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The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) is a key Obama Administration initiative and a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service that partners with experienced grantmakers to find and grow effective community-driven solutions to the nation’s most pressing social challenges. In the past three years, SIF has awarded $137.7 million in grants to 20 grantmaking intermediaries, yielding $350 million in private and nonfederal cash match commitments to nonprofit subgrantees in 34 states and the District of Columbia, whose work has benefitted more than 174,000 people. www.nationalservice.gov/sif
 From the Director
Dear Colleagues,
I am excited to share with you our first Social Innovation Fund newsletter. I have been in my post for a little over a month now and have been truly blown away about the quality and depth of the work that SIF partners are conducting in communities nationwide. We are seeing grantees exceeding early benchmarks and watching intermediaries change the way philanthropy is done – seeking deeper collaboration and higher levels of evidence. The SIF network is strong, robust and dynamic, and I am delighted to begin sharing these quick updates with you so that we can all celebrate success and learn together.
Every good wish,
Michael
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Social Innovation Fund Partners & Grantees in the News
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
Emotional learning program WINGS receives $2.5 million grant to expand
Daily Journal - Online (IN), July 18, 2013
The organization announced Thursday that the grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation will now help it to expand to 16 schools in four communities during the next three years. The grant includes funding from the federal Social Innovation Fund. WINGS stresses what is called emotional learning, something that usually is not taught in school and that students may not get at home. The program operates in schools attended by children from lower income families.
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
PACE Center for Girls Awarded Investment from a National Foundation and the Social Innovation Fund
The Open Press (Online), July 23, 2013
Florida's PACE Center for Girls has been awarded a three-year investment of $3.5 million from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (EMCF), consisting of funding from EMCF and the federal Social Innovation Fund (SIF). This investment will enable PACE Center for Girls to provide more services to more girls in Florida, conduct a rigorous study of effectiveness and cost benefit over time, and create a platform for becoming the national model for what works with teen-aged girls who want to turn their lives in a positive direction.
Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
Unique Telehealth Primary Clinic in Campton Gets Visit from Rep. Andy Barr
KY Forward (Online), August 8, 2013
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr recently toured Saint Joseph Telehealth Primary Care Clinic-Campton, part of KentuckyOne Health. The clinic, which opened in August 2012, provides access to primary and specialty care for the community through a unique Telehealth Care Network established by KentuckyOne Health, the largest health system in the Commonwealth. The Wolfe county clinic is one of two in Kentucky funded by grants from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the federal government’s Social Innovation Fund and. Saint Joseph Telehealth Primary Care Clinic-Clay City opened in Powell County in July 2012.
CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer Visits LISC Chicago’s Center for Working Families
CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer was in Chicago recently showcasing proof that carefully targeted federal investments are making enormous differences in people’s lives. She found it at the Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC), a job-training and life-skills program that is part of LISC Chicago's Center for Working Families network.
New SIF Lead at Venture Philanthropy Partners
Michelle Gillard has joined Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP) as its newest partner, and will be VPP’s new lead for the SIF. She is replacing former VPP partner Marc Schindler, who became the new executive director of the Justice Policy Institute in August.
CNCS News
Reminder: Corporation for National and Community Service Invites Input into Strategic Plan
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is accepting input from grantees, partners, future partners, and the public on the “Proposed Update of the CNCS Strategic Plan” at: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/strategic-plan. CNCS’s updated Strategic Plan will reflect the long-term outcomes that the CNCS aspires to achieve by implementing its mission. Written comments may be submitted by the following methods: (1) Electronically through the Corporation’s email system: StrategicPlanInput@cns.gov. (2) By mail sent to: Corporation for National and Community Service; Marlene Zakai, Director of Strategic Initiatives, 1201 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20525. (3) By hand delivery or by courier to the CNCS mailroom at Room 8100 at the mail address given in paragraph (1) above, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. (4) By fax to: (202) 606–3462, Attention: Marlene Zakai, Director of Strategic Initiatives. (5) Electronically through www.regulations.gov.
Deadline: August 14.
Announcement: National Service Task Force
Did you miss the White House announcement on July 15? President Obama announced the creation of a new federal task force with representatives from cabinet agencies to identify additional ways that the public and private sectors can partner together to support national service as a strategy for tackling national priorities. This National Service Task Force will be chaired by the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. Among other activities, the Task Force will make recommendations on polices to expand national service opportunities, recommend ways to coordinate volunteering and service programs across the Federal government, develop opportunities for interagency agreements between CNCS and other federal agencies, and identify public-private partnerships to expand national service.
Video: Innovation and Impact for National Service
In June, the new Director of the Social Innovation Fund, Michael Smith, moderated an innovation and impact panel discussion at the National Conference for Volunteering and Service’s Corporation for National and Community Service Town Hall, in Washington, D.C. on June 20, 2013. You can also can view other videos of each of the amazing Town Hall speakers separately or view the entire Town Hall session from start to finish.
Report: Volunteering as Pathway to Employment
CNCS recently released Volunteering as a Pathway to Employment, a study that provides the most compelling empirical research to date establishing an association between volunteering and employment in the United States. One key finding: Volunteers have a 27 percent higher likelihood of finding a job after being out of work than non-volunteers. There are also resources to support the dissemination of the report in your communities, such as a video and an infographic.
Reminder: Find the latest happenings regarding Social Innovation Fund programs and partners on Twitter or Facebook by following the hashtag “#sifund”
SIF Social Media Share of the Week: The Social Innovation Fund 2010-2012 Investment Report
In April, CNCS released “Getting Results, Transforming Lives: The Social Innovation Fund 2010-2012 Investment Report.” This document showcases SIF strategies, grantees and subgrantees, making the case for greater investment in these innovative, evidence-based programs.
To share information about the report, a sample Twitter or Facebook message is:
- #SIFund impacts 174,000+ people in 35 states. Learn more in the report from @nationalservice. http://go.usa.gov/jAnk
Grantee Spotlight – Investment in Action!
Single Stop, a New Profit subgrantee, is using SIF funds to support their Community College Initiative. The program is designed to help low-income students stay in college and gain the skills they need to independently support themselves and their families. The program provides students with access to financial resources and additional services, helping lessen the burden of non-academic pressures like lack of adequate housing, childcare, or health insurance. Single Stop offices are embedded in financial aid and student affairs departments of community colleges, enabling easy access to its program for students and integration of the program within the college.
When Maria R. lost her job due to the economic downturn and wasn’t able to find a new one right away she found her way back to the community college that she had dropped out of a year before. Facing foreclosure, and out of unemployment benefits, Maria was forced to cut in-half the pills she took for a serious mental health need because she could no longer afford the medication. Desperate but determined to continue her education, Maria turned to the financial aid office to get the help she needed—they reassured Maria and sent her to Single Stop for the extra financial assistance she needed.
At the MDC Single Stop site, a counselor obtained a tax refund for Maria and assisted in securing SNAP (food stamps) for Maria and her father. The counselor also connected Maria with financial and legal counseling services.
And the medication so crucial to Maria's health? A counselor's call got her six months of free medication that was extended for another year. With these benefits to assist her, Maria earned her Associates degree in April 2012.
The proud MDC graduate, and passionate Single Stop advocate, is currently continuing her education by pursuing a bachelor's degree. http://www.singlestopusa.org/
Do you have SIF News that should be in our next newsletter? If so, please e-mail a quick summary and URL to KChamberlain@cns.gov.
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