Social Innovation Fund Resource Center
The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) is an ambitious experiment in how government, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector can better work together to scale innovative, results-oriented community solutions to address some of our nation’s most intractable social problems.
Authorized by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and housed at the Corporation for National and Community Service, the $50- million SIF will make grants of $1 million to $10 million to approved grantmaking institutions. These grantees will then make subgrants of at least $100,000, each lasting three to five years, to nonprofit community organizations. SIF will also require dollar-for-dollar matching funds both from the grantmaker and the recipient nonprofit organization. More information about the SIF can be found at the Corporation for National and Community Service website or in the SIF Frequently Asked Questions document (PDF).
We believe SIF (working in partnership with the White House Office of Social Innovation) can have dramatic impact in several important ways: providing resources to promising organizations so they can build their evidence and strengthen their capacity for scaling; supporting the development of intermediaries that can bring these resources to bear on behalf of nonprofits; connecting proven nonprofits to federal government agencies that could support their expansion; creating a learning community of grantmakers committed to building organizational capacity and scaling what works; and inspiring legions of additional innovation funds at the federal, state, and local levels.
The resources below offer the latest news related to SIF, as well as useful links to organizations, frameworks, and knowledge that could help grantmakers and nonprofits prepare to be SIF-ready.
On July 22 2010, the Corporation for National and Community Service awarded nearly $50 million in SIF grants to 11 organizations. These organizations will work with a number of community-based nonprofits to address urgent needs in three areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development and school support. Below is a list of the 11 intermediaries and the funds they received. Economic Opportunity:- Jobs for the Future, Inc. ($7.7 million; 2-year grant)
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation ($4.2 million; 1-year grant)
- Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City ($5.7 million; 1-year grant)
- REDF ($3 million; 2-year grant)
Healthy Futures:- Foundation for a Health Kentucky ($2 million; 2-year grant)
- Missouri Foundation for Health ($2 million; 2-year grant)
- National AIDS Fund ($3.6 million; 1-year grant)
Youth Development and School Support:- New Profit, Inc. ($5 million; 1-year grant)
- The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation ($10 million; 1-year grant)
- Venture Philanthropy Partners ($4 million; 2-year grant)
Multi-issue:- United Way of Greater Cincinnati ($2 million; 2-year grant)
To read more about how the money will support their work, please go to the Corporation for National & Community Service website. |
Now the focus turns towards potential grantees preparing to apply for SIF funds from intermediaries.
Applying for SIF Grants There is significant information on the SIF website about how nonprofit organizations may qualify and apply to selected intermediaries for SIF subgrants. Below are several of the highlights. - Grants will be given by intermediaries in the areas of economic opportunity, youth development/school support, and healthy futures
- Intermediaries applied with either a geographic or issue-area focus. Prospective subgrantees will likely find that some intermediaries are better fits for their programs than others
- When selecting subgrantees, intermediaries will consider different levels of evidence as described in the Notice of Funds Availability (Page 21)
- Subgrantees will be expected to use these funds to "produce measurable outcomes within a specific issue area or geographic region, evaluate their effectiveness, and replicate and expand to serve more individuals and communities"
- Subgrantees must match awards dollar-for-dollar. For more details regarding what counts toward the matching, see Page 6 of the FAQ updated March 3, 2010
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| Available Resources |
Information from the Social Innovation Fund website Featured Tools and Frameworks Social Innovation Fund News |
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