Dana H.

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  Dana commented on the article | almost 2 years ago

  The Social Innovation Fund Grants Focus on "What Works"

  Perhaps the most exciting aspect is the paradigm shift that SIF represents in how the government thinks about investing in social change.  During the press conference to announce the SIF's grantees, the Corporation's CEO, Patrick Corvington, stated that, "Feeling good is not enough. Impact is what matters. Results are what matter."
  
  In our experience at Commongood Careers, SIF grantees can have the greatest impact by targeting their limited resources on "human capital."  And by human capital, we mean that to fully leverage growth capital, nonprofits must be able to recruit sufficient numbers of talented staff and volunteers, utilize proven management systems, and shape their cultures in order to position talent for success, development, and retention.
  
  Having worked for years with several of the SIF grantees, as well as the organizations that they support, we have witnessed first-hand the results that these foundations achieve when they bring financial capital together with human capital.
  
  Although many traditional foundations have either overlooked human capital issues or focused only occasionally on piecemeal support, pioneering groups like New Profit Inc., Venture Philanthropy Partners, and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation have excelled in supporting a more complete range of human capital needs across their grantees.
  
  Commongood Careers strongly encourages all SIF grantees to consider the impact that human capital will have on their efforts, as well as the many ways that they can help to control those outcomes. As a fundamental determinant of social return on investment, human capital can either be an unanticipated barrier to success or an effective catalyst for achieving it.  The difference comes down to intent and strategy.