PACE Releases Paper on Non-College-Bound Youth
PACE is pleased to announce the release of it's latest white paper, "An Inequitable Invitation to Citizenship: Non-College-Bound Youth and Civic Engagement". A pdf version of the white paper is attached and we would urge you to share it widely with your colleagues and co-workers. Also, we will soon be announcing a webinar when the authors will discuss their research and findings.
It was one year ago when PACE board member Ben Binswanger, then the COO of The Case Foundation and now Vice President of the Skoll Foundation, suggested that PACE examine the topic of the gap in public and civic involvement between college-bound youth and non-college-bound youth. The philanthropic community had spent a vast amount of resources both working to understand college-bound youth and what might motivate them to become more involved in public life, but there had not been a similar conversation about how to engage the 50 percent of youth who were not college bound.
With the support of The Case Foundation, PACE has worked with three talented researchers and writers to develop this paper. The team was led by Jonathan Zaff, the Vice President of Research for the America's Promise Alliance and a senior fellow at Tisch College. James Youniss, the James and Wylma R. Curtin Professor of Psychology at the Catholic University of America, and Cynthia Gibson, principal of Cynthesis Consulting and a former program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, were also authors of the paper.
As John Esterle, the President of the board of PACE and the Executive Director of The Whitman Institute in San Francisco, writes in his introduction, "In examining the civic participation of non-college-bound youth (NCBY), the authors provide a useful framework for examining the issue. It shows the need for a continuum of supportive strategies running from childhood to the mid-20s. As they suggest, it is particularly important to address the shifting social, economic, and political landscape for young adults when looking to develop effective programs and approaches."
The authors provide ideas not only for funders, but for federal and state governments, schools and school systems, higher education, the military, political/advocacy organizations, community institutions, and businesses. The recommendations that the authors have concluded the paper with provide evidence of how much there is to do if we are to bring the voices and perspectives of NCBY into our civic, public and political life.
PACE - Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
is a learning community of grantmakers and donors committed to strengthening democracy by using the power, influence and resources of philanthropy to open pathways to civic and community participation.
Civic Engagement: There are many ways in which people participate in civic, community and political life and, by doing so, express their engaged citizenship. From volunteering to voting, from community organizing to political advocacy, the defining characteristic of active civic engagement is the commitment to participate and contribute to the improvement of one’s community, neighborhood and nation.
PACE is a national learning community of grantmakers and donors committed to strengthening democracy by using the power and resources of philanthropy to open pathways to civic participation. Formerly known as the Grantmakers Forum on Community and National Service, PACE recently renamed itself to signal a broader approach to educating grantmakers about effective civic engagement strategies that strengthen our communities. These strategies include community problem solving, civic education, leadership training, and political reform.
John Esterle serves as President of the board of PACE. John is Executive Director of The Whitman Institute in San Francisco and his full bio can be read here.
Chris Gates is the first Executive Director of PACE, named to that posititon in 2006. Gates is the former President of the National Civic League, and an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Leadership of PACE offers Chris the opportunity to sustain his career-long commitment to promoting democratic renewal, citizen activism and meaningful participation in community affairs. Gates is a national leader and frequent speaker on topics relating to the state of our democracy, the interaction between citizens and government, and innovative community problem solving.
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