The Social Innovation Forum

Join us for a Virtual Event! On Monday, October 7th, 2024, from 11 AM to 12 PM (EDT), we’re hosting an event to share more about our Social Innovator Fund. Launched in March of 2023, the Social Innovator Fund helps individuals committed to strengthening the social impact sector directly allocate more resources to local, community-led organizations that get selected into SIF’s Accelerator Program annually. Last year, we raised a total of $390K allowing us to provide $45,750 to each 2023 Innovator organization, and $2,500 to each of the 2023 finalists. As we support the 2024 cohort of Social Innovators, we hope you will join us to to hear directly from SIF Innovators, funders, and supporters about the impact we’re making and our vision for the future. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how you can be part of driving meaningful change! Register here: https://lnkd.in/ejb9dZGh To learn more about the Social Innovator Fund, please visit our website or contact Tanya Inwald, Director of Programs, at tinwald@socialinnovationforum.org. If the event time doesn’t work for you, we’d be happy to schedule a one-on-one conversation at your convenience. #SocialImpact #Innovation #CommunityLed #SocialInnovatorFund #NonprofitSupport #SIF #SocialChange

🌟 Exciting News from One of Our Innovators, The Loop Lab! 🌟 All are invited to Loop Dreams 2024, an inaugural fundraising and celebration event being hosted on October 18th at GBH Boston. 🎉 The evening will be highlighted by: 🎶 Upbeat music provided by DJ Chinua Unites   🎤 Inspiring words shared by The Loop Lab’s Founder & Executive Director, Chris Hope   🎙️ A special message delivered by Mayor Michelle Wu   🎭 Electrifying performances given by artists Letta Neely and Alyssa Wang  This event is designed to support the next generation of diverse media creators. An evening of inspiration, performances, and community is to be enjoyed, with sweet treats and great music being offered throughout the night. 💫 🎟️ Tickets are now available, and RSVPs are being accepted here: https://lnkd.in/d5tcinWK #LoopDreams2024 #SocialInnovationForum #SupportYouth #FundraisingEvent #BostonEvents

📢 Join Us for an Important Conversation on Transforming Philanthropy! The Social Innovation Forum (SIF) and our national partners invite you to an insightful virtual event on the critical role that Place-Based Intermediary Organizations (PBIs) play in reshaping the philanthropic landscape. Date: Wednesday, September 25th, 2024   Time: 12:00-1:30 pm (ET)   Click the link to RSVP: https://lnkd.in/expkG679 During this event, we will explore the collective learnings of the eight organizations that participated in the CORE (Community Organizations Reimagining Ecosystems) cohort. Discover how PBIs drive social impact and shape national philanthropy, and learn about the next steps for this innovative initiative. CORE partners: Co.act Detroit (Detroit, MI)   Community Wealth Partners (Washington, DC)   Mission Capital (Austin, TX)   Propeller: A Force for Social Innovation (New Orleans, LA)   Radical Partners (Miami, FL)   RVC (Rooted in Vibrant Communities) (Seattle, WA)   The Social Innovation Forum Innovation Forum (Boston, MA)   Social Justice Partners Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)  Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the dialogue that is transforming the future of philanthropy. We hope to see you there! #Philanthropy #SocialImpact #PlaceBasedIntermediaries #CommunityOrganizations #SIF #CORECohort #VirtualEvent

🌟New Blog Alert: Navigating the Unique Challenges and Opportunities of Being a New Executive Director 🌟 In May 2023, our Alumni & Nonprofit Network brought together a group of new executive directors to explore how SIF could better support them and their organizations. From these discussions, a new idea emerged: the creation of a peer cohort to connect nonprofit leaders in similar roles. To bring this idea to life, we partnered with Erin Cox (MBA), a leadership, impact, and personal development coach, and formed SIF’s new ElevatED cohort. This community provides support, learning, and growth opportunities for executive directors in their first three years of tenure, enhancing leadership capacity through community, skill development, and engagement with seasoned EDs. To celebrate this exciting initiative, our Program Coordinator for the Alumni & Nonprofit Network, Zane Diamond, sat down with Abdi Ali, Ed.D, Executive Director of WriteBoston (a 2006 Social Innovator). Abdi shares his journey, insights, and the unique challenges and opportunities of stepping into an executive director role. 📖 Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eEKHt8ie #NonprofitLeadership #ExecutiveDirectors #LeadershipJourney #SocialImpact #ProfessionalDevelopment #SocialInnovationForum #WriteBoston #ElevatED

Let me try to summarize something so cool, so needed, so well done, and so hard to fund: my core, our core at Radical Partners, and the national CORE network that we’re a part of. We believe in equity. We see possibility everywhere. We choose to spend our time connecting people, passions, places, and powers for everyone to access those possibilities. After 2 years of collaborative work from all different corners of 🇺🇸, we are now proud to call ourselves place-based intermerdiaries (PBIs) and we want to tell you all about it on September 25. That last paragraphs have so many Ps that I hope you feel compelled to RSVP. As the VIP you are, hope you realize how you can, as our peer or potential funder, fuel our purpose of fueling other organizations’ purposes. [Read with cheerleading tone] Give me a P!? 🤸🏽♀️📣 Saejin Yoo + Alia Mahmoud + Victoria Santamarina + Susan Musinsky + The Social Innovation Forum + RVC + CoAct + Mission Capital + Community Wealth Partners + Michelle Dominguez, M.Ed.

When I came into the field of philanthropy in early 2021, I was really fortunate to learn from and with people who were adopting trust-based practices. The Social Innovation Forum was a big part of my learning journey, especially as I looked for ways to connect my experiences as an executive coach and my new role as a funder. During my time at the foundation, Brian Kibler, Felice Whittum, and I have spent a lot of time designing practices that bring us closer to the impactful work our grantees are doing — without getting in their way. So I was deeply honored when SIF invited me to join this upcoming panel about cultivating trusting relationships between funders and nonprofits. Boston friends and colleagues in the nonprofit sector, I'd love to see you there!

I’m so proud to have worked on this project! Read my blog post to learn more about Social Innovation Forum’s participatory philanthropy pilot and the paper we published about the learning and transformation that emerged from the process: https://lnkd.in/ezUKNWbG

Help SIF find its next cohort of Social Innovators! We're inviting nonprofits to apply for our 2025 Social Innovator Accelerator. Application deadline is August 8th. For information on eligibility, benefits, and more, visit our website: https://shorturl.at/668rn

Happy #NationalInternDay! 🎉 We're thrilled to spotlight our incredible interns, José, Nai'a, and Kiwa, who bring energy, passion, and fresh perspectives to our team. Thank you for all your hard work! Click the link in our bio to read more about them! #InternSpotlight 

Beating the summer heat wave requires outside the box thinking. Learn how farmers at Urban Farming Institute of Boston (UFI), a 2019 Social Innovator, are selecting communal-based crops that can grow while resisting the heat. Kudos for accepting the challenge and focusing on community! https://lnkd.in/eF5cTT5t