First Lady Announces $50 Million Fund for Nonprofits
Resource type: News
Philanthropy Project (AOL) | [ View Original Source (opens in new window) ]
By SuYin So. First lady Michelle Obama announced today a match of $45 million and a separate $5 million initiative to support the Social Innovation Fund, a new competitive federal grants program designed to expand high-impact community-based nonprofits.
The first lady was joined by grant makers and philanthropists at the White House announcement and said she was inspired by them.
“Everyone thanks me for my work but truly I have been inspired by so many of you, and so has the president,” said Mrs. Obama. She added that she hoped the Social Innovation Fund would change the way that business worked not just in Washington but everywhere.
The $45 million matching funds were pledged by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, John and Ann Doerr’s Family Foundation, Omidyar Network, the Open Society Foundation’s Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation and the Skoll Foundation.
Additionally, another coalition of about 20 independent grant makers, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies and venture philanthropists SeaChange Capital Partners, have pledged nearly $5 million to broaden the Social Innovation Fund’s impact through an initiative called “Scaling What Works.”