Social Innovation ForumThe Social Innovation Forum (SIF) has received a $25,000 match challenge from The Devonshire Foundation to be matched by $25,000 in unrestricted gifts from individual donors to SIF. SIF hopes this match challenge will inspire gifts from first-time donors as well as re-engaged donors. Gifts between $1 and $499 will be matched 1:1, while gifts of $500 or more will be matched 1:2.
This is the second year The Devonshire Foundation has partnered with the Social Innovation Forum on a fundraising challenge. Last year, SIF successfully raised $12,835 in gifts from new donors in response to a $10,000 match challenge from The Devonshire Foundation.
Founded in 2003, SIF’s mission is to drive positive social change in greater Boston by engaging leaders, strengthening organizations, and building networks. We combine capacity building and network development to advance promising solutions to our community’s most pressing social issues. SIF uses a “marketplace” approach to our work, connecting social purpose organizations with a community of individuals who can provide financial, technical, and coaching support. The idea behind the marketplace is that all participants give value to and receive benefit from each other, allowing for social impact to emerge at levels that would otherwise be impossible to achieve.
Now in our 16th year, we are the only organization that is providing both 24 months of capacity building support to innovative, effective nonprofits in greater Boston, and introductions to our community of funders, business leaders and philanthropists. Additionally, SIF provides ongoing support to our alumni Innovators for as long as they need our support. Each year, SIF receives over 150 applications for eight slots in its Social Innovator Accelerator program. And with approximately 13,000 nonprofit organizations in Eastern Massachusetts – an estimated 8,600 of which with budgets of under $1 million – SIF recognizes the tremendous potential need for our services. In an effort to try and meet some of this need, as well as the ongoing needs of the 114 alumni organizations in our “forever” portfolio, SIF has expanded its work in recent years to include Capacity Camps – condensed versions of our Accelerator program – and alumni programming.
It is critically important that we fully capitalize on this $25,000 match challenge from The Devonshire Foundation, but we can’t do it without your support!
With a budget this year of $1.6 million, the Social Innovation Forum relies nearly 100% on philanthropic gifts to support us in our continued efforts to deliver – as well as test, explore, and expand – programs that advance the work of innovative, promising social change organizations in our community and engage philanthropists, investors, and supporters in these efforts. Therefore, it is critically important that we fully capitalize on this $25,000 match challenge from The Devonshire Foundation, but we can’t do it without your support!
We hope you will consider being a responder to The Devonshire Foundation Match Challenge by making a gift the Social Innovation Forum by June 30, 2019.