MORE PERFECT ANNOUNCES GOVERNOR SPENCER COX (R-UTAH) AS CHAIR OF STATE INNOVATIONS IN NATIONAL SERVICE

Seedlings Foundation Pledges $3.25 Million to Advance More Perfect's 2nd Democracy Goal

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- More Perfect announced today Governor Spencer Cox as the first chair of State Innovations in National Service, an initiative aimed at expanding and enhancing national service opportunities across the United States. The bipartisan effort will work alongside Governors and other state leaders to develop comprehensive Service Year programs that seek to drive growth in national service participation. 

"National service offers an opportunity to not only build communities but to bring Americans together in shared purpose," said Governor Spencer Cox of Utah. "As we look toward the future, we must make it a state and gubernatorial priority to preserve and expand the spirit of service that is so core to our American identity."

More Perfect, America's Service Commissions and Service Year Alliance co-authored the State Innovations in National Service report as a plan of action for Governors and State Legislators to launch their own initiatives to expand America's culture of national service and volunteering in their states over the next decade.

In support of this effort, the Seedlings Foundation has committed $3.25 million to help reinvigorate national service as a central part of the nation's civic fabric. This funding will support organizations working to advance More Perfect's 2nd Democracy Goal: National Service & Volunteering, which aims to fuel national service as a rite of passage into adulthood and to increase service opportunities for older Americans through encore service programs.

"We are thrilled to support leaders and institutions aligning their efforts to ensure more Americans have opportunities to serve neighbor and nation," said Karen Pritzker, Founder and Chair of the Seedlings Foundation. "Service puts the talents of Americans to work to address public challenges and, in the process, knits people together in a spirit of trust."

State Innovations in National Service is anchored in the belief that innovations of Governors, State Legislators, and other leaders to prioritize national service within their states can serve as points of inspiration for leaders across the country to strengthen communities, transform lives, and fuel civic renewal.

"National service and volunteering are the golden threads of our democracy," said John Bridgeland, Executive Chair & CEO of More Perfect. "We are thrilled to have Governor Cox's leadership as we seek to advance the culture of service within States. And we are so grateful to Karen Pritzker and the Seedlings Foundation for their catalytic support."

The Seedlings Foundation funding will strengthen a coalition of leading service organizations working to advance Democracy Goal 2, including More Perfect, Service Year Alliance, America's Service Commissions, and The Corps Network. Together, these partners will collaborate to expand national service opportunities to strengthen American democracy through civic engagement.

About More Perfect
More Perfect is a bipartisan alliance of 35 Presidential Centers, the National Archives Foundation, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Karsh Institute for Democracy at the University of Virginia, and more than 100 organizations working together to advance five Democracy Goals: 1) Universal Civic Learning; 2) Expanding National Service and Volunteering; 3) Bridging Divides; 4) Trusted Elections and More Representative and Responsive Governance; and 5) Access to Trusted News and Information. 

About Seedlings Foundation
Seedlings Foundation is a nonprofit that supports programs that nourish the physical and mental health of children and families and foster an educated and engaged citizenship.

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SOURCE More Perfect