The True North Fund is the next step in expanding the capital aggregation strategy we tested with our Growth Capital Aggregation Pilot. Its catalyst is the unique opportunity created by the Social Innovation Fund to form an innovative public-private partnership of the federal government, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and philanthropic co-investors. Together, this partnership and this strategy can direct more resources more efficiently to organizations with evidence-based programs that can benefit more economically disadvantaged young people.

In creating the True North Fund, EMCF seeks to:

• Increase the numbers of youth whom evidenced-based programs help become independent, productive, successful adults.

• Take advantage of the opportunity created by the Social Innovation Fund to form a public-private partnership of the federal government, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and philanthropic co-investors.

•  Use this partnership to leverage and coordinate funding that effectively capitalizes and expands evidence-based programs serving low-income youth.

• Expand the pool and the reach of organizations offering such programs on a local, regional and national level.

• Build a stronger body of evidence, through rigorous evaluation, about "what works" to improve the life prospects of disadvantaged youth.

• Demonstrate an effective funding model for propelling to scale proven solutions to some of our nation’s toughest social problems.

The inaugural grantees in the True North Fund were chosen in March 2011 by EMCF, with assistance from MDRC and the Bridgespan Group, our strategic collaborators in the SIF, through an open, highly competitive national selection process to identify recipients of Social Innovation Fund awards. This process is described in detail in a report compiled by EMCF: A Summary of EMCF's 2010-2011 Selection of SIF Grantees.

The process was conducted in two phases: 1) application and preliminary assessment; and 2) due diligence and competitive selection. Staff from EMCF and our strategic collaborators, MDRC and the Bridgespan Group, conducted both phases, reviewing candidates, selecting those who moved on to due diligence, and overseeing due diligence. EMCF staff made final decisions about which organizations to recommend for SIF awards, and EMCF’s board of trustees approved these recommendations.

Evidence of effectiveness, potential for growth and service to communities of need were our primary selection criteria. We also gave weight to specific priority geographic areas—North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, and California— in which candidates planned to expand, and to an applicant’s potential to benefit rural and philanthropically underserved communities of need.

In Phase One of the selection process, EMCF, MDRC and Bridgespan staff reviewed, evaluated and rated candidates based on the information they provided in their applications and in follow-up requests for clarifications. The highest-rated candidates advanced to Phase Two and due diligence, which included document review, site visits and interviews with board members, community leaders, funders, and experts in the field.

Organizations that completed due diligence successfully were compared to each other on the basis of four competitive preferences: Program & Evidence, Population & Geography, Leadership & Growth, and Financial & Operational Strength. EMCF’s senior leadership, in consultation with MDRC and Bridgespan, conducted a final competitive review. It also assessed each finalist’s ability to reach a minimum evidentiary level of demonstrated effectiveness within three years and whether its plans aligned with the objectives of the SIF and EMCF. Then it chose and recommended to EMCF’s board of trustees a balanced portfolio achieving positive outcomes in the areas of juvenile justice, foster care, pregnancy prevention, and education (in K-8 and high school as well as for overage, under-credited youth)

We hope in time to expand the fund to include other youth-serving nonprofits that are poised for growth and have good evidence (which they are interested in strengthening) of their programs’ effectiveness. 

A description of all 225 organizations that submitted an application can be found here.