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| ARCHIVED E-BULLETINS PACE has been active on a variety of fronts this summer, below is a quick summary of our current activities. For more information about any of these items, contact Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, at cgates@pacefunders.org --Our W.K. Kellogg Foundation supported, two-year research effort is now moving forward. This project will examine new models of civic engagement in two to four fields. Each field will involve a separate research project and written report. The possible topics for this research effort include new models of how local governments are involving citizens, new ways that community foundations are listening to and involving the communities they serve, new ways that citizens are being engaged in the planning of large land use projects and the broad field of how young people are being engaged in public life. --Our Case Foundation sponsored research project has been further refined and is now moving forward. The research paper will focus on better understanding how young people who have just entered the work force are being engaged in different aspects of public life. We'll look at both high school students directly entering the work force and college students who have just graduated. There will be a particular emphasis on how new forms of communication technology are aiding in these efforts. Our hope is to have several products ready for dissemination by the fall. --PACE, along with the Funders Committee on Civic Participation (FCCP) are serving as co-sponsors of a Proteus Fund gathering entitled "Funding Strategies for a Broader, Integrated Democracy Agenda". The meeting will take place on September 10th and 11th at the Johnson Foundation's Wingspread conference center. The meeting is part of the Proteus Fund's research project being managed by Larry Marx. Larry has been asked by Proteus to 'map' the democracy field, and to explore whether an overarching approach would be better than single-issue approaches. He convened a meeting of advocates, experts and a few funders in mid-May in Chicago at the Joyce Foundation and as a result of that meeting, and many interviews, has now developed a preliminary report which would be discussed and refined at this meeting. --On June 12th and 13th, board member Chris Kwak of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Executive Director Chris Gates represented PACE at a meeting in Washington, DC convened by the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE). The purpose of this meeting was to bring together board and staff from eight different affinity groups to discuss the issue of structural racism and to explore how each of these groups could do racial equity work within our grantmaking networks. PACE particiapted in this meeting because it feels there is a clear race/diversity component to much of the field of civic engagement and democratic renewal. Chris K. and Chris G. will bring ideas to the PACE October board meeting in Chicago about how PACE can become more involved with this issue. --GuideStar has a 'membership guild' consisting of 42 foundations and corporate giving programs, they have a quarterly on-line newsletter called TrueNorth and they have included a link to 'Power To The Edges' (an article on the PACE website) in their June edition. --Chris Gates has been asked to serve on the Executive Committee of the Affinity Group Network (AGN) for the next year, he officially joined the Executive Committee at the annual meeting of AGN in Washington on July 30th and 31st. --Conference planning continues for the 2008 Council on Foundations 'Philanthropic Summit'. PACE Executive Director Chris Gates is serving as a member of the 2008 Planning Committee and has been working to increase the involvement and representation of affinity groups in the conference. The next full meeting of the committee will take place on September 19th and 20th, immediately after the community foundations conference in San Francisco. --PACE has signed on as a co-sponsor of a new initiative called 'Common Vision', which is being organized by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues. Seven other affinity groups have also signed on as co-sponsors. As the project unfolds we will see if there are more specific things that we can do to be helpful. 'Common Vision' is a two year learning process designed to promote equity and opportunity in philanthropy. --PACE Executive Director Chris Gates continues to travel and speak extensively around the country. Later this month he will facilitate a leadership seminar at the Aspen Institute featuring Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, and in September he'll be speaking at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, at the Theater Bay Area conference in San Francisco, and at the Pioneer Leadership Program in Denver. --PACE is working with Northern California Grantmakers and several northern California funders to sponsor a half day program with Allison Fine on November 6th. The session will take place in the Silicon Valley and will focus on how new forms of communication technology have affected civic life in America. More details will be forthcoming soon.
May 2, 2006 CONTACT: John Sirek (312) 222-4426 PACE Names Civic Leader Chris Gates As Its First Full-Time Executive Director Chris Gates, president of the National Civic League, has been named executive director of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE). Continuing his longtime commitment to promoting individual participation in community affairs, Gates will support PACE’s mission to inspire interest, understanding, and investment in civic engagement. This weekend he will speak at a session on state initiatives to advance active civic engagement. Hosted by PACE and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, the event is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 7, as a pre-conference discussion at the Council of Foundation’s annual conference in Pittsburgh. “Chris will bring to PACE both an intellectual and practical commitment to the mission of engaging philanthropy and other sectors in civic engagement,” said John Sirek, PACE’s board chair and citizenship program director at the McCormick Tribune Foundation. “He is a deep thinker but also a hands on manager, and the best candidate to help scale PACE’s impact and effectiveness.” “This is a great step by PACE and by Chris,” said Edward Skloot, president of the Surdna Foundation. “I think they can offer much to the philanthropy community with their deep experience in civic engagement. I’m looking forward to working closely and well with them.” Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector, said, “Chris’s appointment could not have been more timely. With the challenges and opportunities facing our democracy, this new development underscores PACE’s clear and urgent commitment to strengthening civic engagement.” Gates is a leader and frequent speaker in the areas of democracy, the interaction between citizens and government, and innovative community problem solving. He serves on a variety of boards, including the Council for the Advancement of Citizenship, the California Center for Civic Renewal, and the Institute for the Regional Community. He is also a fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration, co-chair of the Civic Practices Network, and a co-chair of the Saguaro Seminar, a Harvard University project studying social capital. Gates has a master’s in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he studied the interaction between the public and private sectors, and an honors degree in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was also a visiting scholar at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, where he studied political economics. - - - - - - - - - - - - -Philanthropy for Civic Engagement (www.pacefunders.org) is a community of grantmakers and donors committed to strengthening democracy by using the power, influence, and resources of philanthropy to open pathways to participation. Profiles of Engagement Investments—Read the Latest Issue in Our Series! City in Limbo: Notes from a Grantmaker’s Visit to New Orleans Fellowship Opportunity for Media and Journalists Philanthropy Northwest’s Annual Conference—September 13-15th, Big Sky, Montana CITIZENS ASSEMBLIES: WHAT PACE MEMBERS HAD TO SAY 
One respondent who is very familiar with the British Columbia experiment noted that what was most impressive about that experience was the willingness of elected officials to delegate their own authority. This may reflect the frustration of elected leadership with the gridlock of the political process – reaching out to average citizens as a “desperate effort” to make progress on public problems. Some folks were concerned about the practical reality of a Citizens Assembly – how would you ensure it was truly representative? And most importantly, perhaps, how would you establish a knowledge foundation among the participants that would enable a quality discussion and debate of the issues? In this case, one respondent suggested the need for an Academy that would prepare citizens for this responsibility. Some folks were sufficiently intrigued to suggest that we experiment with a Citizens Assembly on issues where there is not only gridlock but an inherent conflict of interest for elected officials, such as campaign finance reform, redistricting and electoral reform. One writer noted that the concept of a Citizens Assembly should be combined with the work that Jim Fishkin has done on Deliberative Dialogue, again referencing the need to prepare citizens for effective participation. And one respondent was particularly concerned that a Citizens Assembly concept, if honestly pursued, would distract funding and commitment from existing efforts to reform our political system and process. So how do we engage or re-engage as citizens in the process of
public problem-solving? How do we move off the margins and into
the middle of the conversation about the future of our communities
and nation? Do we need a Citizens Assembly or do we need an educational
system that establishes, encourages and reinforces our role as active
citizens in our political and civic systems? Do we need pathways
to participate or prodding? Do we need leadership or encouragement?
What do you think? Let’s keep the conversation in play. If you have comments or questions regarding
Dave Davenport's article or the responses of PACE
members, please e-mail us at info@pacefunders.org. We would love
to hear from you! Please visit http://www.pacefunders.org/profiles_review.html
to read the Winter 2006 issue of Profiles of Engagement Investments.
To download the report, please visit the Melville Charitable Trust’s
website: http://www.melvilletrust.org/
Bob Hohler is the Executive Director of the Melville Charitable
Trust and chairs the Executive Committee of the Partnership to End
Long Term Homelessness (PELTH). Founded by leaders in philanthropy,
PELTH is an open knowledge network designed to coalesce strategic
thinking, experience and expertise to prevent and address long term
homelessness. For more information about PELTH, please contact Regina
Sheridan at rsheridan@btw.informingchange.com. PACE E-BULLETIN - MARCH 2006 All the best to our friends and colleagues, Jill Blair Dear PACErs, I am pleased to share our summer edition of our e-bulletin. Don’t miss our “Civic Engagement of Interest Spotlight” which highlights a new civic engagement program brought to our attention by a PACE community member. Also, don’t miss exciting upcoming events—The National Conference on Citizenship in September and the Council on Foundations Community Foundations Conference where PACE is sponsoring a main session on technology and engagement issues. PACE has just been awarded a two year grant from the James Irvine Foundation for general operating support and California programming. If you are a donor or grantmaker funding a civic engagement effort that you think merits special mention, please let us know by completing our Profiles of Successful Investments form. If you have comments, questions or want more information, contact me directly at 510/665-6100. Jill Blair The concept of citizenship in the United States of American requires a delicate balance between our core values of freedom and responsibility. The statue of liberty is the physical manifestation of the priority we give to the value of freedom. How do we encourage the value of responsibility as well? The Fireside Project is a high school assembly program entitled
“Free to Be…,” designed to restore a sense of
citizenship, instill a spirit of patriotism and develop personal
character through the use of video, music and live speakers. Modeled
after the successful MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) program,
the Fireside Project utilizes multi-media and interactive exercises
to give young people a civic perspective and expose them to a powerful
message they are not hearing anywhere else. To register online, go to: http://www.ncoc.net/conferences/regForm.htm
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