Subject: CGI America Update - June 11, 2015
From: CGI Press <[email-masked]>
To: CGI Press <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 21:38:35 +0000

Friends - wanted to provide a final update upon yesterday's conclusion of the CGI America meeting.

Yesterday, the 2015 CGI America meeting concluded in Denver. Attendees announced 79 new Commitments to Action that will impact the lives of more than 1.6 million people in the United States. These new commitments will create or fill nearly 210,000 jobs; create more than $11.3 million in new capital for small- and medium-sized enterprises; and help more than 110,000 students gain access to STEM education opportunities.

Following this week's meeting, more commitment announcements will be made, and CGI Conversations will be broadcast on CNN on "The Business Case for Investing in America's Workforce" and Bloomberg TV on "Tequity: Innovation, Technology, and Diversity."

Next week, President Clinton will be appearing on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," to discuss results from CGI America and the broader work of the Clinton Foundation.

Wednesday CGI America Highlights

In yesterday's opening plenary, participants heard President Clinton discuss expanding the economic potential for rural America: Watch the opening plenary here.<http://livestream.com/CGI/events/4096617/videos/89835335>

President Clinton joined a breakout session with Bloomberg's Betty Liu, discussing technology and economic growth - watch the panel discussion here<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-06-10/chopra-koplovitz-schwartz-on-diversity-in-technology>; read the transcript of President Clinton's one-on-one conversation here<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-06-10/transcript-bill-clinton-talks-to-bloomberg-news>.

Other breakout sessions throughout the day brought together leaders from government, business, and civil society to discuss:

*         Using renewable energy to build sustainable communities;

*         How community schooling is helping promote long-term success for students;

*         How to use social impact tools - such as bonds or pension investments - to align social outcomes with financial returns.

In the Closing Session, President Clinton thanked Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver for hosting CGI America in Denver for the last two years, before welcoming Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta to announce that the Clinton Global Initiative will hold its sixth annual CGI America meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 2016. Watch the closing plenary here.<http://livestream.com/CGI/events/4096617/videos/89869184>

Commitments to Action already underway in the state tackle critical challenges in infrastructure, education, workforce development, and more. Looking forward, 2016 CGI America attendees coming together in Atlanta will continue to join together to positively impact people's lives in communities across the nation. Read more about 2016 CGI America here.<https://www.clintonfoundation.org/blog/2015/06/10/next-stop-atlanta-cgi-america-has-found-new-home-2016-meeting>

CGI America Commitments in the News

CGI America continues to be discussed widely on social media. Since Monday morning, there have been 4,883 tweets with the hashtag #CGIAmerica from 1,822 contributors, reaching more than 12 million people on Twitter. In addition, a number of CGI commitments have been covered in the press:

*         "Solar Jobs: Growing at the Grassroots."<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-ritter/solar-jobs-growing-at-the_b_7562224.html> An op-ed published in the Huffington Post by Gov. Bill Ritter discusses the rise of solar energy jobs and highlights several organizations that attended CGI America with commitments to address this issue.

*         "How to pay the help: A huge job site is partnering with a domestic worker advocacy group to educate families on what's fair." <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/10/domestic-workers-are-treated-terribly-because-employers-dont-know-what-they-deserve/> The Washington Post highlighted a commitment announced by the National Domestic Worker Alliance and Care.com<http://Care.com>. The commitment addresses improving the treatment of in-home caregivers and focuses on a "fair care pledge" that employers can make to paying living wages as well as providing two weeks paid time off. The Huffington Post also covered this announcement: "Domestic Worker Groups Announce Alliance At Clinton Global Initiative Conference"<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/10/clinton-global-initiative_n_7546826.html>

*         "Laundromats, Playgrounds to Promote Early-Childhood Literacy."<http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/early_years/2015/06/laundromats_playgrounds_to_promote_early-childhood_literacy.html> Education Week wrote on Too Small to Fail's three Commitments to Action that were made yesterday in an effort to close the "word gap" by spreading the word to parents and caregivers to talk, read, and sing to their young children in every day places such as laundromats and playgrounds.

*         Connected Cities, a commitment by Lucid, a global technology company, is helping cities monitor and centralize energy and water data for city buildings. This commitment, and Orlando's joining of Connected Cities, was featured in multiple outlets including the Orlando Business Journal<http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2015/06/10/orlando-first-city-to-join-connected-cities.html>, Energy Manager Today<https://www.energymanagertoday.com/orlando-santa-cruz-first-sign-lucids-connected-cities-0112725/>, and Bungalower<http://bungalower.com/2015/06/orlando-joins-clinton-global-initiative-commitment/>.

*         "St. Louis City Kindergarteners to Receive $50 Savings Accounts."<http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2015/06/10/st-louis-city-kindergarteners-to-receive-50-savings-accounts/> CBS News reported on how officials from the cities of St. Louis and San Francisco, as well as the Governor of Colorado, announced a commitment to provide every kindergartener in public or charter schools with a $50 savings account.

*         "Bill Clinton announces program to improve science, math education in Eastern Kentucky."<http://www.kentucky.com/2015/06/10/3893716_bill-clinton-announces-program.html?rh=1> The Lexington Herald-Leader reported on a commitment made by East Kentucky Power Cooperative and Project Lead the Way to improve STEM education in Eastern Kentucky which could in turn bring high-skill, high-wage jobs to the region.

*         "Clinton Global Initiative tackles challenges facing rural America."<http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28291618/clinton-global-initiative-tackles-challenges-facing-rural-america> The Denver Post highlighted how CGI America attendees are looking to address issues like broadband internet, access to business loans, and small-scale manufacturing jobs, to help rural communities.

2015 CGI America Commitments

Since its establishment in 2011, CGI America participants have made more than 500 commitments, which have improved the lives of nearly 2.4 million people. As a result of previously made commitments, more than 920,000 people have benefitted from professional skills training; more than 500,000 children have gained access to improved quality of education; nearly $1.2 billion of new capital has been invested or loaned to small and medium size enterprises; and nearly 4.1 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses have been avoided.

When fully funded and implemented, new 2015 CGI America commitments will ensure that:

*         Nearly 210,000 jobs will be created or filled.

*         More than 126,000 girls and women will be positively impacted by programs to improve quality of education, increase access to employment and skills development opportunities, and invest in women as stewards of community health.

*         More than $11.3 million of new capital will be invested in or loaned to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

*         More than 111,000 students will gain access to STEM education opportunities.

*         More than 1.2 million people will receive access to training programs, either formal or informal (includes skills development, financial literacy, capacity building, and leadership development).

*         More than 160,000 educators will participate in professional development programs, equipping participants with effective educational tools.

*         More than 120,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalents will be avoided.