individuals, organizations, and sectors to commit themselves
to full participation in this new era by recognizing that:
1.
They have unique talents, gifts and resources to give to others;
2.
They can make a difference in the lives of others and in their own through
their involvement;
3.
They have the power and responsibility to act now; and
4.
By doing so, they will help rebuild their communities and their country.
As we enter the 21st century with citizen action as the nations' defining philosophy, we
celebrate America's most distinctive virtue, renew citizen service as a way of life in
America, and realize the hope of America for the future.
Citizenship of engagement in community is what we mean by "a new era of citizenship." The
engagement may be motivated by a sense of calling or responsibility to help other people, the
community or the country and it may be motivated by a desire to share a talent, gift or interest
in a way that is needed. It includes citizens engaging in their own projects or the project of a
group, either in part-time or full-time service. The "new era of citizenship" is also about a
renewed sense of the values or ethic associated with citizenship including personal and civic
responsibility, the idea of civic reciprocity, the search for the common good, and an emphasis
on direct participation and experience.
Summit Audiences
The primary audiences that we need to reach in order to make the vision a reality are national
leaders, community leaders, and active citizens. National leaders will help make the national
summit occur and create a national-level model of commitment and cooperation that we hope
to see replicated as the local level. These include the corporate leaders, nonprofit directors,
newspaper publishers, television network CEOs, religious leaders and others who head large
national organizations that represent the business, government, nonprofit and religious sectors.
Community leaders who must be equipped to take a message to the local level and motivate
people in their communities to get involved. We need to have a realistic idea of the tools and
support they will need in order to communicate effectively when they return home after the
summit.
Active citizens, the largest audience, are who this summit and the community summits must
inspire to action in order to have the impact we seek. The messages of the summit will
motivate the people who are most likely to be -- or become -- active citizens. The number of
people who might be receptive to the summit's message could be very large: according to a
Time/CNN poll of 1,010 Americans, 77 percent said they wished they could have "more
contact with other members of their community." But only 36 percent said they already take
part in "volunteer organizations." (Time, July 22, 1996). The data suggests that a message
that offers citizen action as a way of connecting with others is one that may appeal to people's
beliefs and desires.
Summit Objectives
A core issue in any community is how to achieve the volume of effective individual and group
activity necessary to create a community in which it is desirable to live, work and raise a
family. Some of the work of the Philadelphia summit and the local summits that will follow
will be around a framework which lays out this relationship between "micro solutions" and
"macro problems." It attempts to suggest that it is the cumulative work of many individual or
small group activities that overcomes serious problems and achieves desirable community
characteristics (see Exhibit 1).
Widespread mentoring and aggressive parental support and skills training by volunteers, for
example, could help create a community with the "desired characteristic" that every child in
need would have caring adults in his or her life. Because the volume of these kinds of
activities is so important, the national Summit and the subsequent local summits will be a
process that has as their objective the "enabling conditions" that individuals, organizations, and
communities seek to make civic engagement as irresistible as possible. Those enabling
conditions are:
1)
Every individual will have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others
and in his or her own life through citizen service;
2)
Every organization will provide the opportunity for their members or employees to
become engaged in solving problems in their community; and
3)
Every community will promote citizen action to solve problems and build the support
mechanisms required to help people discover ways they want to make a difference.
Summit Outcomes
The Summit in February, 1997 will begin a three year process that we anticipate will be
marked by a second summit in February, 2000. The core process surrounding the initial
summit will consist of three steps: 1) Summit Preparation (from April 1996 to February
1997); 2) The Summit Event; and 3) Post-Summit Activity (February 1997 to February 2000).
The second national summit in the Year 2000, with the Presidents and First Ladies, would be
convened to assess and celebrate the accomplishments between the summits. The following
Summit outcomes will occur over the next three year period:
1.
The Summit demonstrates that widespread citizen engagement could turn the tide
against serious social problems in communities.
a.)
Sample social problems are analyzed in terms of the difference citizen
action could make in the nation's future, and
b.)
Several "repeatable ideas" of national value are examined by those who
have made them work in their local communities.
2.
The American people become aware that an era defined by citizens taking action
in their own communities to solve our serious social problems is upon us.
3.
Building on what is already being done in communities, the beginning steps are
taken to engage a sufficient number of citizens and citizen groups to turn the tide
against our most serious social problems. In order to achieve this outcome:
a.)
A national-level model of commitments and cooperation demonstrates what
we hope to see replicated at the local level.
b.)
Persons attending the Philadelphia summit develop an action plan to set up
their own community summits and are equipped with the tools, ideas and
messages necessary for their local summits and follow-on initiatives to
succeed.
c.)
Communication mediums (print media, broadcasters and the Internet)
share the messages and work of the national and local summits in ways that
are enabling and supporting for citizens engaged in the process.
Role of the Presidents and First Ladies
Through their historic joint participation, the Presidents and First Ladies will bring a collective
moral authority to the call for a "new citizenship. They will share some of their views on
citizen action and create widespread visibility for the work at the Summit as participants plan
their own local community summits and initiatives to get more people effectively involved in
their community. The Presidents and First Ladies will also acknowledge and affirm
individuals and groups already doing outstanding work in their communities, witness the
commitments made by organizations and individuals at the Summit that will support the
growth in the volume of citizen action, and call on all individual Americans to serve.
Other Summit Participants and Agenda
Approximately 3,000 people representing a broad cross-section of communities will be invited
to the Summit event. Three types of people will attend: 1) citizens who are engaged in
outstanding work in their communities and could share their learnings with others; 2)
individuals from organizations announcing commitments at the Summit towards increasing the
level and impact of citizen involvement; and 3) individuals who will lead, organize and
support local community summits in their own communities and regions. Like the
Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787, where the representatives were
"average citizens, we will celebrate and affirm exemplary accomplishments through service
by individual Americans.
In many cases, community foundations across the country, working with Volunteer Centers
and other community-based organizations, will be asked to convene a local selection
committee to select representatives to attend the Summit, support their participation in the
Philadelphia summit, and assist in organizing local community summits gatherings that will be
held in hundreds of communities.
The Summit agenda will include (among other activities): 1) the signing of a document, in the
spirit of the Constitution or Declaration, that will affirm the vision of the Summit; 2) the
announcing of commitments and showcasing of exemplary stories that can serve as national-
level models that support the objectives of the summit; 3) sessions that enable summit
participants to return to their local communities to achieve the outcomes of the summit; and 4)
a demonstration and measure of how citizen service actually solves problems and can change
the future of the nation. We anticipate major media coverage of the event, including the
dialogues about citizen action by the participants.
Key Summit Strategies
In order to accomplish the Summit outcomes, three key strategies, or actions will be taken: 1)
commitments will be made by leaders of organizations; 2) local summits will be held in
hundreds of communities following the national Summit; and 3) the Internet will be used,
along with outreach to the media, to share messages and information of the Summit.
Commitments. At least 30 major organizations representing business, nonprofits, youth
and education, communities of faith, government and the media -- will be approached prior to
the Summit event and will be asked to make commitments to take specific action to increase
the volume and effectiveness of citizen engagement. These commitments will be made within
the framework described above, leading to ideal community characteristics. The Summit
event will also provide the opportunity for the country to celebrate what is already being done
by these organizations to build citizen engagement in communities by highlighting these
outstanding actions through the Internet and the media as models for others.
Local Community Summits. Citizens from cities and communities around the country will
attend the national Summit and develop action plans that will enable communities to run their
own community summits between February 1997 and February, 2000. The national summit is
intended to celebrate, multiply and strengthen citizen action in local communities. The action
plans will be designed to move participants in local communities toward desired community
characteristics defined in the framework as they see fit. We will seek the help of the nation's
community foundations to support and lead the local community summit strategy.
Communication. Communication will play a critical role in the success of the Philadelphia
summit, the local community summits and their follow-on initiatives. Indeed, without the use
of various communication media, it will not be possible to significantly increase the volume of
effective activities by citizens in America. The Edelman Public Relations firm is drafting a
communications strategy for the Summit.
Print, Broadcasting and Cable. As with the commitments of other organizations, model
commitments will be sought from certain members of the media to support the
outcomes of the summit. In addition, in those communities in which the local media
feels it has a stack in the future of the city or community, and want to participate as
"public journalists" in the summit process nationally and locally, they will be welcome.
World Wide Web. The Internet will play a valuable role in promoting the messages of
the Summit, enabling participants to communicate their progress in implementing
commitments and holding local community summits, and providing information to
individual Americans on how they can use their own talents to help others in
communities. The EDS Corporation has committed to design the Internet web site for
the Summit.
Administration of the Summit Process
A steering committee, made up of members of the boards of The Corporation for National
Service and The Points of Light Foundation, who are the sponsors of the Summit, will oversee
the planning and administration of the event. A small, temporary staff, housed by The Points
of Light Foundation will plan and administer the Summit. Gregg Petersmeyer, former director
of The White House Office of National Service under President Bush, will chair the Summit.
The Summit will seek funding from major foundations to support the planning, administering
and initial follow-up of the Summit with a budget of the Summit estimated to be approximately
$1.4 million.
Achieving Desired Community Characteristics:
The Collective Value of Different Solutions
Desired
Strong Families and
Excellent Schools
Work that Dignifies
A Safe, Decent
Healthy Behavior,
Community
Caring Adults in the
and a Culture that
and Creates the
and Drug Free
Quality Health Care,
Characteristics
life of Every Child
Fosters Lifelong
Hope of Advancement
Place to Live in a
and a Sense of
and Youth
Learning
Clean Environment
Well Being
- Breakdown of the family
- Limited parental involvement
- No contact with career role
- Shortage of affordable
- Substance abuse
Examples of
- Teen pregnancy
in child's education
models
housing
- Alienation of people with
- Child abuse and neglect
- Illiteracy
-
Lack of job skills
- Crime and drug-infested
disabilities
Community
- Inadequate parenting skills
-
Low proficiency in science
-
No hope of economic
neighborhoods
-
HIV/AIDS
Problems
- Teen suicide
and math
advancement among low
-
Gang violence
- Infant mortality
- Racial hatred and prejudice
- Children starting school not
income youth
- Racial violence
-
Isolation of terminally ill and
- Youth turning to Crime and
ready to learn
- Limited job or career
-
Lack of safe recreational
their families
gangs
-
School drop-outs
opportunities for refugees,
opportunities for children
- Inadequate access to
- Lack of quality child care
- Poor learning environment
recent immigrants and
and families
affordable, quality health
- Low self-esteem/lack of
- Lack of proficiency in
people with disabilities
- Homelessness
care
direction
English
- Inability to obtain
- Inadequate nutrition
- Physical and sexual abuse/
- Education not valued
employment across racial
- Environmental/pollution
domestic violence
- Racial tensions in school
lines
problems
- Special needs of children
- Lack of skills in managing
with disabilities
household finances
- Lack of individual attention
-
Lack of skills for obtaining
- lack of compelling goals
jobs such as resume writing,
interviewing, etc.
Examples of
- Mentoring/positive role
- Tutoring
- Employment counseling:
- Renovating/building
- Substance abuse education
models
- Volunteer teaching
resume writing, interviewing
affordable housing
and rehabilitation
Community
- Counseling/Education
assistants
skills, support groups
- Community crime prevention
- Companionship and
Solutions
programs
- Mentoring/positive role
- Job search assistance
groups
assistance to seniors
- Child care alternatives
models
- Apprenticeships and job
- Community anti-drug groups
- Parental care and parental
- Parenting skills training
skills training
- Environmental education/
education
- Alternative places to study
- Surrogate families/family
- Personal and family
awareness
- One to one counseling
- Hospice care/bereavement
counseling
-
Informal community libraries
budgetary counseling
- Safe recreational
groups
- Engaging people of different
Individual and group tutoring
-
opportunities
-
Friendship, guidance and job
- Fulfilling activities for people
races in overcoming
counseling to immigrants/
- Safe havens
with disabilities
in English
common problems
-
Partnerships between
refugees
- Positive alternatives to
-
Support for AIDS patients
- Teen hotlines and support
schools and universities,
- Remove excuse for not
destructive gang activities
and their families
groups
businesses and other
hiring by providing
- Personal counseling and
-
Free medical clinics and
- Recreational opportunities
organizations.
individuals with tools to work
practical assistance for
mobile units staffed by
-
effectively in organizations
victims of crime
volunteer medical
Children's programs that
require parental involvement'
-
Entrepreneurial opportunities
professionals
- Career mentors
-
Shelter, counseling, hotlines
and public awareness for
abused women and children
©The Presidents' Summit
MEMORANDUM
To:
Harris Wofford
From: Gregg Petersmeyer
Date: July 18, 1996
RE:
The President's Summit On a New Era of Citizenship in the Country
As we move forward on the Summit, I wanted to bring you up to date on a few items and
ask for your support on others. First, attached please find the revised "Executive
Summary" of the Summit plan. After my discussions with you about the Summit
outcomes, as well as a telephone conversation with Ray Chambers and others, Pat and I
have revised and sharpened the plan to include your good suggestions. Please let me
know if you have any other thoughts regarding these new changes.
On the funding front, we are delighted to have received the first check from Kellogg for
the Summit, and, as you know, have submitted proposals to the Pew Charitable Trusts and
the Packard Foundation. At this point, I think it is critically important for us to approach
the Ford Foundation within the next week to ask for their support and to begin that
proposal process. I would appreciate it if you would again call Susan Berresford on our
behalf. I have been told that Susan's personal support for funding the Summit will be
necessary to move the request forward in a timely way within ford.
Now that Stuart Lord and Chad Mayer have joined the Summit team and we have
developed clear workplans, I think it's very important for us to build a stronger, regular
working partnership with the Corporation. I want to make sure that the Corporation is
integrally involved in the implementation of the plan. In addition, the plan is very
ambitious and will require more staff than we can muster. With that regard, I would like
to request that a Corporation staff member be loaned full time to the Summit team. I
thought that perhaps Steve Waldman, particularly given his communications background
and understanding of national service issues, would be an outstanding addition to the
team. Of course, we would appreciate any person from the Corporation you feel would
be a good team member.
I would also like to communicate with you regularly about our progress. Bob has asked
that we meet with him every Tuesday morning at 9:00 am in his office, and would like to
extend an open invitation to you to join those meetings when you are available or we can
meet in your office alternately. You could also join us by phone for those meetings. Our
first meeting will be next Tuesday (July 23) at 9:00.
Thank you for your attention to the above. I will call your office tomorrow to follow up.
Draft
7/23/96
A SUMMIT OF THE PRESIDENTS AND THE PEOPLE
ON
A NEW ERA OF CITIZENSHIP IN AMERICA
Introduction
On President's Day and the day following, February 17 and 18, 1997, a national Summit will
be convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to help usher in a new era of citizenship in America
in which individuals and groups taking action in their own communities to help solve our
serious social problems becomes the nation's defining philosophy for systemic and lasting
change. It is anticipated that the conveners of the Summit will be the next President of the
United States and First Lady and former Presidents and First Ladies. A meeting of this kind
between a President and his predecessors is without precedent in American history.
The Need for the Summit
Many of our nation's most serious social problems now seem overwhelming in scale. For too
many Americans and American communities, indeed for the nation itself, many of these
problems are crises. In addition, there is an ominous quality to some of the worst problems
because it seems that the road we are on is not leading to solutions. In fact, without curbing
and reversing our most serious problems, in the words of the late George Romney who called
for the Summit, they are problems that within two or three generations "will render us non-
competitive globally and terminate us as a great nation."
Problems are being overcome and lives are turned around every day. But it is one by one and
the volume of effective work is certainly not sufficient to change the course of these problems
nationally. The urgent need, therefore, is to find pragmatic ways to restore citizen
engagement as an essential way of life in America, where individuals are more personally
engaged in the problems, challenges, and opportunities of the communities in which they live,
work and learn. Fortunately, we are uniquely equipped among all nations to succeed at this
challenge because America's most distinctive virtue, the one most recognized around the
world, is our willingness as individuals to serve others voluntarily. Not only are there
countless examples of effective engagement to be affirmed and celebrated. The Summit can
help communities build on these examples in a strategic way that begins to create the volume
of effective activities that will change the trajectory of the nation.
The Vision of the Summit
The Summit is a defining of a "new era of citizenship where authority and responsibility for
change lies primarily with local people directly engaging in their own communities. We will
ask all participants in the Summit to publicly endorse the following vision:
"The People's Summit will usher in a new era of citizenship in which Americans take
action in their own communities to help solve our serious social problems. In this new
era, citizen action, often in partnership with government, business and non-profits, is the
nation's defining philosophy for sustaining and systemic change.
The Summit will challenge individuals, organizations, and sectors to commit themselves
to full participation in this new era by recognizing that:
1.
They have unique talents, gifts and resources to give to others;
2.
They can make a difference in the lives of others and in their own through
their involvement;
3.
They have the power and responsibility to act now; and
4.
By doing so, they will help rebuild their communities and their country.
As we enter the 21st century with citizen action as the nations' defining philosophy, we
celebrate America's most distinctive virtue, renew citizen service as a way of life in
America, and realize the hope of America for the future.
Citizenship of engagement in community is what we mean by "a new era of citizenship." The
engagement may be motivated by a sense of calling or responsibility to help other people, the
community or the country and it may be motivated by a desire to share a talent, gift or interest
in a way that is needed. It includes citizens engaging in their own projects or the project of a
group, either in part-time or full-time service. The "new era of citizenship" is also about a
renewed sense of the values or ethic associated with citizenship including personal and civic
responsibility, the idea of civic reciprocity, the search for the common good, and an emphasis
on direct participation and experience.
Summit Audiences
The primary audiences that we need to reach in order to make the vision a reality are national
leaders, community leaders, and active citizens. National leaders will help make the national
summit occur and create a national-level model of commitment and cooperation that we hope
to see replicated as the local level. These include the corporate leaders, nonprofit directors,
newspaper publishers, television network CEOs, religious leaders and others who head large
national organizations that represent the business, government, nonprofit and religious sectors.
Community leaders who must be equipped to take a message to the local level and motivate
people in their communities to get involved. We need to have a realistic idea of the tools and
support they will need in order to communicate effectively when they return home after the
summit.
Active citizens, the largest audience, are who this summit and the community summits must
inspire to action in order to have the impact we seek. The messages of the summit will
motivate the people who are most likely to be -- or become -- active citizens. The number of
people who might be receptive to the summit's message could be very large: according to a
Time/CNN poll of 1,010 Americans, 77 percent said they wished they could have "more
contact with other members of their community." But only 36 percent said they already take
part in "volunteer organizations." (Time, July 22, 1996). The data suggests that a message
that offers citizen action as a way of connecting with others is one that may appeal to people's
beliefs and desires.
Summit Objectives
A core issue in any community is how to achieve the volume of effective individual and group
activity necessary to create a community in which it is desirable to live, work and raise a
family. Some of the work of the Philadelphia summit and the local summits that will follow
will be around a framework which lays out this relationship between "micro solutions" and
"macro problems." It attempts to suggest that it is the cumulative work of many individual or
small group activities that overcomes serious problems and achieves desirable community
characteristics (see Exhibit 1).
Widespread mentoring and aggressive parental support and skills training by volunteers, for
example, could help create a community with the "desired characteristic" that every child in
need would have caring adults in his or her life. Because the volume of these kinds of
activities is so important, the national Summit and the subsequent local summits will be a
process that has as their objective the "enabling conditions" that individuals, organizations, and
communities seek to make civic engagement as irresistible as possible. Those enabling
conditions are:
1)
Every individual will have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others
and in his or her own life through citizen service;
2)
Every organization will provide the opportunity for their members or employees to
become engaged in solving problems in their community; and
3)
Every community will promote citizen action to solve problems and build the support
mechanisms required to help people discover ways they want to make a difference.
Summit Outcomes
The Summit in February, 1997 will begin a three year process that we anticipate will be
marked by a second summit in February, 2000. The core process surrounding the initial
summit will consist of three steps: 1) Summit Preparation (from April 1996 to February
1997); 2) The Summit Event; and 3) Post-Summit Activity (February 1997 to February 2000).
The second national summit in the Year 2000, with the Presidents and First Ladies, would be
convened to assess and celebrate the accomplishments between the summits. The following
Summit outcomes will occur over the next three year period:
1.
The Summit demonstrates that widespread citizen engagement could turn the tide
against serious social problems in communities.
a.)
Sample social problems are analyzed in terms of the difference citizen
action could make in the nation's future, and
b.)
Several "repeatable ideas" of national value are examined by those who
have made them work in their local communities.
2.
The American people become aware that an era defined by citizens taking action
in their own communities to solve our serious social problems is upon us.
3.
Building on what is already being done in communities, the beginning steps are
taken to engage a sufficient number of citizens and citizen groups to turn the tide
against our most serious social problems. In order to achieve this outcome:
a.)
A national-level model of commitments and cooperation demonstrates what
we hope to see replicated at the local level.
b.)
Persons attending the Philadelphia summit develop an action plan to set up
their own community summits and are equipped with the tools, ideas and
messages necessary for their local summits and follow-on initiatives to
succeed.
c.)
Communication mediums (print media, broadcasters and the Internet)
share the messages and work of the national and local summits in ways that
are enabling and supporting for citizens engaged in the process.
Role of the Presidents and First Ladies
Through their historic joint participation, the Presidents and First Ladies will bring a collective
moral authority to the call for a "new citizenship. They will share some of their views on
citizen action and create widespread visibility for the work at the Summit as participants plan
their own local community summits and initiatives to get more people effectively involved in
their community. The Presidents and First Ladies will also acknowledge and affirm
individuals and groups already doing outstanding work in their communities, witness the
commitments made by organizations and individuals at the Summit that will support the
growth in the volume of citizen action, and call on all individual Americans to serve.
Other Summit Participants and Agenda
Approximately 3,000 people representing a broad cross-section of communities will be invited
to the Summit event. Three types of people will attend: 1) citizens who are engaged in
outstanding work in their communities and could share their learnings with others; 2)
individuals from organizations announcing commitments at the Summit towards increasing the
level and impact of citizen involvement; and 3) individuals who will lead, organize and
support local community summits in their own communities and regions. Like the
Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787, where the representatives were
"average citizens, we will celebrate and affirm exemplary accomplishments through service
by individual Americans.
In many cases, community foundations across the country, working with Volunteer Centers
and other community-based organizations, will be asked to convene a local selection
committee to select representatives to attend the Summit, support their participation in the
Philadelphia summit, and assist in organizing local community summits gatherings that will be
held in hundreds of communities.
The Summit agenda will include (among other activities): 1) the signing of a document, in the
spirit of the Constitution or Declaration, that will affirm the vision of the Summit; 2) the
announcing of commitments and showcasing of exemplary stories that can serve as national-
level models that support the objectives of the summit; 3) sessions that enable summit
participants to return to their local communities to achieve the outcomes of the summit; and 4)
a demonstration and measure of how citizen service actually solves problems and can change
the future of the nation. We anticipate major media coverage of the event, including the
dialogues about citizen action by the participants.
Key Summit Strategies
In order to accomplish the Summit outcomes, three key strategies, or actions will be taken: 1)
commitments will be made by leaders of organizations; 2) local summits will be held in
hundreds of communities following the national Summit; and 3) the Internet will be used,
along with outreach to the media, to share messages and information of the Summit.
Commitments. At least 30 major organizations representing business, nonprofits, youth
and education, communities of faith, government and the media -- will be approached prior to
the Summit event and will be asked to make commitments to take specific action to increase
the volume and effectiveness of citizen engagement. These commitments will be made within
the framework described above, leading to ideal community characteristics. The Summit
event will also provide the opportunity for the country to celebrate what is already being done
by these organizations to build citizen engagement in communities by highlighting these
outstanding actions through the Internet and the media as models for others.
Local Community Summits. Citizens from cities and communities around the country will
attend the national Summit and develop action plans that will enable communities to run their
own community summits between February 1997 and February, 2000. The national summit is
intended to celebrate, multiply and strengthen citizen action in local communities. The action
plans will be designed to move participants in local communities toward desired community
characteristics defined in the framework as they see fit. We will seek the help of the nation's
community foundations to support and lead the local community summit strategy.
Communication. Communication will play a critical role in the success of the Philadelphia
summit, the local community summits and their follow-on initiatives. Indeed, without the use
of various communication media, it will not be possible to significantly increase the volume of
effective activities by citizens in America. The Edelman Public Relations firm is drafting a
communications strategy for the Summit.
Print, Broadcasting and Cable. As with the commitments of other organizations, model
commitments will be sought from certain members of the media to support the
outcomes of the summit. In addition, in those communities in which the local media
feels it has a stack in the future of the city or community, and want to participate as
"public journalists" in the summit process nationally and locally, they will be welcome.
World Wide Web. The Internet will play a valuable role in promoting the messages of
the Summit, enabling participants to communicate their progress in implementing
commitments and holding local community summits, and providing information to
individual Americans on how they can use their own talents to help others in
communities. The EDS Corporation has committed to design the Internet web site for
the Summit.
Administration of the Summit Process
A steering committee, made up of members of the boards of The Corporation for National
Service and The Points of Light Foundation, who are the sponsors of the Summit, will oversee
the planning and administration of the event. A small, temporary staff, housed by The Points
of Light Foundation will plan and administer the Summit. Gregg Petersmeyer, former director
of The White House Office of National Service under President Bush, will chair the Summit.
The Summit will seek funding from major foundations to support the planning, administering
and initial follow-up of the Summit with a budget of the Summit estimated to be approximately
$1.4 million.
Achieving Desired Community Characteristics:
The Collective Value of Different Solutions
Desired
Strong Families and
Excellent Schools
Work that Dignifies
A Safe, Decent
Healthy Behavior,
Community
Caring Adults in the
and a Culture that
and Creates the
and Drug Free
Quality Health Care,
Characteristics
life of Every Child
Fosters Lifelong
Hope of Advancement
Place to Live in a
and a Sense of
and Youth
Learning
Clean Environment
Well Being
- Breakdown of the family
- Limited parental involvement
- No contact with career role
- Shortage of affordable
- Substance abuse
Examples of
- Teen pregnancy
in child's education
models
housing
- Alienation of people with
- Child abuse and neglect
- Illiteracy
-
Lack of job skills
- Crime and drug-infested
disabilities
Community
- Inadequate parenting skills
- Low proficiency in science
- No hope of economic
neighborhoods
- HIV/AIDS
Problems
- Teen suicide
and math
advancement among low
-
Gang violence
- Infant mortality
- Racial hatred and prejudice
Children starting school not
income youth
- Racial violence
-
- Isolation of terminally ill and
- Youth turning to Crime and
ready to learn
- Limited job or career
- Lack of safe recreational
their families
gangs
-
School drop-outs
opportunities for refugees,
opportunities for children
- Inadequate access to
- Lack of quality child care
- Poor learning environment
recent immigrants and
and families
affordable, quality health
- Low self-esteem/lack of
- Lack of proficiency in
people with disabilities
- Homelessness
care
direction
English
- Inability to obtain
- Inadequate nutrition
- Physical and sexual abuse/
- Education not valued
employment across racial
- Environmental/pollution
domestic violence
- Racial tensions in school
lines
problems
- Special needs of children
- Lack of skills in managing
with disabilities
household finances
- Lack of individual attention
-
Lack of skills for obtaining
- lack of compelling goals
jobs such as resume writing,
interviewing, etc.
Examples of
- Mentoring/positive role
- Tutoring
- Employment counseling:
- Renovating/building
- Substance abuse education
models
- Volunteer teaching
resume writing, interviewing
affordable housing
and rehabilitation
Community
- Counseling/Education
assistants
skills, support groups
- Community crime prevention
- Companionship and
Solutions
programs
⑉ Mentoring/positive role
- Job search assistance
groups
assistance to seniors
-
Child care alternatives
models
- Apprenticeships and job
- Community anti-drug groups
- Parental care and parental
- Parenting skills training
skills training
- Environmental education/
education
- Alternative places to study
- Surrogate families/family
- Personal and family
awareness
- One to one counseling
- Hospice care/bereavement
counseling
budgetary counseling
- Safe recreational
Informal community libraries
groups
-
- Engaging people of different
Individual and group tutoring
-
opportunities
-
Friendship, guidance and job
- Fulfilling activities for people
races in overcoming
counseling to immigrants/
-
Safe havens
in English
with disabilities
common problems
refugees
-
Positive alternatives to
-
- Partnerships between
Support for AIDS patients
- Teen hotlines and support
schools and universities,
- Remove excuse for not
destructive gang activities
and their families
hiring by providing
-
groups
businesses and other
Personal counseling and
-
Free medical clinics and
- Recreational opportunities
individuals with tools to work
practical assistance for
organizations.
mobile units staffed by
effectively in organizations
victims of crime
- Children's programs that
volunteer medical
require parental involvement'
-
Entrepreneurial opportunities
professionals
- Career mentors
- Shelter, counseling, hotlines
and public awareness for
abused women and children
©The Presidents' Summit
TO:
Members of the Boards of Directors of:
The Points of Light Foundation and The Corporation for National Service
FROM:
Gregg Petersmeyer MP
DATE:
June 5, 1996
RE:
Draft Strategic Plan for The Presidents' Summit
Enclosed is the Discussion Draft of the Strategic Plan for the Presidents' Summit which
Pat Bland and I look forward to reviewing with you on Sunday.
To S w/ 6/6
so to the pleas 5Pm The I hear
for
A
-
DISCUSSION
DRAFT
THE PRESIDENTS' SUMMIT
DRAFT PLAN SUBMITTED TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE
June 9, 1996
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
On President's Day and the day following, February 17 and 18, 1997, a national Summit will be
convened in order to call all Americans to take action in their communities to help solve our
nation's most serious social problems, and to arrive a set of agreements on a strategy to do so.
It is anticipated that the convenors of the Summit will be the next President of the United States
and First Lady, and all the former Presidents and First Ladies. A meeting of this kind between a
President and his predecessors is without precedent in American history. Therefore, the
importance of voluntary citizen action and national service will receive significant national
attention.
Governor George Romney called for a national leadership summit because, in his words, "The
magnitude of our social problems will require that all citizens and institutions make a commitment
to volunteering as a way of life and as a primary opportunity to create needed change."
Immediately prior to Governor Romney's death, The Corporation for National Service and The
Points of Light Foundation agreed to pursue the idea and to be co-sponsors of the Summit. A
joint steering committee made up of representatives of the two boards was formed to oversee the
Summit and its development (Exhibit 1). An independent 501(c)-3 organization is being formed
to implement the objectives of the Summit which will be chaired by Gregg Petersmeyer who will
also be the Chairman of the Summit.
Over the past two months, a strategic planning group was formed to develop a first draft of a
strategic plan that would guide the Summit and the implementation of its outcomes (Exhibit 2).
Members of this group are committed to furthering citizen action in communities, and represent
many leading organizations whose programs include working with volunteers. This group, along
with Gregg Petersmeyer and Pat Bland of the Points of Light Foundation, developed the
following draft plan for review by the steering committee. This plan lays out the need, vision,
mission, underlying beliefs, desired outcomes and key strategies of the Summit.
THE NEED FOR THE SUMMIT
America's most distinctive virtue, the one that is recognized around the world, is our willingness
as individuals to serve others voluntarily. Since the founding of the country, citizen action has
built our communities, saved lives, and strengthened and protected our country. Lately, however,
we have begun to lose our sense that we collectively, as people working together, can solve our
problems. There is a growing sense of isolation from one another and fragmentation within
communities: people don't feel responsible for our problems as a nation. Or, they don't know
how to get involved, or don't know that their individual actions -- when added to millions of other
individual actions -- can really make a difference.
Many if not most of those making serious contributions of their time and hearts do not categorize
their work as volunteering or service -- but simply something they need to do for themselves or a
specific situation or a person that needs addressing or help. The urgent need is to restore a sense
of engagement with the problems, challenges and opportunities of the communities in which they
live, work and learn. Whether this comes in a form of volunteering, service, or just giving
something of themselves is probably an irrelevant factor. We are seeking a positive response in
every person in this country to give something of themselves to help others -- based on the
premise that every individual does, in truth, have something of value to give.
At the same time, social problems are growing worse in communities. There is an urgent need to
restore effective citizen involvement as an essential way of life in America. The full utilization of
volunteer resources is needed in order to address our most serious social problems and continue
our role as a great nation. As Governor Romney said, "We must curb and reverse the vitally
serious social problems and connect torn communities or they will render us noncompetitive
globally and terminate us as a great nation. This will require cooperation and support of the top
leadership from all sectors, nationally and locally."
If Americans are to meet this challenge as a people, we must rely on three engines: economic
growth, government action, and community action. We would include in community individuals
and families, places of worship, social, educational, and civic institutions, businesses as
community members, the media, and the web of informal relationships that engage people in one
another's lives. While each engine has a critical role to play, the "horsepower," efficiency and
effectiveness of the "community action engine" can be substantially improved.
Through the Summit, we believe that we could substantially increase citizen involvement by
celebrating what is already being done in communities by individuals and organizations in ways
that awaken others to do likewise; by defining the value of volunteering and service; and by
helping individuals realize that they themselves have a gift to give that is an important part of the
overall solution to our nation's problems. The Summit is a call to action for the country to
welcome, and prepare for, a new era of citizenship in the country -- in which everyone has
something of value to contribute to his or her community. The Summit should also stimulate the
development of mechanisms at the local state and national levels to support these actions and
help direct them towards positive, sustaining change. The Summit is not a federal program, nor a
convening of organizations involved in the service sector, but a citizen movement, where the
2
authority and responsibility for change lies primarily with local people directly engaging in their
own communities.
VISION OF THE PRESIDENTS' SUMMIT
The strategic planning group has defined the vision of the Summit as a credo that will be shared
and discussed with, and endorsed by, all who participate in the Summit and hear its message:
VISION OF THE PRESIDENTS' SUMMIT
"The Presidents' Summit will usher in a new era of citizenship in which Americans taking
action in their communities to help solve our serious social problems becomes the nation's
defining philosophy for lasting, sustaining and systemic change.
The Summit will challenge individuals, organizations and sectors to commit themselves to
full participation in this new era by recognizing that:
1. They have unique talents, gifts and resources to give to others;
2. They can make a difference in the lives of others and in their own through their
involvement;
3. They have the power and responsibility to act now; and
4. By doing so they will help rebuild their communities and the country.
As we enter the 21st century with citizen action as the nation's defining philosophy, we
celebrate America's most distinctive virtue, renew citizen service as a way of life, and
realize the hope of America for the future."
What we mean by "a new era of citizenship" is citizenship redefined. It is a citizenship of
engagement in community. It is inclusive, because it recognizes that individuals are motivated by
the opportunity to share a talent, gift or interest in a way that is needed and also motivated by a
sense of responsibility for the community and the country. It includes citizens engaging directly in
their own projects in both part-time and full-time service, and organizations and groups working
together.
The "new citizenship" is about an "ethic" of citizenship that includes not only direct citizen
service, but also a renewed sense of the values associated with citizenship. These "citizenship
values" include: personal and civic responsibility; the idea of civic reciprocity (e.g. the "sweat
equity" of Habitat's home ownership); the search for a common good (i.e. aggressively tilling the
common ground); and an emphasis on direct participation and experience.
3
The Mission of the Summit
In order to accomplish this vision by the year 2000, many people from many different sectors will
have to be involved. To achieve the extraordinary volume of effective involvement required to
really make change happen in communities, people must be able to act on their own beliefs.
Therefore, we have designed the mission, outcomes and strategies of the Summit to build a set of
beliefs, trigger a desire to act on those beliefs, and encourage the development of systems to
support widespread involvement. Therefore, we have defined as the main objective of the
Summit:
"To instill in the American people the belief that everyone of us has something to give our
communities, to call on all Americans to take action now, and to cultivate new ways to
advance this action to lead to positive, sustaining community change."
Role of Presidents and First Ladies
The opportunity to focus widespread media and public attention on the Summit and its central
message will be provided by the historic joint participation in the Summit by the President and
First Lady and former Presidents and First Ladies. Perhaps, more important than creating
enormous visibility for the Summit, will be the collective moral authority they will bring to the call
for a "new citizenship".
The specific roles they will play will have to be determined by them or their staffs on a case by
case basis. Obviously, each will have his or her own special interests and own points of view
about issues related to the call for a "new citizenship". We will seek and welcome ways for them
to express those values as they see fit. But clearly we will also seek common agreement that can
be shared with all Americans. Perhaps, for example, they will agree on and sign a credo that
reflects the vision of the Summit. It could by widely publicized and disseminated following the
Summit.
As individuals or together, the group will be in a position to witness commitments being made by
key Summit participants and to personally thank them for doing so. This would encourage
follow-on agreements by others. Following the Summit, or perhaps as part of it, various
presidential libraries could be centers for mini-summits and related events.
It will be important to keep in mind, however, the model that will be used in determining their
various roles in the Summit. It will be as though this were a summit of heads of state of sovereign
nations. We will literally neither presume or assume agreement on anything not explicitly agreed
to by each of them with respect to documents, policies, proceedings or stagings. This will include
not authorizing any groups or organizations to speak or write on behalf of the Presidents'
Summit.
4
The Summit Agenda
At this stage we are clearer about the objectives of the agenda than we are about the specific
content. We want the Summit to celebrate exemplary stories, we want there to be discovery and
learning on the part of individuals, organizations and communities and we want there to be
agreement on a strategic plan for action in the country including post-Summit summits in
neighborhoods and communities following the Summit until the year 2000. But above all else we
want the Summit to communicate the message of the era of "new citizenship" to the American
people. This will be driven by television whose staging will inevitably drive key aspects of the
agenda.
We want the American people and the Summit participants to visualize what an "ideal
community" could look like in an era of "new citizen" involvement. To develop that picture we
may create a "virtual community" with Summit participants being "virtual citizens" of that
community. We might assume that the exemplary stories celebrated at the Summit were part of
the "virtual community" as would be all of the organizations who made commitments at the
Summit for action of one kind or another. It would be a dramatic and exciting community to
imagine and to hold out as a model.
The Summit will also be designed to address in a coherent way the key strategic segments that are
its focus, namely: individuals, organizations and communities. At the Summit, material would be
shared by each segment. We expect that young people will have a prominent role in
communicating some of the key messages of the Summit. With respect to communities, we
would use the small "post-summit summits" and call for even smaller gatherings in hundreds of
communities across the country. This would include developing and sharing a common model at
the Summit that could be adapted as organizing residents see fit in their own communities.
Participants at the Summit:
Our plan is to invite approximately 3,000 people representing a broad cross-section of
communities to attend the Summit event. Many Summit participants will be selected based on
their ability to lead post-summit meetings in their own communities. (This "distributed summit
strategy" will be discussed later in this document). Community foundations across the country
(or other organizations where a community foundation does not exist) will be asked to support
the post-summit meetings. As a first step in that process, they will be asked to lead a nomination
process in their community that will result in individuals attending the Summit. Where necessary,
the community foundation can sponsor individuals to attend. They will be asked to work together
to create a selection process that will choose individuals who are committed to community
renewal, who are respected for their deeds even more than their words, who have the capacity to
be entirely inclusive in the way they go about approaching the community, and who are capable of
leading a family of post-Summit summits in the community.
Community foundations could work with volunteer centers and other organizations in the
nomination and selection process. They should also seek the involvement of local media
5
organizations in the process as well. We do not necessarily seek participants who are well known
across a community. Rather we seek many people with moral and deed-based authority within
their own neighborhood.
Community foundations would know how to make the post-summit events additive within the
community, not competitive with the many good things underway in every community. They also
have the power and authority within the community to convene and sustain groups that want to
make a difference.
THE UNDERLYING BELIEFS OF THE SUMMIT
We start with a set of beliefs about community change and the kind of action that works. We also
have a picture of the kind of community that we seek and an understanding of what matters most
to individuals most capable of helping to create such a community. Finally, we will design the
Summit process to reach these individuals in ways that will cause them to act. Here are several
core beliefs with which we begin:
The most important element in the overall health of a community is the economic self-
sufficiency of its residents. The importance of broad-based higher income levels is
unarguable and achieving them must remain among our highest priorities. But the social
deterioration in many communities means that more than economic remedies must be
pursued. Indeed, improvement in economic life must not be regarded as a precondition
for improvement in the quality of daily life.
Lasting accomplishments in neighborhood and community life can only occur if the local
people themselves are fully engaged. Local residents must create their own initiatives or,
in securing financial and planning help from the outside, they must negotiate on what will
work and how they will acquire and maintain "ownership" over all key activities. The
essential roles that others can play -- the government, foundations and other non-profits,
corporations and outside volunteers -- should in no way be minimized. But it is
individuals within the community itself who must remain the central force for change
regardless of the contributions of others.
People engage most successfully by focusing on their talents, gifts, strengths and assets,
not their deficiencies, weakness and needs. Everyone has something to contribute
although the challenge is often getting them to recognize that fact. In addition, problems
people face do not disqualify them. People who experience the greatest problems, who
have suffered and have learned from their experience, are often the most help to others.
An Ideal Community: Surrounding Individuals With Support
The Dudley Street Neighborhood in Boston is instructive in how it is developing, namely "from
the inside out." It is the residents themselves who are the inspiration and the source of the
6
changes being made. To be sure, there are critical partners in the effort. Government is a partner
effecting changes in physical aspects of the community, giving authorization for other changes and
providing financial help; foundations and community development corporations are providing
planning support and financing and technical assistance; and corporations and outside groups are
providing pro bono help of all kinds. But the one thing that everyone agrees is making the real
difference in the Dudley Street Neighborhood are the neighborhood people. Their values, talents,
gifts, and energy are being committed to the neighborhood in hundreds of different and purposeful
ways. That is what is making the difference.
The principle assets of every community are people with the capacity to make a difference. In
many cases those assets can be added to and leveraged with help from "outside." The objective is
a community that constantly seeks to invent, develop, strengthen and multiply all kinds of social
support systems that serve a broad range of the needs and interests of neighborhood residents.
We want the Summit to hold up a picture of what this kind of ideal community would look like.
Why is this so important today? In many people's lives, the web of relationships that fill the space
between family and social service institutions has disappeared. In the past, when families and
communities were stronger social units, the gap was not as large. Families, of course, are the
most vital institution within communities and should be strengthened. But the community aspects
of people's lives need to be strengthened too. And families will also be strengthened in the
process. But the simple fact is that far more energy and sophistication should be devoted to
stitching together the web of informal relationships that engage people in one another's lives.
The Summit's role will be to call on all Americans to help restore and rebuild the community as an
essential part of their lives. The picture that the Summit will advance of an ideal community will
be defined by a set of core characteristics, each the cumulative result of the work of an
extraordinary number of informal support systems in the community. (See Exhibit 3 for the
matrix framework). It is the hope of the Summit that communities around the country will use
this framework of an ideal community as a discussion tool to better define their own community
and its potential and to determine ways they want to mobilize themselves to act. An ideal
community, one that would be a good place to live and work would have these five elements:
1. Commitment to children, youth developing good character and values, and strong families;
2. Excellent schools and a culture that fosters lifelong learning;
3. Meaningful employment opportunities and the hope of economic advancement;
4. A safe, decent and drug free place to live in a clean environment, and;
5. Quality health care and a sense of well being.
Each of the elements is in fact the result of a wide range of different types of activities. For
example, in the case of the first characteristic, namely "Commitment to children, youth developing
good character and values, and strong families," the kinds of activities that are supportive of that
objective include mentoring and positive role models; counseling and education programs; child
care alternatives; parenting skills training; surrogate families and family counseling; hotlines and
support groups; and recreational opportunities.
7
As part of the Summit, however, we want to encourage people to think about new citizenship at
the level of highly personal engagement. But individuals and small groups of people do not think
about engaging in "recreational opportunities" for example. They think about coaching a baseball
team, organizing a Cub Scout troop, providing after school theater classes, matching college
students with young people for sports and other activities, or opening a center for safe activities
during the off-school hours. It is at this level that the call must be made and that it will be heard.
An "ideal community" would be one where multitudes of individuals on their own or through their
schools, places of worship, businesses, and social organizations are working in their own
communities to engage in these kinds of activities. There would be scores of initiatives pursued
for each category of activity in support of each of the five core elements desired in every
community. The effect of all of these informal social support systems would be to surround each
individual with support and in the process help to solve serious social problems like family
disintegration, teen pregnancy, crime, illiteracy, homelessness and hunger.
THE OUTCOMES OF THE SUMMIT
We have defined the work not just as the convening of one summit but as a process that will
include a two-day Summit event in February, 1997 and work over the next 3 years, from June of
1996 to February, 2000 and perhaps a second summit at the end of the three years. The activities
leading up to the February Summit and the Summit event itself are designed to trigger a series of
actions in communities around the country that will re-instill in the American people a certain set
of beliefs about their role in this new era of citizenship. Therefore, we have defined the outcomes
of the Summit in two phases: 1) Summit Outcomes by February 18 and 19, 1997 (including the
months leading up to the Summit, and the Summit itself); and 2) Summit Outcomes within three
years (by the year 2000).
Summit Outcomes by February, 1997
1. The Summit event demonstrates that the collective power of individuals and organizations
using their talents, giving their gifts, and investing their energy can restore community and
improve lives.*
2. The American people become aware of the Summit's central message -- that every American:
a. Has unique talents, gifts, and resources to give to others;
b. Can make a difference in the lives of others and in his or her own life through
citizen service in the community;
C. Has the power and responsibility to act now; and
d. By doing so they will help rebuild their communities and the country.
8
3. At the Summit event and through simultaneous local summits, people around the country
engage in serious dialog about the Summit's message and discuss how to strengthen the assets
in communities to promote citizen action to solve problems.
4. Leading up to the Summit, and at the event itself, leaders of organizations and communities
make commitments to create the conditions and mechanisms which would lead to more people
to be involved more effectively in their own communities.
Summit Outcomes in 3 years (By the year 2000)
1. Commitments made at the Summit are implemented in communities nationwide.
2. Through follow-up summits in communities around the country, people engage in serious
dialog about the Summit's message, discuss how to strengthen the assets in communities and
promote citizen action to solve problems, and build the support mechanisms required to help
people take action.
3. Many more Americans believe that individually they each:
a. Have unique talents, gifts and resources to give to others;
b. Can make a difference in the lives of others and in his or her own life through
involvement in the community;
c. Have the power and responsibility to act now; and
d. By doing so they will help rebuild their communities and the country.
4. Through this new call to action, more people become more effectively involved in their
communities.
5. As a result of this increased action, we begin to see that problems are solved and communities
restored.
*
Citizen action can result in the conditions of a desirable community: Commitment to children,
youth developing good character and values, and strong families; Excellent schools and a culture
that fosters lifelong learning; Meaningful employment opportunities and the hope of economic
advancement; A safe, decent and drug free place to live in a clean environment, and; Quality
health care and a sense of well being.
Focus on Systemic Change
The Summit should focus on more than volunteering and service -- specifically about awareness
and engaging. The desired outcomes of the involvement that we seek means that we want to:
Facilitate citizen and community-based action to produce solutions in their neighborhoods.
We not only want one person in a neighborhood step forward to help another to read but we
9
want to somehow leverage this act to realize a fundamental change in the literacy rate of the
neighborhood's youth.
Cultivate and nurture "communities of interest" of those with a passion for a specific area,
such as helping to create neighborhood learning centers for youth and their families --
"communities of interest" not only within their neighborhoods and broader physical
communities, but literally throughout the country.
Encourage a "broader citizenship" which includes increased participation as voters, but even
more importantly, as citizens to become more aware and participate in and throughout the
governance.
Forge new ground for how business leaders and their businesses can become more
strategically linked and involved with their communities.
Coalesce people with a care or passion in a certain are of interest to create an overarching
vision for their effort and help them, more effectively and on a broader basis, communicate
their concerns and suggest solutions to those in community leadership positions.
The "new citizenship" theme needs to take on the scope of the massive educational campaigns
that were launched to focus attention on the environment, for example. One of our summit
outcomes should be the recognition and support of this as a process of transformation requiring
nothing short of massive awareness and education campaign to see its potential fulfilled.
We know how many of the activities and practices we seek to increase are already occurring. The
challenge and opportunity lies in strengthening and building on all the community resources that
exist and that exemplify the beliefs and objectives of the Summit, reinforcing existing institutions
and organizations, but also reinforcing critically important practices such as tutoring, mentoring,
coaching, counseling and advising.
The Measures of Success
Measuring our progress and the impact of our various strategies on citizen engagement and
through citizen action on serious social problems is an important part of our thinking. We need to
know if our specific strategies are effective at each stage and build that information into our
planning. We need to know the nature and extent of our impact as communities begin to solve or
continue to solve their problems.
We have retained FERA, Formative Evaluation Research Associates from Ann Arbor, Michigan
to assist us in developing and implementing an evaluation plan. Working collaboratively with the
Strategic Planning Committee, FERA is developing specific, qualitative and quantitative measures
related to our desired short-term and long-term outcomes. The evaluation plan will evolve as the
project evolves and information will be fed routinely into our decision-making. At this point, five
evaluation methods will be used to measure Summit outcomes.
10
Formal Agreement Tracking. The key commitments that develop out of contact with at
least 30 organizations in six sectors described below will be identified and tracked. This
measure will identify the impact on policy and programs generated by these agreements.
It will focus on changes in institutional capacity to engage individuals in activities.
(February, 1997 outcome # 4 and the 2000 outcome # 1)
Summit Participant Assessments. A sample of the 3000 people participating in the
Summit event will be surveyed to assess the impact of the Summit on their attitudes and
plans. We wish to determine what the Summit demonstrated and to assess what
participants intend to do as a result of the Summit. The same sample will be reassessed to
see if their attitudes have changed and their plans have been successfully implemented.
(February, 1997 outcome # 1 and 2000 outcome #1)
Public Opinion Polling. We will create a baseline and subsequent measures to assess
changes in attitudes toward citizen engagement and to assess whether the central messages
of the Summit are understood. We will also assess behavior changes to determine the
ways and extent of citizen community service. Whenever possible, we would collaborate
with individuals and organizations already planning or conducting polling efforts to gather
this information. (February, 1997 outcome # 2 and 2000 outcomes # 3 and 4)
Community Case Studies. We will gather information from different types of
communities. One of our strategies includes intensive work with some communities
before, during and after the Summit. A sample of these communities will be chosen for
assessment. Also, if funds permit, a sample of communities will be randomly chosen and
changes in those communities will be traced. These communities will be chosen to reflect
the diversity of the country. (February, 1997 outcome # 3 and 2000 outcomes # 2 and 5)
Collecting Information. Our last measure will include an open invitation to all people in
the country to supply us with information, often anecdotal, on what is occurring in their
communities or the institutions in which they participate which could potentially be related
to this project. This measure will accumulate information both directly related to the
outcomes identified above but also the unexpected consequences of the project. We will
have post office and Internet addresses for people to send us this information and we will
establish an 800 telephone number for this measure as well.
We need to develop a metric for "new citizenship" and we should consider metrics for 1) the
number of individuals, businesses, and other institutions that agree to get involved and actually do
something (a self-registration process may be the basis for this type of measurement) and this may
be a more encompassing measure than a count of "volunteers;" and 2) we could keep track of
types of actions taken within the five community characteristics, even down to the "problems" and
"solutions" levels.
Total funding for the evaluation is as yet undetermined. The comprehensiveness of the evaluation
and the frequency of reporting will depend on available resources. We intend to seek adequate
11
funding based on budget estimates but then set priorities within budgetary limits based on the
measures we view as most valuable.
THE STRATEGIC APPROACH FOR MAXIMIZING THE SUMMIT'S OUTCOMES
In order to achieve the Summit's outcomes, we will use a multi-tier approach to affect change:
we will approach the general public, organizations from every sector, and communities as the
Summit's three target audiences:
The general public is the primary audience for the Summit's message, and mass media will be
used to call for a "new citizenship."
We will seek commitments from organizational leaders from six sectors -- business, private
and community foundations and nonprofits, educational institutions, government,
communities of faith, and the media -- to endorse the Summit's message and to create the
conditions within their own organizations and within communities that will help achieve the
Summit's outcomes. An important role for organizations will be to create the strategic
collaborations that will leverage individual action.
Finally, citizen action takes place on the community level, where we must identify and
cultivate the real leaders in communities to rally around the Summit's message.
A second major strategic approach, which we will use to empower communities, will be to use a
"distributed summit strategy" where:
Several selected cities and towns are empowered to run their own mini-summits, concurrent
with the national Summit on February 17 and 18, 1997.
Many other communities would be called on to hold similar summits throughout the country
following the Summit, from 1997 to the year 2000.
The results of these nationwide activities would be reported to the nation at a second national
Summit in the year 2000.
At the Presidents' Summit in February, 1997, we would create an engagement process that would
establish guidelines and criteria for these local summits, that, if followed, would lead to positive
change in the community. This "distribution" of the Summit concept and engagement of leaders
at the local level could greatly expand the reach and value of the national Summit, while helping
to establish a "field organization" through which the outcomes of the Summit could eventually be
realized.
A third major approach involves the use of information technology. We will need to design and
develop both the communications network (e-mail, fax, etc.) to support operational and broad-
based communications and a website(s) on the Internet that can serve as the repository for
12
information and a hub for collection, dissemination and communication associated with the
Summit and post-summit activities.
In Exhibit 4, we outline the strategies to achieve the Summit's outcomes, reaching out to
individuals, organizations and communities. We would assign the work of the Summit staff, and
the Summit volunteers, around these audiences.
Approach to Organizations
Organizations from every sector are needed to create the conditions in communities that support
individual involvement in service. The Summit must engage individuals and strengthen the
mechanisms within organizations and communities through which people get involved. The
individual's passion is made real in the interaction with others. We should help translate the
individual to the collective through places of worship, volunteer organizations, schools,
neighborhood associations, and volunteer centers. As part of this effort we should ask all
organizations to help those who are served to themselves serve others.
Companies, nonprofits, educational institutions, communities of faith, private and community
foundations and the media can establish organizational policies that would support the increased
involvement of their employees or members; this benefits the organizations, as well as the
community and the individuals. Most importantly, cooperation and collaboration between
organizations on the community level has been shown to be critical to making a significant impact
on community problems. Through the very act of cooperation, organizations model the individual
behavior that leads to community change. Organizations often also match their commitment of
time with other resources -- money, in-kind equipment or facilities, contacts -- that are critical to
making real change happen in communities.
The Summit will ask the Chairman, CEO or equivalent of organizations in each of those sectors
to: 1) publicly endorse the mission and vision of the Summit; 2) identify their own organizational
skills, talents and resources and determine what they can do to accomplish the outcomes of the
Summit; and 3) make a commitment that would result in an increase in the level and impact of
employee or member involvement in the community. The Summit will ask organizations that are
not involved to get involved; it will ask organizations that already have a some level of
commitment to increase their level of effective involvement. The opportunity for change in the
country will require "unconventional acts" -- new ways to restore community -- by organizations
and their leaders.
From now until the national Summit in February, the Summit Chairman and staff, and volunteers
from the strategic planning group, the steering committee, and others, will approach organizations
and gain commitments. The goal is to achieve commitments from at least 30 leading
organizations: at least 5 each from each sector, including the business, nonprofit and private and
community foundations, communities of faith, educational institutions, government and media
sectors. Our hope is that these organizations can begin to act on their commitments prior to the
Summit event; at the Summit itself, these organizations can announce their commitments and their
13
success stories with the American people. Through their examples, a call for other commitments
will be made to the organizations who are invited to the Summit, and to organizations around the
country. Following the Summit, these commitments will be implemented in organizations and
communities nationwide.
The strategic planning group identified the types of commitments we would seek from each
sector, as well as the specific organizations we should approach. Below are descriptions of the
type of commitments we would seek:
A. The Business Sector. We will approach a mix of businesses -- large and small -- from
different industries, who are respected by the business community for their business success, as
well as for their community involvement. We will seek commitments from cutting-edge
company, and ask for their support of the Summit outcomes. For example, we could approach
America On Line to help develop the outreach to companies and individuals on the Internet. Or,
we might ask a company to host the mini-summits to be held in communities around the country.
We would ask all the businesses we approach to share their commitments on their web pages.
Most importantly, we would ask each business to make a commitment towards changing their
own business policies and employee volunteer involvement that would result in more impact on,
and greater systemic change within, their communities. We will also approach several leading
business umbrella organizations, such as the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of
Independent Businesses, and ask for them to make commitments towards communicating the
vision of the Summit to the business community.
B. The Nonprofit Sector. Nonprofits represent a large percentage of the organizations in the
country, and are greatly varied in their type and structure. We would approach a mix of
"provider" organizations -- those nonprofits who have members, such as the Kiwanis, whose
members volunteer in the community --as well as nonprofits who utilize volunteers, such as the
Salvation Army. In order to approach this vast sector, the strategic planning group suggested that
we approach the Independent Sector and the Council of Foundations, two major umbrella
organizations, to communicate the vision, mission and messages of the Summit (perhaps through
the Internet) to their nonprofit members. "Provider" nonprofits could encourage and support
increased involvement by their members in the community; nonprofits who utilize volunteers
could commit to changing the role of volunteers to accomplish their mission, and support the local
summit activities.
C. Communities of Faith. The involvement of communities of faith, both on the national and
local levels, is critical to the achievement of the Summit outcomes. On the national level, we
would approach several umbrella religious organizations representing different faiths, such as the
National Council of Churches, or the Conference of Catholic Bishops, and ask how they could
reach out to their membership. We would approach select ecumenical leaders about the vision
and message of the Summit. On the local level, churches and temples could play several different
roles; first, they could nominate participants to attend the Summit event in Philadelphia; they
would also participate actively in the local summits following the event, hosting the summits and
implementing the summit plans on the neighborhood level.
14
D Educational Institutions (Schools and Universities). Every type of educational institution --
elementary, junior high, high schools, colleges, public and private -- should be represented in the
Summit process. National umbrella organizations, such as the National Association of School
Administrators, would be approached. Schools and Universities could participate in a number of
ways; for example, they could seek greater affiliation with local community groups to identify
opportunities for youth service; expand their academic courses to include service; and celebrate
and recognize students who serve. Schools and the media, such as MTV, will be the primary
vehicles for reaching young people; we will approach the educational media, such as the
Chronicle of Higher Education and Education Week to reach educators.
E. Government. From the establishment of the Civilian Conversation Corps in the 1930s through
the development of VISTA, Foster Grand Parents, Senior Companion and the Retired Senior
Volunteer Program (RSVP) in the 60s and 70s, through the many youth conservation and service
corps initiated by state and local government during the last four decades, to the 1990 and 1993
National Service Acts passed by bi-partisan support in Congress and signed by Presidents Bush
and Clinton, all levels of government have participated in the creation or strengthening of citizen
service programs including all the programs supported by The Corporation for National Service.
A select number of government entities at the federal, state, and local levels will be approached to
make a commitment towards the Summit outcomes. At the state level, the Governor-appointed
state commissions for national service will be asked to determine how they can further the Summit
outcomes. We will also approach the National Governors' Association for their involvement.
Each governor will be invited to the Summit, and will announce what more they will do in their
state to further utilize service and volunteering as a strategy for solving serious social problems.
To reach the local level, we will approach the US Conference of Mayors, National Association of
Counties and (League of Cities) for their support and involvement in communicating the
messages of the Summit to their constituents.
Because of the importance of engaging all sectors in the Summit, we will include government
officials in the process. However, we will limit the presence of government officials (e.g.
members of congress and senate, mayors) because we do not want to "crowd out" the leadership
participation of the non-governmental groups that make up communities. It is also important that
we maintain completely the nonpartisan nature of the Summit.
F. Media. The media has two critical roles to play in order for the Summit to be successful.
First, as with other organizations, we will ask them to use their distinctive resources and skills,
namely communication skills, and commit to telling stories of individuals and groups who give to
their community and how organizations are creating the mechanisms that increase the
effectiveness of much of the work. All forms of media will be approached (broadcast, radio,
print, transit, cable, advertising, and on-line services). The commitments we will seek from media
companies will include asking them to write editorials and series on service and its value; as well
as "mirroring" the Summit and local summit discussions through talk shows on the air. We
would hope that the commitments would include the integration of direct citizen service in the
programming for television and movies.
15
Second, we will ask the media to communicate the Summit messages through the coverage of the
Summit itself. We would hope that there would be increased coverage of Summit related
activities and themes leading up to the event. We would also hope that local broadcast affiliates
and the print media will cover the attendance of local residents at the Summit and will cover a
simultaneous summit if it occurs in their market, and the post-summit events in their respective
communities as well. Although this would be for the media and communication subcommittee to
determine as part of their strategy, we may seek a single network sponsor who agrees to run a
week long series of special programming leading up to the Summit, including a series of news
magazine pieces as part of their regularly scheduled programs documenting citizens in action, as
well as the Summit itself.
Approach to Individuals
In order to achieve the volume of effective activities necessary to change communities, a
significantly large number of individuals would need to become involved. Ideally, people could be
motivated to the point where they find this kind of involvement irresistible. For that level of
motivation to occur, we must explicitly factor into our strategy the conditions that are necessary
and the personal qualities that must exist in order for a person to act. The mass communications
and media strategies that are designed to promote the messages of the Summit must take these
motivational factors into account.
At the core, the approach to individuals must focus less on getting people to do what someone
else wants them to do and more on helping people do what they most enjoy doing but in a way
that makes a difference in other people's lives. In other words, we must find ways for ever larger
numbers of people engaging their own special talents, interests and gifts in ways that help others;
engaging with individuals with whom there is a special relationship; and/or engaging around one
or more life experiences to which one relates most closely.
The critical questions, therefore, that every organization can help each of its members or
employees answer (and then help them find ways to implement the results) in order to create a
high volume of effective and sustainable activities are:
-
What does he or she most like to do in terms of a personal talent, interest or gift?
-
What kind of arrangement would give him or her the opportunity to enjoy that talent,
interest or gift in a way that assists other people and improves the community?
-
What would he or she need to be able and willing to try the idea in a small and simple
way and exactly as he or she would like?
As a secondary, but complimentary strategic approach, to individuals, organizations and the media
will be asked to focus on other principal "drivers" that matter most to individuals engaged in the
kinds of activities we seek to multiply. The purpose is to enable more people to begin the journey
of involvement in effective activities and more people to make progress on that journey than
would be the case without this focus (Exhibit 5). The key drivers will be treated in the following
way:
16
Bringing to the forefront for people awareness of those personal traits that matter most in
an individual's willingness to consider participating in helping others.
-
Creating the circumstances and conditions that will personally "trigger" individuals to
step forward (e.g., telling stories, coming to know someone who could benefit from one's
help, and personally asking the individual for help).
-
Communicating the life-changing personal benefits that come from being Meaningfully
involved.
- Increasing understanding of the patterns of behavior that leads an individual to feel
success in this kind of work.
Communication Strategy. The media will play a critical role in the success of the Summit. We
have created a subcommittee of media specialists from the strategic planning group to develop a
communication and media plan for the Summit that will focus on the Summit approach to the
individual. The plan will be developed during the next two or three weeks. It will include framing
the following issues:
-
Target/Whom do we want to reach? 1. All Americans who have had some experience
with service/community involvement and/or who are open to the idea of getting re-
involved or more involved with others. 2. All organizations/ communities that can impact
the participation of these individuals and that we will ask for help in delivering the
message.
- What is the communication intended to achieve? Convince the targets that there is a great
urgency in this country, a great need for their help. It will only be through the collective
power of individuals giving their gifts, using their talents that communities will be restored
and lives will be improved. Individuals need to work together to achieve mutually
supportive goals. They also need to understand how they can engage with others.
-
What is the key message we want to be heard? Today, there is an urgent need for
individuals to come together to restore our communities and make a difference in the lives
of others. By using your talents and interests, you can enhance the lives of others and
enrich your own life.
-
How do we support this message? Everyone has an interest or talent that they can use to
make a difference in the lives of others and in our communities. Throughout all of the
Summit meetings, and through the media outreach, we will ask individuals three questions:
1. What is it that I like most to do, that I willingly devote time to?
2. How can I imagine to myself that I could enjoy that interest/capability in a way that
helps someone else or in working in my own community?
3. What would I need in the way of help to get started in a small way, today?
17
Approach to Community
A "distributive summit strategy" will be the main approach to communities. A "distributed
summit," be it concurrent or post-Summit, is to gain a more intense and personal involvement
with the Summit and its outcomes -- in other words, this is not a Summit that is happening only in
Philadelphia, "but I am a part of it, right here in Jackson, Mississippi." Inherent in this strategy
must be a set of criteria that goes beyond the Summit, but is directed at the outcomes sought.
The objectives for such an undertaking are several:
-
Achieve a much greater degree of support and buy-in to the Summit itself
-
Accelerate or ensure a higher degree of success in the achievement of projected outcomes
-
Help establish a "field organization" for the ongoing attainment, communication, and
assessment of outcomes and issues
For each of a large number of communities, we will seek a local sponsoring organization for the
post-summit summit (for example, the community foundation, where it exists). Each of the
sponsoring organizations will be asked to select and organize the right combination of individuals
and other local organizations and institutions (including local media) in its community to plan an
effective post-Summit summit or series of mini-summits. Each of these summits will have as one
of its principal objectives figuring out how to cause the three key questions of individuals to be
asked of the members and employees the various organizations in the community (and have the
individual ideas supported by the organizations) in such a way that 50% of the citizens step
forward to take effective action through either one their associations, in a group or individually.
The local sponsor would select individuals to attend the February Summit who will be part of the
local process.
The key to the undertaking will lie in the effectiveness of the logistics systems to support the
distributed mini-summits and the local leadership the program would enjoy in each community. A
great deal of thought needs to go into these aspects of a "distributed mini-summit" and, in
particular, what we seek in the leaders for the various communities. Obviously, the "distributed
mini-summits" must function as nonpartisan, coalescing the six sectors of their communities,
focused around the five community characteristics, and operating in support of the stated short
and long-term outcomes. There is tremendous benefit to the idea of a simultaneous series of
distributed mini-summits running concurrent to the Presidential Summit.
A major concern, however, is the degree to which we can mobilize and support the distributed
mini-summit strategy in time for February 1997. In order to execute in this time frame, a
committee must be tasked with this responsibility as soon as possible. To this end, the group will
need to map out the expectations, logistics, and "packaged" plans for the distributed summit, as
well as be prepared to outline the linkage of the distributed mini-summits to the Presidential
Summit itself. For example, with C-SPAN coverage, the Presidential addresses/speeches could be
piped into all of the meetings at the same time (properly scheduled for various time zones).
18
With the shortness of time, we would need to conduct a 2-3 day planning session, probably in
September, in which the respective leaders and several members of their staffs could be brought
together to discuss, be educated on, and lay out their specific plans to run a distributed summit in
their communities. Ideally, these community teams would leave this planning session with full
tailored plans, an understanding of their responsibilities and expectations, and knowing how the
communication across these groups and the central meeting will be conducted and their efforts
supported. This necessitates that the communities and the leaders be identified, invited and
secured over the next ninety days.
To this end, the logistics of the "distributed mini-summit" need to be heavily facilitated through
"network interactive communications," with firms such as America On-line, Microsoft or IBM
providing: e-mail services for the thousands of groups/individuals that will be involved; support
for the design, development and operation of a central website in support of the Presidential
Summit; and provision for each distributed mini-summit to develop and operate its own summit
website. Separating the technical flavor of this approach, it would provide the most efficient form
for communications, planning coordination, and collection of information on individuals,
contributions, success stories and the like.
ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
There are many issues to decide and discuss with regard to technology. We must solicit a leading
firm to design and develop both the communications network (e-mail, fax, etc.) to support
operational and broad-based communications and the website(s) that can serve as the repository
for information and a hub for collection, dissemination and communications. Rather than
"outsource" this entirely, however, we will bring onboard, perhaps on loan, an individual who
understands this new communications medium and can direct not only the vendor, but, more
importantly, the Summit staff for this must become ingrained in the staff and the summit's
operation for it to be successful.
The following are additional considerations concerning the use of technology in the Summit
process:
We must ensure that all people working with the effort become "electronically" connected --
this is proving far less of an obstacle as each day passes.
At a minimum, we must have the key participants "electronically" connected through a well-
organized e-mail network that will allow more interaction, engender greater involvement, and
generally improve the quality of the communication, consensus buy-in, and resulting product.
As part of this effort, we must organize "electronic" distribution lists and discussion groups
with specific responsibility assigned to a member of the staff for each communication process:
-
Summit Steering Committee of the Boards
-
Summit Strategic Planning Group
-
Summit Sponsors
-
Sector Participants
19
-
Distributed Mini-Summit Teams
-
Media (in general)
One or more websites should be developed in support of the February Summit with the intent
that they become an inherent and integral part of the ongoing communications process
through and after the summit. The Summit websites will provide:
-
An ongoing stream of news about the Summit to its constituents
-
Data bases that can be browsed or searched containing information on:
-
Summit Sponsors with contact information
-
Summit Participants with contact information
-
Distributed Mini-Summit Teams, ideally with pointers to their respective
websites that mirror the central site in design and layout
-
Desired Community Characteristics with information on involved
individuals, case studies, experiential journals, suggestions, and anecdotes.
This would also be organized around the desired primary characteristics,
the problems and solutions (Exhibit 3).
-
Individual Talents, Gifts and Interests with a menu, information, case
studies and anecdotes about ways individuals and groups have shared
activities they enjoy in ways the make a difference in the lives of other
individuals and their community.
-
Distribution lists and discussion groups where the dialogue or conversations of
these groups generally can be saved, archived and made available for retrieval and
use:
-
Operational
-
Summit Sponsors with contact information
-
Sector Participants with contact information
-
Distributive Mini-Summit Teams by topic and subject area
-
Outcome-based at a national, regional, community and/or neighborhood level
-
Desired Community Characteristics
-
Community Characteristics - Problems
-
Community Characteristics - Solutions
-
Directories of on-line resources to support communication, collaboration, and
interaction with a broad range of on-line services and resources. These directories
of resources could be nothing but an organized set of pointers to other on-line
services that have already organized the on-line resources
20
TIMING OF THE STRATEGIES
Implementation of the Summit process will occur in three time periods: 1) Summit Preparation
(April, 1996 through January, 1997); 2) the Summit event itself (February 17 and 18, 1997); and
3) Post-Summit Activity (February, 1997 through February, 1998). The timeline for the key
activities of the Summit process is outlined in Exhibit 6.
1. Summit Preparation (April through January 1997). The primary objective of this phase is to
gain commitments among leaders from every sector for action they will take to encourage and
support the vision and outcomes of the Summit, and to encourage them to begin to act on those
commitments prior to the Summit. Another primary focus will be to work with the media, and to
implement a broad-based communications strategy. The Internet "communities of interest" will
begin, as well as the sharing of "success stories" of organizations on web pages. Of course, all of
the work for preparing for the Summit event -- logistics, invitations to participants, planning of
the Summit staging, refinement of the Summit agenda -- will occur during this phase.
2. The Summit Event (February 17, 18). The Summit event will occur in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania at the Convention Center, and will include 3,000 participants. (We will discuss the
agenda later in more detail later in this document). The event will provide a forum to
communicate and share the ideas of the Summit with the American people; showcase the
agreements that were made by the sector and community leaders; and demonstrate the results of
outstanding citizen action that has already occurred. We will celebrate what communities have
already done ( such as the outstanding volunteer-driven community work of Cleveland, Newark,
and East St. Louis) and discuss these as "case studies" of what has happened and been successful
over time. At the time of the national Summit event, 5 representative community-based summits
will occur simultaneously via simulcast.
3. Post-Summit Activity (February 1997-February, 2000). The objective of this phase is to move
from dialog and celebration to actual action taken in communities towards achieving the Summit
outcomes and vision. Hundreds of "mini-summits" will occur in communities across the nation,
started and led by attendees of the national Summit and others who heard the call to action.
These communities will determine what they will do to achieve the Summit's vision.
Organizations will implement their commitments. Our hope is that we would reconvene a
national meeting in the Year 2000 with the Presidents and First Ladies, during which the
announcements of what has been done can be made.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE SUMMIT PROCESS
The planning and leadership structure for the Summit is shown in Exhibit 7. A temporary 501(c)-
3 organization is being developed to manage the Summit process, chaired by Gregg Petersmeyer
who will also be Chairman of the Summit. A leader of national prominence will be asked to be
General Chairman of the Summit.
The Summit has set ambitious goals, to be achieved in a short period of time. As a result, the
Summit outcomes can only be achieved with the assistance and direct work of the volunteers
21
associated with the Summit process. The Summit staff will ask the members of the strategic
planning group and the joint steering committee, the Boards of the Points of Light Foundation
and The Corporation for National Service, and other volunteers to take an active role in working
with the Summit staff to implement the strategies of the Summit. The organizations that make
commitments must be willing to act on those commitments with limited assistance from Summit
staff.
The budget for the Summit is outlined in Exhibit 8. The staff and administrative costs of the
Summit have been budgeted to run through March of 1997. At this point, a proposal has been
submitted to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for $400,000; we are approaching the Pew Charitable
Trusts, The Ford Foundation, and the John and Catherine MacArthur Foundation for the
remainder of the funding.
22
Exhibit 1
The Presidents' Summit for
Community Volunteering and National Service
Steering Committee
Norman Brown (P)
-
President Emeritus, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Raymond Chambers (P*)
-
Chairman, Amelior Foundation
Thomas Ehrlich (C)
-
Professor, California State University
Michelle Engler (P)
-
First Lady, State of Michigan
Michigan Community Service Commission
Robert Goodwin (P*)
-
President and CEO, The Points of Light Foundation
Marian Heard (P*)
- Chairman, The Points of Light Foundation; and
President and CEO
United Way of Massachusetts Bay
Reatha Clark King (C*)
- Acting Chairman
The Corporation for National Service; and
Chairman and Executive Director
General Mills Foundation
Carol Kinsley (C)
-
Executive Director,
Community Serve Learning Center
Leslie Lenkowsky (C)
-
President, Hudson Institute
Arthur Naperstek (C)
-
Professor, Case Western Reserve University
Jeremy Rifkin (P)
-
President, Foundation on Economic Trends
Mitt Romney (P)
- Chief Executive Officer, Bain Capital, Inc.
Eli Segal (C*)
- Chairman of the Board,
Partnership for National Service
Donald Staheli (P)
- Chairman and CEO, Continental Grain Co.
Harris Wofford (C & P*)
- Chief Executive Officer
Corporation for National Service
(P) The Points of Light Foundation Board Member
(C) Corporation for National Service Board Member
*
Executive Committee of the Joint Steering Committee of
The Points of Light Foundation and The Corporation for National Service
June 9, 1996
Exhibit 2
The Presidents' Summit for
Community Volunteering and National Service
Summit Strategic Planning Group
1.
Mary Babson
- Principal, Arthur Anderson
2.
Patricia Bland
- Senior Vice President, The Points of Light Foundation
3.
Michael Brown
- Co-Founder, City Year
4.
Paula Forman
- President, Wells, Rich, Greene, BDDP
5.
Timothy Hanlon
- Partner, Bozell Worldwide Inc.
6.
Virginia Hodgkinson
- Vice President of Research, Independent Sector
7.
Eva Kasten
- Executive Vice President, The Advertising Council
8.
Regina Kelley
- Executive Vice President, Saatchi & Saatchi
9.
Wayne Meisel
- President, Bonner Foundation
10.
Mario Morino
- President, Marino Institute
11.
Thomas McKenna
- National Executive Director,
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America
12.
Robert Payton
- Professor, Indiana University
13.
Gregg Petersmeyer
- Chairman
14.
Shirley Sagawa
- Executive Director, The Corporation for National Service
15.
William Shore
- Executive Director, Share Our Strength
16.
Eugene Wilson
- President, Youth Development, Kauffman Foundation
17.
Harris Wofford
- CEO, The Ccorporation for National Service
18.
Michael Woo
- Western States Director,
Corporation for National Service
Exhibit 3
Achieving Desired Community Characteristics:
The Collective Value of Individual Solutions
Desired
Commitment to
Excellent Schools
Meaningful
A Safe, Decent
Quality Health Care
Community
Children, Youth
and a Culture that
Employment
and Drug Free
and a Sense of
Characteristics
Developing Good
Fosters Lifelong
Opportunities and the
Place to Live in a
Well Being
Character and Values,
Learning
Hope of Economic
Clean Environment
and Strong Families
Advancement
Examples of
- Breakdown of the family
-
Limited parental involvement
No contact with career role
- Shortage of affordable
- Substance abuse
-
Community
- Teen pregnancy/Promiscuity
in child's education
models
housing
- Alienation of people with
- Child abuse and neglect
- Illiteracy
-
Lack of job skills
- Crime and drug-infested
disabilities
Problems
- Inadequate parenting skills
- Low proficiency in science
No hope of economic
neighborhoods
HIV/AIDS
-
- Teen suicide
and math
advancement among low
Gang violence
-
Infant mortality
- Racial hatred and prejudice
Children starting school not
income youth
-
-
Racial violence
- Isolation of terminally ill and
- Youth turning to Crime and
ready to learn
Limited job or career
Lack of safe recreational
their families
-
gangs
-
School drop-outs
opportunities for refugees,
opportunities for children
- Inadequate access to
- Lack of quality child care
-
Poor learning environment
recent immigrants and
and families
affordable, quality health
- Low self-esteem/lack of
- Lack of proficiency in
people with disabilities
- Homelessness
care
direction
English
Inability to obtain
- Inadequate nutrition
- Physical and sexual abuse/
-
- Education not valued
employment across racial
- Environmental/pollution
domestic violence
- Racial tensions in school
lines
problems
- Special needs of children
-
Lack of skills in managing
with disabilities
household finances
- Lack of individual attention
- Lack of skills for obtaining
- lack of compelling goals
jobs such as resume writing,
interviewing, etc.
Examples of
- Mentoring/positive role
- Tutoring
- Employment counseling:
- Renovating/building
Substance abuse education
Community
models
- Volunteer teaching
resume writing, interviewing
affordable housing
and rehabilitation
Solutions
- Counseling/Education
assistants
skills, support groups
- Community crime prevention
Companionship and
programs
- Mentoring/positive role
-
Job search assistance
groups
assistance to seniors
- Child care alternatives
models
-
Apprenticeships and job
Community anti-drug groups
Parental care and parental
- Parenting skills training
skills training
- Environmental education/
education
- Alternative places to study
- Surrogate families/family
Personal and family
awareness
- Hospice care/bereavement
One to one counseling
-
-
counseling
budgetary counseling
Safe recreational
groups
-
Informal community libraries
. Engaging people of different
Individual and group tutoring
-
Friendship, guidance and job
opportunities
- Fulfilling activities for people
-
races in overcoming
in English
counseling to immigrants/
Safe havens
with disabilities
common problems
refugees
Positive alternatives to
Support for AIDS patients
- Partnerships between
- Teen hotlines and support
schools and universities,
-
Remove excuse for not
destructive gang activities
and their families
groups
hiring by providing
-
Personal counseling and
Free medical clinics and
businesses and other
- Recreational opportunities
organizations.
individuals with tools to work
practical assistance for
mobile units staffed by
effectively in organizations
victims of crime
volunteer medical
-
Children's programs that
require parental involvement'
-
Entrepreneurial opportunities
professionals
- Career mentors
Shelter, counseling, hotlines
and public awareness for
abused women and children
©The Presidents' Summit
Exhibit 4
THE PRESIDENTS'
STRATEGIES TO REACH:
SUMMIT
Individuals
Organizations
Communities
OUTCOMES (By February 1997)
1. The Summit event
-
Conduct a mass media
-
Leading up to the Summit,
-
At the Summit, model the
demonstrates that the
campaign, beginning 3
organizations of all kinds
"ideal Community", showing
collective power of individuals
months before the Summit,
identify how employee/
how the collective power of
and organizations using their
highlighting "success" stories
member citizen action has
individuals can restore
talents, giving their gifts and
of how individual citizen
made and impact on:
community.
investing their energy can
action restored community.
1) The organization;
restore communities and
2) The community.
-
Showcase some "best case"
improves lives.
-
On the Internet in the months
examples and celebrate their
leading up to the Summit,
-
On the internet, in the months
accomplish-ments.
create "communities of
leading up to the Summit and
interest" where people discuss
following, organizations share
the success stories.
their success stories via their
E-Mail and web pages.
-
At the Summit itself, show
documentary of
-
At the Summit, showcase
Presidents/First Ladies/ and
"best case" examples of
individual Americans and how
organizations who have
their actions made an impact
changed their organizations'
on communities.
policies and communities.
2. The American people become
-
Through a national and local
Gain commitments from
Conduct national Summit and
aware if the Summit's central
media campaign (TV; radio;
media organizations to
simultaneously 5 local
message that every
print), send central message.
cover/or do series on
summits and lead citizens in a
American:
individuals and organizations
discussion of the central
a) Has unique talents, gifts
who have used their unique
message, and on these
and resources to give to
gifts and talents to give to
questions:
others;
others.
1) What needs to be done in
b) Can make a difference in
the community?
the lives of others and in his
-
Gain commitments from
2) What is it I like to do?
or her own life through
business organizations,
3) What would I need to do to
involvement in the
communities of faith,
get started in a small way?
community; and
nonprofits to communicate
4) What does the community
c) Has the power and
the message of the Summit to
need to do to help me get
responsibility to act now.
their employees and
started?
members.
Exhibit 4 (Continued)
STRATEGIES TO REACH:
Individuals
Organizations
Communities
OUTCOMES (By February 1997)
3. At the Summit event, and
-
Individuals are invited to
-
Organizations can:
Conduct national Summit and
through simultaneous local
participate in local summits
1) host a local Summit;
simultaneously 5 local
Summits, people around the
through their community
2) send representatives to
summits and lead citizens in a
country engage in serious
foundations and through local
National Summit
discussion of the central
dialog about the Summit's
media. Individuals are
3) stimulate dialog within their
message and on these
message and discuss how to
"nominated" by local
own organizations about the
questions: 1) What needs to
strengthen assets in
organizations and
Summit's message among
be done in the community?
communities to promote
communities to attend
their employees, chapters,
2) What is it I like to do?
citizen action and solve
national Summit
and members (e.g. churches
3) What would I need to do to
problems.
can conduct discussions;
get started in a small way?
-
The summits are simulcast;
businesses at work).
4) What does the community
major media covers via TV
need to do to help me get
special; agreements are made
started?
by cable companies for
coverage.
4. Leading up to the Summit,
-
Obtain mass media and
Gain commitments from a
-
At the local summits,
and at the event itself, leaders
targeted (trade press)
select number (5) organi-
determine the role of
of organizations and
coverage of these
zations from each sector (e.g.
organizations in helping the
communities make
commitments and
business, nonprofits,
community meet the
commitments to create the
announcements.
communities of faith,
Summit's objectives and
conditions that would lead to
educational institutions,
achieve local community
more people being effectively
government and the media)
objectives.
involved in their communities.
prior to the Summit. Have 30
organizations begin to act on
their commitments prior to the
Summit. Announce commit-
ments and show what they did
to help involve people in their
organizations and
communities at the Summit.
At the Summit itself, issue a
call to action other organi-
zations to follow their
example.
Exhibit 5
The Journey of Those Who Give of Themselves to Others:
Stages of Engagement
Prepared to Engage
Trigger
Sustained Action
Success
(Traits)
(Events)
(Benefits)
(Behavior)
A combination of the following
One or more of the following events
The work is sustained because small
Those who give of themselves to
personal characteristics already exist:
often trigger action:
successes are experienced at the
others believe they succeed for several
human level. For example:
reasons:
Able to act on faith
Hearing a story
Seeing lives change
Irrationally committed
Bored or restless at some level
Coming to know of someone
in need
Developing new friendships
Targeting the roots of the
Likes to see others do well
problems
Being asked to help
Gaining a renewed sense of
Independent and quietly
purpose
Personal relationships, not
confident
Gradually discovering a gift
bureaucratic programs
Confronting the unknown and
Energetic and enjoys practical,
Fearing for the children
not getting bored
Action and outcomes, not talk,
hard work
process or structure
Finding meaning in tragedy or
Feeling better physically and
Guided and sustained by
a deeply troubling experience
emotionally
Wary of educated incapacity
deeply-held beliefs
Experiencing a spiritual
Profoundly respectful of others
Helping is not new
call or transformation
Not afraid to have fun doing
Positive and patient
Recognizing one's own
serious work
aloneness
Empathy based on personal
Highly resourceful, but
experience
accepting of their own
limitations
Ready to engage talents,
interests and gifts
Copyright © 1995 by C. Gregg Petersmeyer
All rights reserved
Continuation of Exhibit 5
Background. Deeply woven into a successful and sustaining initiative is the engagement of a specific talent,
interest or gift of the participant from which the doer of the activity derives enjoyment. The sense of
satisfaction and confidence gained through engaging in that activity is in fact essential sustaining the
initiative. Normally the interest is simple, such as a hobby, avocation or type of relationship, or it is based on
a personal experience. But a person's feelings about the activity are very strong. They tend to be a gift or
talent around which an individual will work the hardest and over a sustained period of time often they seem to
be a source of energy rather than a net consumer of it.
As part of this logic it is also clear that no matter what one enjoys doing, the activity can be enjoyed in a way
that helps someone in need. In this sense all talents, interests and gifts are useful. Teaching a fifth grade
boy who is having trouble in school, who is even on the brink of dropping out, how to play chess will help him
do better in school, for example. The child learns to sit still, concentrate for long periods of time, think
logically, calculate, solve problems, win and lose, and gain confidence in the process. Chess can reduce the
chances that he will see himself as destine to fail in school and better suited for a gang. The point is not the
game of chess; it is what happens to the individual in the process of mastering the game. These lateral
benefits are the valuable benefits and all of them are neither predictable nor controllable. The challenge is to
see how a talent, interest or gift can be applied in a way that it creates such benefits and helps solve a
serious social problem.
Beyond the traits that prepare one for involvement, and the central importance of incorporating into one's
work one's talents, gifts and interests, two elements are critical: "triggering" an individual to step forward and
nurturing the individual's work until it has time to bear fruit. The event, or more typically the series of events,
that typically trigger individuals to begin their work occur randomly. Therefore, in order to substantially
increase the number of individuals involved in activities beyond the status quo, a principal challenge is to
create non-random triggering events for individuals prepared to engage. In other words, we are seeking to
create circumstances that are so conducive to action that action becomes irresistible.
To do this, we must focus on not only on triggering but on motivating and supporting individual gifts through
the organizations closest to them. For example, people must be able to engage in their activity in a setting or
environment where they feel safe and at home. Therefore, the leader of whatever institution in the
neighborhood in which the individual feels most comfortable, must be willing and even eager for the
institution to be used in whatever way will be helpful in this regard. Peers and other members of the
organization need to be encouraging and supporting. In many communities, however, the self-doubt is so
profound among individuals, the habit of expecting failure rather than success is so ingrained, that this is
critically important. Without constant reassurance and help on a highly credible personal level, many
otherwise giving individuals will not believe they had anything of value to give and will not move forward.
With each individual, the journey is highly personal. But the fact is these simple but transcendent human
traits, experiences and satisfactions exist in people of all groups irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity,
education and income. What interests them most is engaging in relationships through which they see lives
change. The centrality of these relationships to their work grows over time and, in the end, is all that matters.
Exhibit 6
The Presidents' Summit
Summit Timeline of Key Activities
ACTIVITY
COMPLETED BY
I. Planning
1. Recruit strategic planning group
April 15
2. Develop draft plan
May 15
3. Present draft plan to Steering Committee
June 9
4. Complete evaluation plan
June 9
5. Receive input from Advisory Committee on
Summit Outcomes/revise plan
June-December
6. Complete Communications and Internet plan
September 1
7. Final plan submitted to the Steering Committee
September 15
II. Recruiting
1. Finalize Clinton's commitment
June 15
2. Recruit Powell via Bush
June 15
3. Recruit and meet with Carter/Ford/Nancy
Reagan/Lady Bird Johnson and gain commitments
July 30
4. Meet with Senator Dole/or Elizabeth Dole
July 30
5. Recruit Advisory Committee
July 30
III. Recruit Staff
1. Hire following staff:
- Planning Associate (Part time)
April 15
- Administrative Assistant
April 15
- Executive Director
June 5
- Managers (2)
June 30
IV. Fund Raising
1. Agree on prospects
April 3
2. Develop concept paper and budget
April 9
3. Make calls to funders/schedule visits
April 15 - June 15
4. Secure total funding
July 30
V. Summit Preparation
1. Meet with key groups and organizations
to gain 30 commitments towards achieving
Summit outcomes. (Business, Nonprofit,
Communities of Faith, Educational Institutions,
the media, government)
June through January 15
1
The Presidents' Summit
Summit Timeline of Key Activities Continued
ACTIVITY
COMPLETED BY
2. Develop invitation strategy for Summit
participants; approach national organizations
for community foundations and media groups
and ask for nominations from representative
communities nationwide
July through
September 15
3. Choose 5 communities who will hold
local summits simultaneously to National Summit;
develop approach and agendas with local leaders
July through October 30
4. Develop and implement Internet strategy for
Summit (develop Summit Web page; begin
collecting "success stories" of communities; begin
communities of interest; conduct discussions and
share stories on Internet).
July through January 15
5. Invite participants to attend Summit
November 30
(implement invitation strategy)
6. Develop video/documentary of "success
stories" of individual Americans and the Presidents
having impact through service
January 15
7. Implement communications strategy for national
November through
media coverage
February 17
8. Choose communities who will be recognized/cele-
brated/showcased for successful community-wide
strategies based on volunteers
November 30
9. Develop Summit agenda, (create "virtual" community;
develop Presidents' roles)
January 15
VI. Event Logistics
1. Develop agenda/outcomes/draft plan for the day
May 30
2. Secure the location
May 30
3. Secure the speakers
November
4. Invite the participants
November
2
The Presidents' Summit
Summit Timeline of Key Activities Continued
ACTIVITY
COMPLETED BY
VII. Summit Event
February 17,18, 1997
VIII. Post-Summit Activities
1. Conduct evaluation of Summit event
March 1
2. Commitments by organizations are
March 1 through
implemented.
January 2000
2. Track and measure the 30 commitments
in six sectors to identify impact on policy
March 1 through
and programs; continue Internet sharing
January 2000
3. Communities around the country hold
March 1 through
mini-summits
December 1997
4. Second National Summit held
February 2000
3
Exhibit 7
The Presidents' Summit for
Community Volunteering and National Service
Organization Chart
President & First Lady
&
Former Presidents &
Joint
Former First Ladies
Corp./POLF
Steering
Committee
Approve
the plan &
principles
General Chairman
of the summit
Gregg
Petersmeyer
Chairman
Summit Advisory
Committee
Provide thought leadership
for summit and also
participate
Strategic
Planning Group
Summit Staff
Develop plan and
Implement plan
process for summit
for summit
- Executive Director
- Conference Administration
- Administrative Assistant
- Consultant/Strategic
Planner (P/T)
- Planning Associate (P/T)
- MANAGERS (2)
April 15, 1996
Exhibit 8
The Presidents' Summit
Preliminary Budget
Summit Preparation
Request of
and Administration
Cost
Kellogg
Remainder
Staff and Overhead*
$448,799
181,000
267,799
Travel for meeting
70,000
55,000
15,000
Planning
3,000
3,000
-----
Evaluation
23,750
23,750
-----
Materials/Printing
- Postage
2,000
2,000
----
- Invitations
5,000
5,000
----
Video Production
32,000
32,000
----
Communications
40,000
----
40,000
Subtotal:
$624,549
$301,750
$322,799
Request of
Summit Event
Cost
Kellogg
Remainder
Transportation
$30,000
30,000
----
Registration
30,000
24,000
6,000
Meals
198,000
---
198,000
Facilities Rental
40,000
38,000
2,000
Hotel rooms for advance/staff
19,000
---
19,000
Production**
200,000
----
200,000
Equipment
10,000
---
10,000
Office Equipment
- Phones, faxes, copiers, etc.
15,000
---
15,000
- Supplies
25,000
---
25,000
Security
10,000
---
10,000
Evaluation
23,750
6,250
17,500
Miscellaneous
5,000
---
5,000
Subtotal:
$605,750
$98,250
$507,500
Request of
Post Summit
Cost
Kellogg
Remainder
Publishing/distribution of
- Summit Proceedings
$25,000
---
25,000
Evaluation
32,500
---
32,500
Citizens Action Brochure
82,000
---
82,000
Sub Total:
$139,500
---
$139,500
TOTAL:
$1,369,799
$400,000
$969,799
*Includes Salaries, benefits, rent, supplies, telephone and other office expenses
** Includes staging of Summit sessions for television audience