[RELEASE] NFF Awards $1.1 Million to Health, Housing and Human Services Pay for Success Projects

NEW YORK –April 11, 2017– Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a grantee of the Social Innovation Fund's Pay for Success program, is awarding federal funding to six projects designed to improve approaches to widespread social challenges.

Pay for Success approaches drive resources toward programs that provide measurable results to the people and communities who need them most. Strong service providers deliver high-quality programs designed to improve lives and prevent future problems. Mission-driven investors cover the upfront costs of delivering these programs. If the predetermined goals are achieved, investors are repaid – often by governments – with a return.

"Pay for Success is an early proving ground in the movement toward outcomes-based approaches to social services, where payment is based on results achieved instead of services delivered," said Antony Bugg-Levine, CEO of NFF. "Service providers have front-line experience and evidence about what works. Pay for Success aims to give them more freedom to carry out the work needed to achieve their missions."

Since 2014, NFF has awarded $4.3 million in grants through funding from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Recipients of this fifth round of grants from NFF's current SIF allocation include:

San Diego Project re(LAUNCH), a project of Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc. in partnership with Acuitus, San Diego Workforce Partnership, American Institutes for Research, and 2-1-1 San Diego, will provide 150 veterans with service-connected disabilities living in San Diego County with accelerated IT education, wraparound services, and job placement. The program is innovative in the PFS field in that success payments will be tied to an increase in earning power of the veterans being served.

Meals on Wheels America (MOWA), in partnership with Quantified Ventures and Gorman Health Group, will pursue a PFS project in the Salt Lake region of northern Utah designed to help seniors live healthier lives in their own homes. The project would be MOWA's second PFS project and is unique in targeting Medicare Advantage plans as the payor. Potential measurable outcomes include the reduction in ER visits, hospital admissions, and hospital readmissions, as well as the impact on the Medicare Advantage Star Rating metrics, a quality measurement that determines reimbursement rates.

The Alameda County Justice Pay for Success Project is designed to reduce recidivism among recidivists in the 1170(h) realignment population through the provision of “24/7” wraparound services and counselors who will provide access to substance-use-disorder treatment, employment training, adult education, mental health services, intensive case management and housing assistance. The County is working in partnership with Third Sector Capital Partners the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab, with La Familia Counseling Services acting as the project service provider and West Ed as the independent evaluator. The project is collaborating with the County Administrator’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, Probation Department, Health Care Services, Behavioral Health Care Services, and numerous community-based providers. The project has secured $1.25M from the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) to serve as end-payer support for anticipated success payments.

Louisville IMPACT PFS, or the Innovative Metro Project for Addiction Care & Treatment, is a project of Louisville Metro Government in partnership with the CFO Resource Group, The Healing Place, and Centerstone, that looks to break the cycle of recidivism through improved connection of inmates impacted by addiction to treatment services immediately upon release. The program will assist individuals suffering from addiction to opioids, benzodiazepines, and alcohol that are exiting the jail’s detox services through either a social- and peer-support-driven addiction treatment model or a medically assisted treatment model.

The Philadelphia Partnership Supportive Housing Demonstration project is a collaborative initiative of Project HOME, Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Services (DBHIDS) through Community Behavioral Health, and CSH designed to create supportive housing for approximately 150 chronic homeless individuals recovering from substance use disorders and/or mental illness. The primary goal is to provide stable housing and additional support for those moving away from addiction and improving their lives.

Oklahoma PFS Supportive Housing Project is a comprehensive partnership to provide permanent supportive housing for youth ages 17-25 transitioning out of foster care or the criminal justice system who lack stable housing, have experienced homelessness or are chronically homeless. The initiative places a special emphasis on youth experiencing challenges related to mental health and substance abuse issues.

“The Social Innovation Fund is an innovative program that seeks to invest in truly compelling solutions and expand programs that work,” said Lois Nembhard, Acting Director of the Social Innovation Fund. “NFF’s leadership in outcomes-based funding and field-building have helped service providers, funders, governments, and other stakeholder partners in pursuit of positive social change. “

Since its inception in 2009, the SIF has grown into nearly a $1 billion social impact incubator within the federal government, creating public-private partnerships that deliver high-impact, community-based solutions that work. As a result of $341 million in federal grants and more than $672 million in non-federal match commitments, the SIF has awarded 51 grants to grant making institutions supporting more than 490 non-profits working in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information about Pay for Success, and the Social Innovation Fund, please visit: www.payforsuccess.org/sif.

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About Nonprofit Finance Fund
Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) unlocks the potential of mission-driven organizations through tailored investments, strategic advice, and accessible insights. A leading community development financial institution with over $250 million in assets under management, NFF has provided $620 million in financing and access to additional capital in support of over $2.3 billion in projects for thousands of organizations nationwide. NFF curates the Pay for Success Learning Hub: www.payforsuccess.org and helps organizations evaluate and prepare for outcomes-based funding opportunities. NFF is headquartered in New York City and serves clients from five offices across the country. www.nff.org

About the Social Innovation Fund
The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the nation’s volunteer and service efforts. The SIF positions the federal government to be a catalyst for impact—using public and private resources to find and grow community-based nonprofits with evidence of results. The SIF focuses on overcoming challenges confronting low-income Americans in three areas of priority need: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development. To learn more, visit www.nationalservice.gov/sif.

Media contact:
Tricia McKenna
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617-553-8020