Effective Compassion

Accountability
Bonding
Character
Discernment
Employment
Freedom
God

How are the poor best aided? After a thirty year governmental "War on Poverty" failed to reduce poverty in America, a consensus developed that the centralized entitlement approach of the federal government created more problems than it solved. Consequently, in 1996 welfare reform and its "Charitable Choice" provision paved the way for more involvement by the private sector, especially by faith-based institutions, in helping the poor make the transition from welfare to work. The welfare reform law of 1996 was a first step away from direct federal control of help to the poor and toward private sector solutions-but it was only a first step. The Acton Institute envisions a revivified civil society that is energetically involved in transforming the lives of the poor with a minimum of government intervention.

Research Areas:

1. Effective Compassion and Civic Renewal
2. The Ethics and Economics of Wealth Redistribution
3. Hazards of Public-Private Partnerships
4. Labor Issues
5. Marriage and the Family
6. Parental Choice in Education
7. Preferential Option for the Poor
8. The Social Thought of Abraham Kuyper
9. Catholic Social Teaching and the Poor
10. Spiritual Dimensions of Poverty
11. Subsidiarity and the Role of Mediating Institutions
12. The Work Ethic
13. Welfare Statism

Contact the following experts for more information on Effective Compassion:

1. Prof. E. Calvin Beisner
2. Dr. William C. Dennis
3. Dr. Todd R. Flanders
4. Dr. D. Eric Schansberg

Related Commentary:

• “Darfur: Taking Student Advocacy beyond the Wristband” by Kaylin Wainwright
• “‘War On Poverty’ Remix Won’t Work Either” by Anthony B. Bradley
• “Illegal Immigration and the Church: Philanthropic Lawlessness” by Brooke Levitske
• “Recidivism and Reform: Competing Views of the State’s Role in Prison” by Jordan J. Ballor
• “Welfare Reform is Working” by Anthony B. Bradley
• “Buffett, Gates, and Stewardship” by Rev. Gerald Zandstra
• “Charity vs. Philanthropy” by Karen Woods
• “Faith-Based Funding Politicizes Religion” by Rev. Robert A. Sirico
• “The North American Church and Global Stewardship” by Jordan J. Ballor
• “A Golden Opportunity for ‘The Silver Ring Thing’” by Jordan J. Ballor
• “Does American Charity Cheat the Tax Man?” by Karen Woods
• “Compassion — A Uniquely Human Trait” by Jordan J. Ballor
• “Afterthoughts on the Aftermath of the New Orleans Flood” by D. Eric Schansberg
• “More Government Control of Charities Looms” by Karen Woods
• “Heroes of the Half-Measure: Christian Advocates for Government Charity” by Jordan J. Ballor
• “The Free and Easy Charity of the ‘One Campaign’” by Anthony B. Bradley
• “Soup, Soap, and Salvation: 125 Years of The Salvation Army in the U.S.” by Karen Woods
• “The Virtue of Nonprofits” by Karen Woods
• “Generosity – Public and Private” by Ben Sikma
• “Freeing Those Trapped in the Net” by Rep. John G. Gard
• “Compassion beyond Christmas: Recognizing America’s Best Charities” by Karen Woods
• “An African Solution for Africa’s Poverty” by Rev. Michael Oluwatuyi
• “The Human Face of Compassion” by Karen Woods
• “A Church or a Business? Governing Faith-based Organizations” by Rev. Jamé Bolds
• “Magistrates and Ministers — A Case for Faith-based Prison Reform” by Jordan J. Ballor
• “Washington Pushes for Charity Regulation – A Sarbanes-Oxley for the Nonprofit World?” by Karen Woods
• “From Poverty to Property” by Karen Woods
• “Measuring the Samaritan Factor” by Rev. Jamé Bolds
• “Bruce Springsteen: Bringing Charity Back Home” by Bruce Edward Walker
• “The Good Samaritan: Model of Effective Compassion” by Jordan J. Ballor
• “Politics and Faith-Based Research” by Karen Woods
• “Devaluing the Black Family” by Anthony B. Bradley
• “The Codification of Common Sense” by Phillip W. De Vous
• “What Gives? The Possibilities of Private Charity” by Phillip W. De Vous
• “The Sugar Cane Cutters of Bermejo: A Lesson in Self-Reliance” by Erin Riley
• “The Blessings and Challenges of Faith-Based Management” by Robert W. SimpsonPh.D.
• “Breathing Life (and Funds) into Civil Society” by Phillip W. De Vous
• “Effective Childcare—The Welfare Reform Dividend” by Phillip W. De Vous
• “Pro-Growth Heresy Benefits the Poor” by Phillip W. De Vous
• “The Human Reality of Work and Community in Welfare Reform” by Rev. Jamé Bolds
• “The Continuing Vision of Welfare Reform” by Phillip W. De Vous
• “Faith, Families, and Welfare Reform” by Phillip W. De Vous
• “The Living Wage: A Moral and Economic Evaluation” by Rev. Gerald Zandstra
• “Think Locally, Act Locally” by Rev. Gerald Zandstra
• “How Can Welfare Reform Improve?” by Rev. Robert A. Sirico
• “Tax Credits and the Virtue of Volunteerism” by Joseph Klesney
• “Transforming the Culture of Fatherlessness” by Rev. Robert A. Sirico
• “Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due” by Michael Barkey
• “Reflections on Bush's Faith-Based Initiative” by Rev. Gerald Zandstra
• “Models of Effective Compassion: Dr. John M. Perkins and 'the Three R’s of Community Development'” by Michael Barkey