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About the Social Innovation Fund
The Social Innovation Fund is a powerful approach to transforming lives and communities that positions the federal government to be a catalyst for impact — mobilizing private resources to find and grow community solutions with evidence of results.
Authorized by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in April of 2009, the Social Innovation Fund is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service that empowers organizations to identify and support sustainable solutions that are already making a significant impact in transforming communities.
With the simple but vital goal of finding what works, and making it work for more people, the Social Innovation Fund and its grantees create a learning network of organizations working to implement innovative and effective evidence- based solutions to local and national challenges in three priority areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development.
To help scale evidence-based community solutions, the Social Innovation Fund has two grant programs: Classic (the original SIF program) and Pay for Success (founded in 2014). Through the two programs, community-based organizations, or “intermediaries,” direct resources to nonprofit organizations and state and local government entities, or “subgrantees,” to help build the capacity of the social sector and lift up solutions that can transform lives. In addition, the Social Innovation Fund shares lessons learned and results every step of the way through its Knowledge Initiative.
SIF and United Ways
The availability of funding through the SIF beginning in 2010 came at an opportune moment for United Way affiliates seeking to catalyze or extend their agendas for change. Several recognized that the substantial size of a SIF grant, the opportunity to participate in a high-profile federal program, and the SIF’s emphasis on evidence, evaluation, and scaling were aligned with their organizations’ goals for advancing results-oriented, impactful giving.
United Ways that applied for and were selected to be intermediaries to date through the “SIF Classic” grant program are detailed in the table below. This type of SIF grant typically lasts five years, although some of the funded United Ways ended their participation early. |