Social Innovation Fund Comes to Tulsa
The Social Innovation Fund, a federal program established by the
Edward Kennedy Serve America Act, is a new public-private
investment vehicle designed to identify and expand proven
anti-poverty programs nationwide. The Mayors Fund to Advance New
York City, in collaboration with the City of New York's Center for
Economic Opportunity, was one of 11 organizations selected by the
federal government as a lead funder for this initiative, and the
Mayors Fund in turn selected eight cities to partner with,
including Tulsa.
In the coming weeks, Tulsans will learn more about this
initiative, which is being spearheaded by Mayor Dewey Bartlett and
the Tulsa Community Foundation. The program will be competitive,
and open to all qualifying non-profits. Initial details about the
initiative and how to begin to qualify can be found at www.nyc.gov/ceo and clicking on
"Information for Providers" and then "Download the Notice of
Funding Opportunities". Additional information about the Social
Innovation Fund can be found at www.nationalservice.gov
the website for the federal Corporation for National and Community
Service.
The focus in Tulsa will be on three innovative pilots that have
undergone substantial third-party evaluation. The pilots, which it
is hoped will be replicated in Tulsa, include:
- Jobs-Plus, a place-based program that addresses entrenched
poverty amongst public housing residents by saturating housing
developments with job and career support, community building, and
rent incentives. In prior pilots, residents' earnings continued to
rise for three years after the program ended, greatly outpacing the
income of a comparison group.
- $aveUSA, which offers a matched savings account to low-income
tax filers. Although nearly half of the New York City participants
reported no history of savings, 80 percent saved for at least one
year to receive the match and 75 percent continue to save
today.
- WorkAdvance, which creates workforce programs that employ
sector-focused and skills-building strategies.
MDRC, a nationally-recognized evaluator of non-profit programs,
will partner with the Mayors Fund, advising in the design of these
second-generation pilots and act as the lead evaluator for all
programs. By testing and evaluating programs in multiple locations,
and using randomized controlled trials where appropriate, the
Corporation and private funders can better determine what will
succeed nationwide.
In addition to Tulsa, partners include Kansas City, Memphis,
Newark, Savannah, San Antonio and Northeastern Ohio, including
Cleveland, Youngstown and Akron.
