Posted on September 16, 2010

Social Impact Exchange Receives $1.8 Million From Robert Wood Johnson, Rockefeller Foundations

The Social Impact Exchange, a cross-sector initiative designed to support the growth of high-impact social programs, has announced grants totaling $1.8 million from the Robert Wood Johnson and Rockefeller foundations to support the next phase of the project.

The grants will support the continuing development of a growth capital marketplace to connect philanthropists and investors with nonprofits eager to scale proven programs. The exchange will serve as a gathering place for knowledge-building in the areas of health, education, poverty, and impact investing, as well as a platform for those interested in investing in growth organizations working to scale effective solutions to social problems.

Launched by the Growth Philanthropy Network in partnership with Duke University's Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society and the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, the exchange has more than twenty-five hundred members, seven working groups in various stages of formation, and the participation of over sixty funders and sector leaders. The effort includes a robust Web site and an annual investment fair and business plan competition that supports the growth of top-performing programs.

"The Social Impact Exchange breaks new ground with its action-oriented collaboration aimed at finding new ways to take great ideas to scale," said Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin. "Solutions to many of the world's most difficult social problems don't need to be invented, they need only to be found, funded, and scaled. We look forward to helping build a marketplace where innovative solutions in the social sector can grow and have a significant impact on twenty-first century global challenges."