Don't forget to let the Corporation for National and Community Service hear your voice!  The NOFA (Notice of Funds Available) is available here, with more general information here. Send your comments to SIFinput@cns.gov.

We've put together a summary of what's included in the NOFA.  Download it here.  And check out Root Cause CEO Andrew Wolk's post about the SIF on his blog.

We have just posted a summary document, "Government and Social Innovation: Existing Models", that provides information on all the local, state, and federal initiatives we know about that are supporting social innovation and strengthening partnerships between government and the nonprofit sector.  The list includes both executive branch efforts and offices, as well as legislation that has been introduced and sometimes passed.

Check it out and let us know if there's anything you know about that we're missing.  Also, please share your thoughts on the models we've listed.  Anything stand out as especially compelling or useful to your state or city?

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave a speech about "smarter government" and, in it, referenced a new project to pilot the use of social impact bonds. He says:

"What we call social impact bonds – money paid out now to deal at root with the causes not the symptoms of a problem – will reward social investors for work which reduces future social costs, for example, in seeking to lower the reoffending rate of those coming out of prison.

"Effective government action helping, for example millions of carers, does not crowd out social responsibility. it helps to enrich and strengthen it especially in the most hard-pressed communities."

An accompanying report, "Putting the Frontline First: smarter government", outlines how these bonds would work:

A joint committee yesterday agreed to fully appropriate the Social Innovation Fund to match the $50 million authorization level and President Obama's budget request. The full funding bill will now go to both the House and Senate for final approval. The text of the Omnibus bill under the section funding the Corporation for National and Community Service reads:

Within the total provided for Innovation, Assistance, and Other Activities, the conference agreement includes $50,000,000 for the Social Innovation Fund as proposed by the Senate instead of $35,000,000 as proposed by the House. Within the total provided for Innovation, Assistance, and Other Activities, the conference agreement includes $1,000,000 for the nonprofit capacity,building program instead of $2,000,000 as proposed by the Senate. The House did not propose funding for this program.

Read more here.

The Corporation for National and Community Service recently hosted a conference call to solicit public input on the Social Innovation Fund authorized by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

In case you missed the call, you can listen to a recording here (and look for the link at the very top of the page).

You'll also find an information page addressing frequently asked questions.  Among them:

How do I apply for funds?

It is anticipated that a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the SIF will be posted in late 2009. The due date for applications will be early 2010, and funding will be awarded in late spring or summer of 2010.

Funding is contingent upon congressional approval of the FY 2010 budget. FY 2010 begins on October 1, 2009. In the event of a continuing resolution for the 2010 budget, CNCS will still hold a competition in Winter 2009/2010 but will not award funds until Congress passes a budget that indicates funding for the SIF.

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal featured a special section on philanthropy with a series of great articles that highlight trends in the field and suggest changes to ensure that philanthropic giving grows ever more effective.

One article, "Is It Public, or Is It Private?" discusses the growing trend toward public-private partnerships between private philanthropists and government. The reason? "Both sides stand to gain: Donors leverage their dollars, and the government gets additional capital, plus the expertise and credibility that high-profile philanthropists often bestow on the causes they support."

Root Cause CEO Andrew Wolk is quoted discussing the enormity of government dollars, "Government resources dwarf the funds spent by the nation's largest foundations and individual donors, who contribute $16.5 billion and $163.5 billion peryear, respectively. The federal government alone spends more than $1 trillion per year on social services."

The Corporation for National and Community Service is fielding lots of questions about the newly authorized, but not yet appropriated, Social Innovation Fund (also called the Community Solutions Grant Fund). To ease some of the confusion, they've posted a 1-page FAQ that lays out the basics - including how it works, what it funds, and a tentative timeline.

Read it here.

Over on his Tactical Philanthropy blog, Sean Stannard-Stockton has offered some excellent thoughts on "Why the Social Innovation Fund Matters" and also adddressed some of the risks and criticisms. On his own blog, Andrew Wolk adds three additional points, emphasizing that:

1. We have to be careful not to get too caught up in the dollars – because in reality, $50 million (or even $150 million after the 2-1 match) is not much. Rather, the money should be seen as a way to influence the actions of all sectors and thus achieve greater systemic change.

2. The Social Innovation Fund should be looking for organizations with proven models who are actively engaging with government in an attempt to incorporate the best parts of their model into the broader system where change can really be widespread.

Today at a White House event, President Obama will publicly launch the White House Office of Social Innovation and appeal to  Congress to fully appropriate the Social Innovation Fund that was authorized as part of the Serve America Act.  Watch it live here!

At the event, four organizations will be profiled and will have speaking roles.  We know that one of them is Bonnie CLAC - for whom Root Cause wrote the business plan and whose plan we featured in our How-to Guide "Business Planning for Enduring Social Impact". We are hearing that two of the three others are Genesys Works and Harlem Children's Zone.

It is exciting that government is taking such a public role in encouraging and supporting what works.  Our CEO, Andrew Wolk, is there in person today, so visit his blog for more updates.

We are excited to report that Susannah Washburn, Senior Advisor at the Corporation for National and Community Service, will be joining our discussion at next week's Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship conference in Washington, D.C.! This is sure to be an exciting opportunity to engage directly with the Corporation as they determine how exactly these funds will work. 

In our "Advancing Social Entrepreneurship" report with the Aspen Institute, we recommended a template for how a social innovation fund could work.  In this session, we will be exploring these same questions, but now with the knowledge that there is real potential in making this happen.  If you have any thoughts on how this might work, we hope you will attend the session and share them.  Or, if you can't make it in person, share your ideas here and we will represent them to the group.

Registration closes tonight for attending the conference in person, but you can still sign up through May 4th for the webcast AND archived video.  We hope to hear your voice represented!