In May 2009, when the White House announced the creation of a Social Innovation Fund to support expanding “innovative, promising ideas that are transforming communities,” it cited as examples four grantees of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation: Nurse-Family Partnership, Youth Villages, Harlem Children’s Zone and Citizen Schools.

“The idea is simple,” said First Lady Michelle Obama: “to find the most effective programs out there and then provide the capital needed to replicate their success in communities around the country that are facing similar challenges.”

The evidence these four organizations have marshaled of their programs’ effectiveness accords with the Obama administration’s commitment to programs that have been proven to work. Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag has stated, “I am trying to put much more emphasis on evidence-based policy decisions here at OMB. Wherever possible, we should design new initiatives to build rigorous data about what works and then act on evidence that emerges—expanding approaches that work best, fine-tuning the ones that get mixed results, and shutting down those that are failing.”

In a videotaped address, President Barack Obama called Harlem Children’s Zone "an all-encompassing, all-hands-on-deck, anti-poverty effort that is literally saving a generation of children."

His proposed 2010 budget supports "promise neighborhoods" throughout America, modeled after Harlem Children’s Zone, to improve "academic achievement and life outcomes in high-poverty areas," and a nationwide home visitation program, inspired by Nurse-Family Partnership, for low-income, first-time mothers.

The U.S. Department of Education has called Citizen Schools, which enlists volunteer “citizen teachers” to enrich the academic experience of 5,000 low-income middle school students in seven states, a model program.

Youth Villages provides services to more than 13,000 vulnerable and troubled youth, most of whom are involved in the child welfare, juvenile justice or mental health systems, in six states and Washington, DC.

Learn more about Nurse-Family Partnership

Learn more about Youth Villages

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Learn more about Harlem Children's Zone