In a recent post on the Council of Foundations website, Shirley Sagawa points to the Social Innovation Fund as a place where government and grantmakers will partner to leverage the experience and resources of the philanthropic community alongside federal efforts to create lasting change. Sagawa offers an in-depth analysis of the way this partnership will function on a practical level, highlighting the important role grantmakers will play not only in funding promising nonprofits, but in helping these organizations take full advantage of the opportunities created by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

The bill’s Social Innovation Fund underscores the new administration’s commitment to trying new approaches to solving urgent problems. It uses a unique allocation mechanism so federal dollars match the funding choices of grantmakers, including foundations, rather than the other way around. In this way, funding decisions are made not by the federal government, but by grantmakers with experience making data-driven decisions for investing in communities.

You can read her entire post here.