Social Impact Across the U.S.

This week in Social Impact Across the U.S.: major announcements from the White House about higher education, huge investments in community development, and good news for renewable energy and community justice.

• President Obama announced a plan last week to make the first two years of community college free. There are conditions, including maintaining a 2.5 grade point average, but the idea is to lessen the financial burden of higher education on young people. The plan has already stirred a debate over whether the investment is worth it (see opposing points here and here). Billy Penn also reported on how the plan might impact Philadelphia.

• Nonprofits are born every year. But they “die” almost as often. The Nonprofit Quarterly analyzes recent data on the number of nonprofits that lost their tax-exempt status since 2006. The analysis provides a quick overview of recent federal policies that impacted nonprofits and provides a crude sketch of where the sector stands today. The total number of nonprofits in 2014: 1,459,813 according to the IRS.

• More national foundations are putting money into “creative placemaking,” reports the Philanthropy News Digest, further supporting the idea that art and creativity are key to community development and to healthy neighborhoods. In addition to investments in Nashville, Toledo and Albuquerque, three Philadelphia community development organizations received grants worth a combined total of $400,000, according to press release from the Kresge and Surdna foundations.

• While investments in clean energy have increased steadily over the last decade, there was a slight drop in 2013. However, new data shows that 2014 showed signs of improvement, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. At $310 billion in 2014, investments in clean energy were the highest since 2011, which remains the year with the most investment since at least 2004.

• The Christian Science Monitor reports on a resurgence in the use of “community courts,” which focus on non-violent, quality-of-life crimes ranging “from loitering and panhandling to shoplifting and trespassing” in high-crime, urban neighborhoods. According to sources in the article, community courts allow for a more personal touch, where judges can work to address the root problems of an offense. They also take the load of criminal courts — though some dispute their efficacy in reducing recidivism.

What do you think about what’s happening in social impact across the U.S.? How might Philly learn from other cities and states? Please leave a comment to help us bring the national and local conversations together.

Photo via Flickr user Dave77459