News from the east coast of Australia to the East Coast of the USA…all encouraging…
How SIBs Can Save Social Programs
Gabriela D’Souza – eurekastreet
Social impact bonds (SIBs) are a type of impact investing — investing for results. A community service provider (or any other kind of service provider) who wants to pilot or scale up a program can use SIBs to finance their projects.
A bond issuer (either a government, or a third party on behalf of a government) makes the SIBs available to private investors, who will receive the principal with interest if the program attains a predetermined success rate (interest usually reflects the savings to government from alleviating the problem). If the program is unsuccessful however, the investors lose their money.
Modified versions of this model are being trialled in NSW, and three more were announced in the 2015 Queensland budget.
Maine Voices: ‘Pay for success’ Learning Strategy Could Be Smart Move For Kids, Society
Chris Emmons – Portland Press Herald
As someone with a vested interest in the future of Maine’s workforce, I have a strong incentive to join other business leaders in efforts to expand the availability of high-quality early learning so more kids are truly ready to learn when they start school, thereby reducing the likelihood they’ll fall behind, drop out and be unprepared for the jobs that will drive our economy forward.
Unfortunately, there isn’t enough money from traditional taxpayer funding to meet the overwhelming need for quality preschool here in Maine. Right now, Maine’s public preschool programs serve just 41 percent of our 4-year-olds.
I was pleased when state Rep. Matt Pouliot sponsored a bill to study the potential benefits of social impact bonds as a funding source for early learning.
Commonly referred to as a “pay for success” strategy, social impact bonds use private sector, foundation and nonprofit organization funding to support social programs that are typically administered by government entities.