In January 2007, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI), headed by Jay Hein, launched a series of monthly Compassion in Action Roundtable meetings to highlight organizations, programs, and policies addressing critical social needs. The roundtables convened and facilitated discussion between policymakers, government officials, philanthropists, and faith-based and community service providers around targeted issues.
The events revealed President Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative as a broad-based, community-centered reform agenda, showcased innovative projects and promising practices, and drew attention to government efforts to expand and support the work of faith-based and community organizations actively engaged in serving their neighbors and communities. The initiative enabled some of America’s most effective social service providers to compete fairly for Federal funding, in order to make a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.
This inaugural Compassion in Action Roundtable convened government, philanthropic and nonprofit leaders, including representatives from the Department of Justice, to discuss grassroots solutions for reducing youth violence and to showcase the accomplishments of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise.
This roundtable, titled Faith and Community-Based Partnerships to Improve Prisoner Reentry Services, assembled leaders from various sectors working to reduce criminal recidivism and its impact on local communities. The event also featured final results from the Ready4Work program.
This roundtable examines volunteerism and the contributions of the nonprofit sector in America. It further stresses the importance of civic leaders gaining a clearer understanding of the non-profit sector’s strength and potential, and the faith community’s role in leveraging volunteerism as it works to strengthen communities.
This roundtable discusses why faith-based and other community nonprofits are often best equipped to provide the compassionate touch and the personal accountability homeless persons need to transition successfully from the streets to stability.