Social Innovation Fund Comment

The Social Innovation Fund (“SIF”) is funded under the 2009 Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.  SIF was designed to create a public-private collaboration to determine the most effective ways to address social challenges in the areas of economic opportunity, youth development and school support, and healthy futures, and to improve the nation’s problem-solving infrastructure in low-income communities.

To this end, SIF will award up to $50 million in Fiscal Year 2010 to between five and seven grant making intermediaries, who will match, dollar for dollar, the award they have been given.  The intermediaries will grant this new bucket of money to community organizations, who will in turn match their awards dollar for dollar, so as to increase the impact of the initial SIF awards.

College Summit submitted a comment on the SIF, congratulating the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is administering the SIF, on the design of the draft notice of funding availability.  College Summit was pleased to see the inclusion of “issue area-based SIFs” in the draft, as well as the inclusion of “youth development and school support” as a focus area.  

College Summit is pleased by and grateful for the government’s continued recognition of the role philanthropic organizations play in improving the lives of students.

Read the comment.