The Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit organization which provides consulting services to government agencies with the aim to make them more efficient.¹ Its seeks to encourage more young people to work for the federal government. ²

Background

The Partnership was founded by Samuel J. Heyman in 2001. After graduating from Harvard in 1963, Heyman worked for then-U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in the Kennedy administration. This experience had a lasting impact on Heyman: after amassing a fortune at his father’s real estate business Heyman Companies, Heyman decided to create a nonprofit organization that would encourage young people to work for the government by making government jobs more accessible.³

Heyman pledged $45 million to Partnership at its inception, which was closely followed by a $4 million pledge from the Annenberg Foundation.⁴

In a 2007 interview with the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Partnership president Max Stier complained about the declining interest in government jobs among young people. “When John F. Kennedy issued his call to service, to government, it was a lot simpler world. The president could actually move a nation in a way that is much harder to do today,” he said. He attributed the cause for low numbers of young federal workers at the time to a variety of reasons, including the Vietnam War causing the government to gain lasting negative connotation, the profitability of the private sector, a high number of federal employees eligible for retirement, slow hiring processes, and “politically appointed” agency leaders obstructing new hires.⁵

According to the same interview, Stier had apparently welcomed the way that the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center “really made the government relevant in people’s lives in a way it hadn’t been for a couple generations.” He added, “9/11 made us realize in fact we were at risk, and that the primary vehicle to address this challenge was our government.”⁶ He also advised that the American public should think of civil service workers in the same way that they think of the military.⁷

Activity

Stier stated that one of the “core principles” of the Partnership is to help the government become more efficient because it “does not have adequate metrics to allow it to understand its own effectiveness.”⁸

The Partnership for Public Service helped establish the Congressional Public Service Caucus, a caucus made up of Members of the House of Representatives that wish to promote policies that will persuade more people to work for the federal government.^{9 10} The Partnership has convinced multiple federal agencies to shorten their hiring methods by “eliminating many steps in the application process.”¹¹

In 2005, the Partnership received a government grant of $600,000 to strengthen several university programs which aimed to hire graduating students as federal workers.¹²

In 2009, the Partnership took on most of the staff of the Council for Excellence in Government, a similar nonprofit that closed due to funding shortages. The Partnership also adopted some of the Council’s programs, such as leadership training programs for federal managers.¹³

The Partnership worked with both the Trump and the Clinton campaigns in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election to ensure that the future administration would be well-prepared for the appointee process according to their standards, regardless of the outcome.¹⁴

In December 2016, the Partnership joined efforts with the Washington Post to launch a program that tracks all government employees appointed by President Donald Trump. “This tracker will play a key role in holding the president-elect and the Senate accountable for ensuring the top leaders are in place to run our government effectively, keep our country safe and deliver critical services to the American people,” Partnership president Max Stier said at the time. “The data we gather with this tracker will also inform our reporting on the new administration,” senior politics editor at the Washington Post Steven Ginsberg added.¹⁵¹⁶

Initiatives

Call to Serve is an initiative by the Partnership for Public Service and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) which facilitates cooperation between federal agencies and universities to promote government jobs to students.¹⁷¹⁸

The Partnership runs the “Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals” program, often referred to as the “Sammies,” which presents medals and cash prizes to government employees to recognize them for their achievements in hopes that it will inspire more people to work in the government.¹⁹²⁰

Excellence in Government is a fellowship program run by the Partnership which provides a leadership educational course to federal employees. ²¹

People

The Partnership for Public Service has over two dozen people on its advisory board, many of them holding high ranking positions in government, media, academia, and nonprofit organizations. ²²

Max Stier is the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. He has worked in various positions in the federal government. ²³ In August 2017, Stier wrote an op-ed in the Chronicle of Philanthropy stressing to donors and private foundations that it is still important to support the federal government, and especially nonprofits that aid it such as his Partnership, even if they do not like the sitting president. ²⁴

In 1995, Stier was hired by the Williams & Connolly law firm. While Stier was working for Williams & Connolly, the firm represented former President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.²⁵ Future Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh worked for then-Independent Counsel Ken Starr, who wrote a report establishing grounds for Bill Clinton’s impeachment.²⁶²⁷

Nearly twenty years later, in September 2019, the New York Times reported that Stier had alleged that Kavanaugh involved himself in an indecent sexual act during a college party when he was a student at Yale University.²⁸ The female student involved in the alleged incident did not speak with Times reporters; the Times later appended an editor’s note stating that “friends say she does not recall the episode.”²⁹ Stier’s account reportedly made it to the Times second-hand.³⁰

Funding

According to Partnership for Public Service’s latest IRS filing from 2017, the group reported $13.8 million in total revenues, $16.3 million in total expenditures, and $16.7 million in net assets. ³¹ Since 2008, the Partnership has received $20.6 million in federal grants. ³²

Funding sources

Since 2002, the Partnership has received over $33 million from grantmaking foundations and other nonprofits: ³³

1. Partnership for Public Service. “Our Work.” Partnership for Public Service. Accessed September 16, 2019. https://ourpublicservice.org/our-work/.
2. Partnership for Public Service. “Board and History.” Partnership for Public Service. Accessed September 18, 2019. https://ourpublicservice.org/about/board-and-history/.
3. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025091631/http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i16/16002501.htm.
4. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025091631/http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i16/16002501.htm.
5. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025091631/http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i16/16002501.htm.
6. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025091631/http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i16/16002501.htm.
7. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025091631/http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i16/16002501.htm.
8. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025091631/http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i16/16002501.htm.
9. “Committees and Caucuses.” Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, March 13, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190420183500/https://norton.house.gov/committees-and-caucuses.
10. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/The-Bestthe-Brightest/178043.
11. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025091631/http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i16/16002501.htm.
12. The Chronicle, 5/31/2007: The Best and the Brightest. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025091631/http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i16/16002501.htm.
13. “Joe Davidson – Joe Davidson’s Federal Diary.” The Washington Post. WP Company, February 10, 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/09/AR2009020903479.html.
14. Lewis, Michael. “’This Guy Doesn’t Know Anything’: the inside Story of Trump’s Shambolic Transition Team.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, September 27, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/sep/27/this-guy-doesnt-know-anything-the-inside-story-of-trumps-shambolic-transition-team.
15. WashPostPR. “The Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service Launch Political Appointee Tracker.” The Washington Post. WP Company, February 28, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/wp/2016/12/05/the-washington-post-and-partnership-for-public-service-launch-political-appointee-tracker/.
16. “Trump Nominations Tracker: See Which Key Positions Have Been Filled so Far.” The Washington Post. WP Company. Accessed September 19, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/.
17. Partnership for Public Service. “Call to Serve: Colleges and Universities.” Partnership for Public Service. Accessed September 19, 2019. https://ourpublicservice.org/programs/call-to-serve-colleges-and-universities/#resources.
18. “Other Strategies To Meet Hiring Requirements .” OPM.gov, September 2005. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/human-capital-management/reference-materials/talent-management/strategies.pdf.
19. “Stephen Barr – Honoring the Stars of Government.” The Washington Post. WP Company, February 27, 2007. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022601228.html.
20. Heyman, Samuel J. “Program Overview and History.” Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Accessed September 18, 2019. https://servicetoamericamedals.org/about/.
21. Partnership for Public Service. “Excellence in Government Fellows Program.” Partnership for Public Service. Accessed September 19, 2019. https://ourpublicservice.org/programs/excellence-in-government-fellows-program/.
22. Partnership for Public Service. “Board and History.” Partnership for Public Service. Accessed September 17, 2019. https://ourpublicservice.org/about/board-and-history/.
23. Silva, Chantal Da. “Who Is Max Stier? CEO of Government Reform Non-Profit Named as Witness of Alleged Brett Kavanaugh Misconduct at Yale Party.” Newsweek, September 16, 2019. https://www.newsweek.com/max-stier-brett-kavanaugh-allegations-yale-university-1459373?cid=pt&source=ams&sourceId=4982034.
24. Stier, Max. “Foundations: However Much You Disagree With Trump, Don’t Abandon Government.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy, August 22, 2017. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Opinion-Foundations/240976?cid=pt&source=ams&sourceId=4982034
25. Sherman, Mark. “A Look at the Revived Allegations against Justice Kavanaugh.” AP NEWS. Associated Press, September 16, 2019. https://www.apnews.com/0ab183dbb4474c58b2baee739c7d92ae.
26. Blake, Aaron. “Trump, Brett Kavanaugh and What He Wrote in the Starr Report about Impeaching Presidents.” The Washington Post. WP Company, July 11, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/07/11/brett-kavanaugh-trump-and-what-the-starr-report-says-about-impeachment-annotated/.
27. Fuchs, Hailey, Hailey Fuchs, Britton O’Daly, and Isabel Bysiewicz. “While Kavanaugh Was a Member, DKE Flew under the Radar.” Yale Daily News While Kavanaugh was a member DKE flew under the radar Comments. Accessed September 20, 2019. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/07/16/while-kavanaugh-was-a-member-dke-flew-under-the-radar/.
28. Pogrebin, Robin, and Kate Kelly. “Brett Kavanaugh Fit In With the Privileged Kids. She Did Not.” The New York Times. The New York Times, September 14, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/14/sunday-review/brett-kavanaugh-deborah-ramirez-yale.html
29. Chaitin, Daniel. “New York Times sinks its Kavanaugh claim with Editor’s Note stating alleged victim ‘does not recall the incident.’” The Washington Examiner, September 16, 2019. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/new-york-times-updates-kavanaugh-report-to-note-alleged-sexual-misconduct-victim-is-said-to-not-recall-the-incident
30. Re, Gregg. “NYT updates Kavanaugh ‘bombshell’ to note accuser doesn’t recall alleged assault.” Fox News, September 16, 2019. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nyt-kavanaugh-bombshell-goes-bust-after-2020-dems-use-it-to-call-for-impeachment
31. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Partnership for Public Service. 2017. Schedule A, Part I. Lines 12, 18, 22.
32. “USAspending.gov.” USAspending.gov. Accessed October 3, 2019. https://www.usaspending.gov/#/recipient/1081da8d-0442-eced-1b22-1c0c7df5f454-P.
33. Information provided by FoundationSearch. Partnership for Public Service. Accessed September 27, 2019. www.FoundationSearch.com