Politics & Philanthropy II

In a follow-up to yesterday’s post, this editorial from the Chronicle of Philanthropy questions the government’s role in the Social Innovation Fund.

An excerpt.

“Last week’s announcement that five large foundations plan to add a total of $45-million to the federal government’s Social Innovation Fund has stirred much excitement in nonprofit circles.

“So did the news that a coalition of 20 other foundations had pledged to spend nearly an additional $5-million to heighten the impact of the fund and share the lessons learned among nonprofit groups.

“Why such a fuss about a relatively small amount of philanthropic money? It must be that many in the nonprofit world were pleased to see a gesture that solidifies the partnership between the federal government and foundations. But the Obama administration could do much more to help the nonprofit world in these tough financial times than soliciting the nearly $50-million in matching money.

“The Social Innovation Fund is now in the process of selecting 7 to 10 foundations that will award money to nonprofit groups with solid track records and can serve as models to spread good ideas. The foundations as well as the nonprofit groups they support are expected to come up with their own matching funds. Those requirements mean that the government's $50-million is supposed to be matched with a total of $150-million from private sources.

“The program is at the heart of the Obama administration’s efforts to encourage nonprofit innovation and strengthen high-performance organizations. It also appears to be an attempt to attract more foundation money for nonprofit activities.

“One can question, however, the seriousness with which the administration is pursuing these goals. The $50-million the federal government has provided to the Social Innovation Fund, after all, is a drop in the bucket, even though it just attracted nearly $50-million last week.”