The Sorenson Impact Center at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business and Social Finance announced they have been awarded a $5.2M grant-funded budget from the Corporation for National and Community Service’s second Social Innovation Fund’s Pay for Success competition.
Governments and nonprofit organizations are exploring “pay for success” financing (PFS), an innovative public-private partnership model that aims to measurably improve the lives of people most in need by driving resources toward better, more effective programs. The Sorenson Impact Center and Social Finance will select governments and social service providers in the western United States to receive funding and technical support to develop PFS projects that expand high-impact social interventions.
“The Sorenson Impact Center and Social Finance are at the cutting edge of the social impact and innovation movement, and SIF is proud to support their tremendous work in Pay for Success,” said Damian Thorman, Director of the Social Innovation Fund. “I am confident this partnership will spur interest in Pay for Success, and will help open doors to critical financing and partnerships for high-impact nonprofits with track records of success.”
“Through the generous support of the Social Innovation Fund, the Sorenson Impact Center will engage with highly-motivated communities around the West who are working to launch evidence-based interventions that address complex social problems,” said Center Managing Director, Jeremy Keele.
“Social Finance is honored to receive this grant from SIF to expand Pay for Success in the West,” said Tracy Palandjian, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Finance. “Over the long term, Pay for Success has the potential to help government spend smarter, driving resources toward preventative programs that lead to better outcomes for individuals and society.”
Social Finance and the Sorenson Impact Center will provide technical assistance to up to five communities and build on key strengths of each partner: Social Finance as an experienced Pay for Success project intermediary, and the Sorenson Impact Center as an academic institute with deep experience in outcomes-oriented project and stakeholder management.
Together, the Sorenson Impact Center and Social Finance will take a comprehensive approach to help jurisdictions not only structure PFS projects, but also prepare them for long-term success. The selected government and nonprofit recipients will receive direct technical assistance, assistance designing program and evaluation plans, active project management support, capacity-building to manage projects over the long-term, and comprehensive communications and stakeholder engagement strategies to support each project.
In the coming months, the Sorenson Impact Center and Social Finance will hold an open competition to select up to five communities interested in launching PFS projects. The competition will encourage both new jurisdictions and new issue areas for PFS.
