South Africa’s government is investigating the use of SIBs while Goldman’s charitable chief moves towards an even greater social impact role while there is more on the Roca bond to reduce recidivism.
An interesting day, welcome to SIB News:
Treasury Investigating Financing Social Bonds
BDlive
THE Treasury is looking into the feasibility of using an experimental financing mechanism, social impact bonds, to help boost small businesses and job creation.
In a global environment where donors are shifting or cutting back on funds, governments are looking for novel ways to pay for services that have often been provided by non-governmental organisations that are dependant largely on grants.
The Treasury and the Flanders Development Agency have commissioned a feasibility study from a consortium comprising the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UCT’s Graduate School of Business, Genesis Analytics and an organisation called Social Finance which pioneered social bonds in the UK with a programme aimed at preventing former prisoners from re-offending.
Goldman’s Charitable Foundation Chief To Lead Urban Investment Group
NY Times
Dina H. Powell has already made a name for herself as the head of Goldman Sachs’s charitable foundation. Now, she is preparing to add a new revenue-generating role to her list of responsibilities.
The Wall Street firm on Monday named Ms. Powell the new head of its urban investment group, which specializes in “social impact investing” by participating in projects like the Citi Bike program and an anti-recidivism program for the jail at Rikers Island, according to an internal memorandum reviewed by DealBook.
She will replace Alicia Glen, who led the group for 12 years but has since been named a deputy mayor for housing and economic development for Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The Biggest SIB In The U.S. Will Keep At-Risk Young Men In Jobs And Out Of Prison
fastcoexist
Roca, a 26-year-old Massachusetts organization that aids high-risk young men who are on track for incarceration and early death, has proven its worth with an effective model for keeping its participants out of jail and in steady jobs. Now the organization is getting a big boost from a seven year, $27 million SIB — the largest ever in the U.S.
Social impact bonds are a relatively new type of philanthropy where donors put money in social impact programs, which have specific and tangible goals and make money back (paid by the state of Massachusetts, which has received $11.7 million in funding for the project from the U.S. Department of Labor) only if those goals are met. In this case, Roca is participating in a randomized trial to see how its efforts in keeping young men out of prison compare to the norm.