One of these days, if you’re feeling daring and want to stir the pot around a table of people – whether you know them or not – ask them what they believe the role of government should be. From Knoxville to Karachi, you’ll hear all kinds of answers. Before anybody comes to blows over their strongly held views, remind them that this question was central to Plato and it is central to the human condition. It’s a question worth asking.
As an evidence-based, non-partisan grantmaking foundation with a specific area of interest, we have spent decades pursuing strategies that improve the well-being of older adults. We engage with public and private institutions every day and ask ourselves what initiatives can we support that will make those institutions perform better for people. You might think that we stick to our knitting.
Yet a couple of years ago, we allowed ourselves to ask “the government question.” The way it came out for us was “Could we do more and do better by applying for a federal Social Innovation Fund grant?” We answered yes.
Our finding is that participation in the Social Innovation Fund, or SIF, has allowed us to do more and do it faster. To be sure, it has stretched us, but in a good way: we have found ourselves at the center of a network of funders and stakeholders in a way that has broadened our reach and created a social good that would not have come about without the catalyst provided by this government program. At the same time, we’ve come to understand that we were well placed to assemble that network of funders and stakeholders in a way that our government on its own might not have been.
The purpose of today’s blog entry is partly testimonial, partly exhortation to our colleague foundations who are thinking about applying to jump in: you can do more than you imagine with the benefit of a SIF grant.
As many of our readers know, the SIF grant we received from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has enabled us to bring the IMPACT model of depression treatment to the Rural Northwest. This has helped aid vulnerable communities that suffer from a lack of economic and social resources, and where the need for mental health services is great. The success of our work thus far would not have been possible without the extraordinary network and support of partners across local, state, and national lines—all under the umbrella of the SIF.
On February 25, CNCS released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) of up to $65.8 million for the 2014 SIF grant competition—the largest grant pool in the history of the program. Please help spread the word. All grantmakers with a serious interest in accelerating and scaling evidence-based solutions to complex social problems should consider applying. Applications are due April 22 and notices of intent to apply are encouraged to be submitted by March 24.
For new readers, the SIF is a key White House initiative and program within CNCS that has the simple, but vital goal of finding solutions that work, and making them work for more people. The SIF combines public and private resources to evaluate and grow the impact of innovative, community-based solutions that have compelling evidence of improving the lives of people in low-income communities in any of three priority areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development. The SIF aims to find, test and grow the most promising interventions and then hand off successful models, best practices, and lessons learned to federal and private funders ready to bring these models to scale.
The SIF awards go to experienced grantmaking “intermediaries” that are well-positioned within communities to identify the most promising programs and guide them towards greater impact and stronger evidence of success. These grants range from $1-$10 million annually for three to five years. The intermediaries then match the federal funds dollar-for-dollar and hold open competitions to identify high-performing nonprofit organizations working in low-income communities to expand or replicate an innovation. Once selected, these nonprofits must also match the funds they receive, and participate in rigorous evaluations of the impact of their programs. The nonprofits share data, lessons learned and results – helping to build the capacity of the social sector and lift up solutions that can transform lives and communities.
SIF intermediaries are selected on the basis of their history and track record as experienced grantmakers who are able to find and support non-profits doing innovative work in vulnerable communities. Through the SIF, intermediaries become a part of a larger network of grantmakers involved in a national experiment aimed at leveraging federal dollars with private funds to test and scale effective social interventions.
Thanks to the SIF umbrella, we’ve been able to bring the IMPACT model to vulnerable communities in the Rural Northwest with the extraordinary support of a diverse array of funding partners at the local, state, and national levels: among them, the Kinskey Family Foundation in Wyoming; the public health department and the Board of County Commissioners in Lewis County, Washington; the Rasmuson Foundation; and the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation.
In addition to benefits of funding, SIF grantees as well as subgrantees receive significant technical assistance to support implementation of their innovative programs. Participation in the SIF gives grantmakers greater visibility and plugs them into a national network of funders and nonprofits that are committed to fostering social innovation throughout the country.
For subgrantees, the benefits are equally significant. One of our IMPACT sites, for example, successfully leveraged its Hartford award to win two related grants from the Mental Health State Trust Fund and from the Health Resources and Services Administration that will enable it to serve even more patients and expand IMPACT services beyond our program.
In just three years the SIF and private-sector partners have invested more than a half a billion dollars in communities across the country. Three years into the program, the SIF portfolio represents a $177.6 million investment in 20 intermediary grantees and 221 participating nonprofits working in 37 states and the District of Columbia. This modest federal investment is expected to leverage more than $423 million in non-federal match commitments. SIF programs have received funding commitments from at least 168 non-federal organizations to date, and as models develop and demonstrate results, we can expect interest from a diverse array of funders seeking results.
For many, the SIF experience is not only transforming communities but strengthening grantmaker practices as well. Many SIF awardees report increasing their own evaluation and evidence-building capacity, both so that they can better inform their own decision making, and so that they can better support their sub-grantees as they evaluate their programs and learn from the results. SIF intermediaries are also creating vibrant cross-sector alliances which are leveraging the unique strengths of each sector and bringing new resources and ideas to the table. By forming a robust and dynamic network, we can learn and share important lessons on designing and implementing social interventions that are innovative, evidence-based and scalable. And through this process, we’re helping to move the entire social sector forward in fundamental ways that a federal agency couldn’t do on its own.
So why jump in the pool and apply? Here’s why:
• Double your dollars and be a part of something bigger.
• The White House and CNCS amplify your work on a national scale.
• The SIF platform and rigor provide a “seal of approval” and validation.
• SIF Program Officers and evaluation experts are partners in your success.
• The SIF provides an extraordinary opportunity to build capacity.
• The SIF umbrella offers new local, state and federal partnerships and funding.
• It’s a chance for your program to become a national model.