A National Imperative: Joining Forces to Strengthen Human Services in America (Jan 2018)

CASE STUDY: SPURRING INNOVATION THROUGH PRIVATE FUNDING

When it comes to fostering innovation and realizing impact, private funders are recognizing the need to provide flexible capital and a focused set of tools and resources. Two initiatives to fund social innovation that deserve special mention: Blue Meridian Partner s pools together funding, resources, and expertise from a group of leading philanthropic institutions to place “big bets” on promising and innovative human services programs. Led by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Blue Meridian provides grants of up to $200M in flexible, unrestricted funding to supercharge the growth of high-performing CBOs over the course of 5-10 years. The goal of Blue Meridian is to develop and scale up path-breaking, evidence-based programs that have the potential to make a significant impact. Blue Ridge Labs supports technology-enabled innovation in the design and delivery of human services. A program of the Robin Hood Foundation in New York, Blue Ridge provides funding and resources to social entrepreneurs and technology start-ups tackling the challenges faced by low-income Americans. With a focus on client-centered development and rapid testing and iteration, Blue Ridge embraces data-driven experimentation to optimize, roll out, and scale up the most impactful solutions.

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