Barack Obama Responds to NH Nonprofits 

On Saturday, September 28th, NHCN Executive Director Mary Ellen Jackson asked Presidential Candidate, Illinois Senator, Barack Obama what he would do to invest in the Nonprofit Sector, should he be elected President.  Obama, speaking at an event in Concord, stated “I started out in the Nonprofit Sector working with Churches and nonprofits as a community organizer on the south side of Chicago We can take lessons learned in the nonprofit sector where organizations are more flexible and have less bureaucracy than in government.”

Obama continued “ Nonprofits can provide pilot programs that meet the needs of our citizens. But nonprofits are not a replacement for government obligations. We need to encourage collaboration with our nonprofit partners, but government has an obligation to the people to provide for education and health care.

He also acknowledged than “nonprofit workers, such as child care workers, health care employees, teachers and others were underpaid and needed to be acknowledged for the role they play in the country.”

Obama now joins seven other presidential candidates who have all been asked how they would invest in the nonprofit sector if elected President, by NH Nonprofit leaders who are taking part in the Nonprofit Primary Project.

Those who have responded to the question in various venues across the state include: Governor Mike Huckbee of Arkansas, Governor Bill Richardson of  New Mexico, Delaware Senator Joseph Biden and Arizona Senator John McCain, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

The two candidates that have not yet been involved in the project or responded to the questions are New York Senator Hillary Clinton and former Senator  Fred Thompson.

The Nonprofit Primary Project is a national initiative to put the needs, impact, and visibility of the nonprofit sector into the national dialogue during this historic election year. The project is being sponsored through a collaborative effort between the National Council of Nonprofit Association, The Nonprofit Congress, The DC Central Kitchen and The NH Hampshire Center for Nonprofits. It is a purely educational nonpartisan initiative.

The project involves a series of strategies to ask each of the Presidential candidates the same three questions about their involvement with and support of the nonprofit sector. The candidate’s answers can be found on the Nonprofit Primary Project website at www.nhnonprofits.org . In addition a video of the each candidate who agrees to a listening session with the NH nonprofit sector  is included.