Boston — Aug. 14
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS), through its implementation partner, Jobs for the Future, has received an additional Social Innovation Fund (SIF) grant for $2 million, bringing the total to $9.7 million during the past two years. This latest grant allows NFWS to continue its investments in local community efforts that transform the way jobseekers and workers get on sustainable career paths. The SIF, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), addresses major challenges confronting communities by growing high-impact, nonprofit organizations shown to deliver results.
NFWS is testing and documenting the effectiveness of innovative approaches to job training and career development in 32 communities nationwide. Through the support of funding collaboratives, communities are creating a specialized model that transforms how workers build good careers. There is one element common to each community’s approach: they join with local employers in workforce partnerships to fully analyze the local labor market and industry sectors, identify current and future employer needs, and develop training programs specifically designed to meet these needs.
NFWS was first awarded an SIF grant in 2010. As a grantee, the organization was eligible to continue to receive funding for up to five years. According to Paul Carttar, director of the Social Innovation Fund at CNCS, the SIF grant is only awarded to those with “strong track records of success that have proposed compelling, innovative programs to tackle some of our country’s biggest challenges in our most needy areas.”
One unique feature of the SIF grant is its public-private partnership model. To receive the grant, recipients must match the money, as must the nonprofit organizations that they, in turn, select as sub-grantees. In the case of NFWS, the $2 million award becomes $6 million that can be used to extend its work.
“This continued recognition by the Social Innovation Fund validates our localized approach of partnering with employers,” said Fred Dedrick, NFWS executive director. “The additional funding will help us strengthen the work of many of our collaborative partners and help workers acquire the skills employers need.”
Source: National Fund for Workforce Solutions
