A study released today by the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) shows that a strong civic foundation is directly linked to strengthening employment at the metropolitan, county, and state levels. Communities with better civic health have weathered the recent recession far better – and experienced considerably smaller increases in unemployment – than other communities that faced similar economic circumstances.
NCoC (the National Conference on Citizenship) is excited to announce a 2012 partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation building upon our shared missions of developing communities that are informed, connected, and engaged.
NCoC is honored to work with Knight Foundation to explore the connections between community attachment, civic engagement, and economic prosperity. This partnership will expand existing research initiatives conducted by the two organizations.
An article in the Huffington Post by Maurice Lim Miller discusses the importance of social networks (both information sharing and viral communication via technology and human connections) in breaking the cycle of poverty.
The recession has forced millions of people into joblessness and stressed state-run social service agencies with record unemployment, Medicaid and food stamp claims. Now state agencies are getting hit. Budget cuts in many states, including Ohio, have led to reductions in staffs in county Job & Family Services offices and created delays in the delivery of services. The financial snowball has rolled further down this hill onto nonprofit agencies, large and small. Like their government counterparts, nonprofit social service agencies are trying to serve record numbers of people, albeit with fewer dollars available through government contracts and funding sources – such as charitable foundations. But nonprofits vow to persevere. With smaller staffs, reduced budgets and more people knocking on their doors, they are considered now as increasingly vital players in trying to help people ravaged by the economic downturn meet their basic needs. On Sunday, July 19, the Cincinnati Enquirer began a periodic series looking at the work being done by some of the nonprofit agencies in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
In tonight’s State of the Union address, President Obama spoke of the harsh and complex realities of today’s political and economic climate.
NCoC believes that in solving even these complex problems, the actions of citizens themselves can be the key to ensuring our country’s success and vitality. The President noted the way civic participation and public projects revived America after World War II and the Great Depression; it can be the case again.