The Social Innovator Fund

A vehicle for directing high-impact gifts to local grassroots nonprofit organizations

The Social Innovator Fund

By giving to SIF’s Social Innovator fund, it allows us to give money to a broad range of community-based impact organizations, all at one time. SIF’s process saves both time and money and ensures grant funds get to local organizations, in the most efficient way, by leveraging proximate experts and leaders in a range of social issue areas.

- Anchor Donor

About the Social Innovator Fund

In 2023, we launched a new tool, the Social Innovator Fund, to help individuals direct resources to local organizations more effectively and efficiently. An anonymous donor has given a five-year grant to support SIF’s broader work and provided seed money for the fund, (including covering SIF’s administrative costs) so 100% of each donation goes to the fund. This anchor gift ensures that each year, the fund starts with $200K. Our goal is to continue to build the fund and ensure the SIF Social Innovators, typically small, local organizations, get maximized funding to build and expand their work. 

100% payout annually

Unlike Donor Advised Funds (DAFs), with yearly annual payout variances, the Social Innovator Fund helps donors move money quickly to organizations that need it most. The fund is distributed at year-end among the year’s eight cohort organizations and then reset for the next year’s cohort. This optimal disbursement advances on-the-ground community work.

2024 Social Innovators 

  • Beat the Odds (BTO) Boston
  • Boston Food Forest Coalition
  • Family Independence, Inc.
  • Just a Start Financial Empowerment Collaborative
  • Kids in Tech, Inc.
  • Latinx Community Center for Empowerment
  • Massachusetts Women of Color Network (MAWOCN)
  • Top Notch Scholars, Inc.

How to make a gift to the Innovator Fund

SIF will accept gifts to the 2024 Social Innovator Fund through December 31, 2024. The minimum gift is $500. Gifts can be made below, by check, electronic transfer, via your donor advised fund (DAF), or stock transfer. Our mailing address is 77 Franklin Street, 9th Floor Boston, MA  02110.

Make a gift online

Use the tool below to make a gift through our online giving platform. 

Make a gift through your donor-advised fund

Please use the designation "Social Innovator Fund" so that your gift gets credited to the fund.

Make a gift to SIF

SIF will not be taking a cut of any of these funds, and thus all donations will go directly through to our eight Innovator organizations. If you would like to make an additional donation to SIF to support our capacity-building work, please donate here, or get in touch with our team.

Contact Information

For more information about the Social Innovator Fund, please contact Tanya Inwald, Director of Programs at tinwald@socialinnovationforum.org

The Social Innovation Forum is a 501(c)(3) organization, EIN 47-3923576. All donations are tax deductible. No goods or services will be provided in exchange for the donation.