Obama Advisor Calls for Greater Collaboration Between Philanthropy and Government

Denver

Philanthropy and the federal government have made progress in the past year-and-a-half to improve their collaboration—but more needs to be done, Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser and assistant to President Obama for intergovernmental affairs and public engagement, told an audience at the official opening session here of the annual meeting of the Council on Foundations.

Ms. Jarrett discussed some ways for foundations to support government efforts in coming months, including by making it easier for small charities to accept and work with the many volunteers who will soon be put to work through the Serve America Act. The act would triple the size of AmeriCorps.

With last year’s “Summer of Service” effort to promote volunteerism, the administration found that many smaller organizations didn’t have the ability to effectively use volunteers, Ms. Jarrett said.

Too often, she said, charities of all sizes lack support for leadership development, technology, infrastructure, and other administrative costs. Ms. Jarrett urged foundations to pay for those expenses. “We know from our nonprofit colleagues that those are some of the most difficult areas for which to raise resources.”

She also said the role of foundations is to be bold and risky and support programs and ideas that might be inappropriate for government to finance.

Helping to carry out changes called for in the recently passed health care law also require a lot of work from all types of organizations, said Ms. Jarrett.

Ms. Jarrett, who served as a board member at the Joyce Foundation and as a fellow in a leadership program supported by the Chicago Community Trust, talked about the Obama administration’s work to create the Social Innovation Fund, provide opportunities for foundations to get involved in supporting education through efforts like the $650-million i3 fund, and get different players involved in First Lady Michelle Obama’s fight against childhood obesity.

Some people in philanthropy have raised concerns about the increased collaboration between foundations and the government, but she said such alliances were vital.

“We recognize and encourage the independence of foundations and the philanthropic sector, but when our goals are aligned, as they so often are, we need to do a much better job of pulling together and not working separately,” she said.

“There are also going to be times when our goals are not aligned,” Ms. Jarrett continued. “That’s okay. In those times, we must continue to listen to each other most carefully.”