Government and Charities: Views of the White House Candidates

Sen. John McCain

On national service: Would create a White House Service to America office to streamline national-service efforts, hold “volunteerism summits” where people could share information about effective programs in their areas, and get more students participating in the Federal Work-Study program to do community service.

Co-sponsor of the Serve America Act, S. 3487, which would expand the number of participants in yearlong national-service programs to 250,000 by 2013 and create new federal service programs involving older Americans and high-school and college students.

On federal support for charities: Co-sponsor of the Serve America Act, which would create “community solutions funds” to help nonprofit groups copy and expand innovative programs to help low-income people; “innovation fellowships” to help individuals start charities; and “volunteer generation funds” to help charities recruit more volunteers.

On federal money for religious groups: Supports President Bush’s efforts to make it easier for religious groups to get federal dollars to provide social services. Disagrees with Sen. Barack Obama’s proposal to bar groups from using federal money to make hiring decisions based on religion .

On the relationship between government and charities: “The essence of volunteerism starts at the grass-roots level, does not start necessarily at the federal-government level.” The government should not “stifle” organizations that “have no dependence whatsoever on our federal government and do such a great job for all our citizens.”

On balancing the federal budget following the financial-rescue plan: Would consider a spending freeze on everything but defense, veterans affairs, and “entitlement” programs like Social Security.

Donations to charity: Senator McCain contributed $105,467 of his $405,409 income to charity, or 26 percent of his total income, in 2007, according to his tax return. Most of his charitable contributions were made through the John and Cindy McCain Family Foundation, which supports organizations that work “for the spiritual, educational, and medical needs of the community.” The foundation gives money to groups including Operation Smile, which repairs facial abnormalities in young people, and the Halo Trust, which removes land mines.

Cindy McCain, an heir to a beer fortune who keeps most of her finances separate from her husband’s, did not release her 2007 tax return or disclose how much she donated to charity. But Senator McCain said she donated the same amount he did, $105,467, from their joint assets.

Senator McCain donates royalties from his books and increases in his Senate salary to charity.

Charity affiliations: Serves on the board of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, in New York, which is devoted to the Intrepid aircraft carrier (on which Senator McCain was a crew member); and the honorary advisory board of the Foundation for Melanoma Research, in Philadelphia. Has served on a variety of other boards, including those of the Council on Foreign Relations, Gallaudet University, the International Republican Institute, the Nixon Center for Peace and Freedom, and the Partnership for Public Service.

Spouse’s nonprofit interests: Cindy McCain founded and ran the American Voluntary Medical Team, which provided medical care to poor children worldwide, from 1988 to 1995. She currently serves on the boards of Grateful Nation Montana, in Conrad, Mont., which provides scholarships to children of Montana soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan; the Halo Trust, in London, which removes land mines; and Operation Smile, in Norfolk, Va., which provides facial reconstruction surgery to children in poor countries. She is on leave from a position on the board of CARE, the international humanitarian-aid group in Atlanta.

Sources: McCain campaign Web site; transcripts of the ServiceNation presidential forum, September 11, 2008, and of the presidential debate with Barack Obama, September 26, 2008; and 2007 federal tax return.

Sen. Barack Obama

On national service: Would expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 participants to 250,000 and double Peace Corps slots to 16,000. Would establish a Classroom Corps, Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, Veterans Corps, Homeland Security Corps; expand programs that connect people age 55 and older to volunteer opportunities.

Would set a goal that all middleand high-school students do 50 hours of community service a year and establish an American Opportunity Tax Credit worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service. Would ensure that at least 25 percent of Federal Work-Study money is used to support public-service opportunities.

Co-sponsor of the Serve America Act, S. 3487, which would expand the number of participants in yearlong national-service programs to 250,000 by 2013 and create new federal service programs involving older Americans and high-school and college students.

On nonprofit groups: Would create a Social Investment Fund Network, to distribute government and private money to charities working on innovative projects on issues that have been identified by cities as priorities — crime prevention or education, for example — and help expand successful ones to other regions.

Would create a Social Entrepreneurship Agency, with a mission to improve coordination of federal programs that support nonprofit groups, foster nonprofit accountability, streamline processes for getting federal grants and contracts, and remove barriers that hinder smaller groups from participating in government programs.

Co-sponsor of the Serve America Act, which would create “community solutions funds” to help nonprofit groups copy and expand innovative programs to help low-income people; “innovation fellowships” to help individuals start charities; and “volunteer generation funds” to help charities recruit more volunteers.

Co-sponsor of legislation that would increase mileage rates for volunteers.

On federal money for religious groups: Would create a President’s Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to help religious charities navigate the federal grant-making system. Grant recipients would be barred from using government money to proselytize, discriminate on the basis of religion against people they hire, or pay for religious activities.

Larger groups, such as an Islamic umbrella organization, a Catholic Charities office, or a secular charity like Public/Private Ventures, would be trained to offer advice to local religious and neighborhood groups in how to apply for grants, avoid proselytizing, understand hiring rules, and report results.

Senator Obama would also work with schools, religious organizations, and other groups to expand summer education programs to serve an additional one million children, at a cost of $500-million a year.

On the relationship between government and charities: Wants to see a government “that works,” which means encouraging bright young people to become civil servants. “That does not crowd out the Red Cross. That doesn’t crowd out the thousands of church groups that [helped Hurricane Katrina victims]. What it means is that each area has a role to play.”

On balancing the federal budget following the financial rescue plan: He would continue to give priority to early-childhood education, science education, affordable college tuition, energy independence, fixing the health-care system, and rebuilding the country’s infrastructure.

Donations to charity: Senator Obama, and his wife, Michelle, donated $240,370 to charity in 2007, or 5.7 percent of their income, according to their tax return. The Obamas donated to 33 churches and charities in 2007, with the United Negro College Fund receiving the largest gift, of $50,000.

Charity affiliations: Directed the Developing Communities Project, a nonprofit organization that works with churches to aid needy Chicago neighborhoods. Headed Illinois Project Vote, which helped register black and low-income voters in Cook County. Served as a board member of the Joyce Foundation and of the Woods Fund of Chicago and board chair for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a project to improve public schools.

Spouse’s nonprofit interests: Michelle Obama was founding executive director of the Chicago office of Public Allies, a charity that receives federal money through AmeriCorps and trains people to work at nonprofit groups and become leaders.

Sources: Obama campaign Web site; transcripts of the ServiceNation presidential forum, September 11, 2008, and of the presidential debate with John McCain, September 26, 2008; and 2007 federal tax return.