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ANNOUNCEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDING AVAILABILITY

Federal Agency Name: Corporation for National and Community Service

Funding Opportunity Title: FY 2014 Social Innovation Fund Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type: Revised Announcement 02/28/2014

CFDA Number(s): 94.019

NOTICE OF INTENT TO APPLY DEADLINE: Applicants are strongly encouraged to send a 

Notice of Intent to Apply by March 24, 2014.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications are due April 22, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 

Successful applicants will be notified in August, 2014. 

OVERVIEW

The mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is to improve 

lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. 

Through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and other programs and activities, CNCS has helped to 

engage millions of citizens in meeting community and national challenges through service and 

volunteer action. In 2009, Congress passed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (SAA), 

the most sweeping expansion of national service in a generation. This landmark law not only 

expands service opportunities, it focuses national service on key outcomes; builds the capacity of 

individuals, nonprofits, and communities to succeed; and encourages innovative approaches to 

solving problems, including through the establishment of the Social Innovation Fund.

Through the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), CNCS has augmented its traditional activities with an 

enhanced focus on identifying and growing innovative, evidence-based approaches to our 

nation’s challenges.

The Social Innovation Fund is an innovative program that awards grants to and works with 

existing grantmaking institutions, referred to in this Announcement of Federal Funding 

Availability (Notice) as “intermediaries.” These intermediaries are funded to support highperforming community-based nonprofit organizations that validate and grow promising 

outcomes-focused approaches to challenges facing local communities. This Notice, in alignment 

with the SAA and the CNCS Strategic Plan, will target grantmaking in three Focus Areas:

• Youth Development

• Economic Opportunity

• Healthy Futures

As one of the Obama Administration’s “tiered-evidence initiatives”, the Social Innovation Fund 

embodies a commitment to use rigorous evidence both to select recipients of federal funding and 

to validate the impact of their program models. The program also represents a key part of the 

Administration’s efforts to advance social innovation as a strategy to address critical social 

challenges. It is driven by three core principles: (1) many of the most compelling solutions to 

persistent social problems in low-income communities are being developed in those communities 

and not in federal offices in Washington, DC; (2) significant impact can be generated for society 
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by proactively identifying the best community-based solutions, strengthening their evidence 

base, and supporting the growth of their impact; and (3) the federal government can help drive 

social innovation by stimulating, focusing and enhancing public-private partnerships and crosssector collaborations to grow the impact of the best community solutions. 

As it relates to the Social Innovation Fund, “innovative approaches” are new ways to solve old 

problems that are faster, cost-effective, data-driven, and lead to better results for the public good. 

Specifically, the Social Innovation Fund seeks the development and strategic scaling of 

promising and potentially transformative evidence-based and evidence-informed social 

innovations that solve critical community problems. 

For the purposes of this Notice, an approach is evidence informed if it refers to interventions that 

have a preliminary level of evidence of effectiveness per Section I.D.4. Evidence and Evaluation

of this Notice. An approach is evidence based if it has a moderate or strong level of effectiveness 

per Section I.D.4. Evidence and Evaluation of this Notice.

An approach is “transformative” if it not only produces strong impact (as defined in this 

Notice), but also:

(1) presents a new solution or novel adaptation or application of a solution to a critical local 

or national challenge where existing solutions or interventions have not been proven to be 

effective, are not achieving outcomes at scale, or are too slow to respond,

(2) has the potential (as evidenced by data) to affect how the same challenge is addressed in 

other communities, 

(3) addresses more than one critical community challenge concurrently, and/or 

(4) produces significant cost savings through gains in efficiency. 

Although the practice of social innovation is sometimes understood to be the invention and 

testing of new ideas, the Social Innovation Fund seeks to support innovations that have advanced 

beyond the nascent stages, are showing signs of effectiveness, and have the potential for greater 

scale. The nonprofit marketplace offers many sources of funding for the earliest stages of ideadevelopment and innovation, where new ideas can be explored and tested. 

The Social Innovation Fund believes that its funds are most appropriately and responsibly used 

for programs that have advanced past the earliest stages, have at least preliminary evidence of 

results and are ready for more substantial evaluation and expansion to communities in need of 

promising innovations. These promising, evidence-based and evidence-informed innovations 

may be relatively new, have not been demonstrated to be effective for multiple populations, or 

have limited current market penetration. They will have a body of operational experience and at 

least preliminary evidence of effectiveness, as defined in this Notice.

So far, the Social Innovation Fund has competitively selected 20 intermediaries to implement 

programs in low-income communities around the country. To learn more about our existing 

grantees and to read their full applications to CNCS, see: 

http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/social-innovation-fund/funded-organizations
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CNCS is committed to transparency in grant-making. This Notice includes a description of the 

application review and selection process in Section IV. Application and Submission Information. 

In addition, the following information for new and recompeting applications will be published on

the CNCS website at (http://nationalservice.gov/about/open-governmentinitiative/transparency/results-grants-competition) within 90 business days after all grants are 

awarded: 

• A blank template of the external review form

• A list of all compliant applications submitted

• Executive summaries of all compliant applications as submitted by the applicants 

• The official cover sheet and program narratives for successful applications

• A list of all external reviewers that completed the review assignment 

• Summaries of external reviewer comments on successful applications

In addition, all grantees of the Social Innovation Fund will be required to release, at a minimum, 

the following information about their subgrant competitions: 

• A description of their subgrantee selection process

• A list of external reviewers for their subgrantee selection process

• A list of awarded subgrantees

• Summaries of external reviewer comments on successful subgrant applications 

• The full applications of awarded subgrantees

This Notice should be read together with the Social Innovation Fund Application Instructions.

Publication of this Notice does not obligate CNCS to award any specific number of cooperative 

agreements or to obligate the entire amount of funding available.
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FULL TEXT OF NOTICE

Contents

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION............................................................................ 6

A. Purpose of Social Innovation Fund Funding.......................................................................... 6

B. Funding Priorities................................................................................................................... 7

C. Performance Measurement....................................................................................................11

D. Key Program Requirements..................................................................................................11

1. Match .................................................................................................................................11

2. Subgranting....................................................................................................................... 12

3. Growing the Impact of Program Models.......................................................................... 13

4. Evidence and Evaluation................................................................................................... 14

E. Relationship to Other Federal Evidence-Based Programs ................................................... 17

II. AWARD INFORMATION ....................................................................................................... 18

A. Estimated Available Funds................................................................................................... 18

B. Estimated Award Amount..................................................................................................... 18

C. Project Period ....................................................................................................................... 19

D. Funding Instrument.............................................................................................................. 19

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION............................................................................................. 19

A. Eligible Applicants............................................................................................................... 19

B. Matching Requirements....................................................................................................... 21

C. Other Requirements.............................................................................................................. 22

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION........................................................ 24

A. Address to Request Application Package............................................................................. 24

B. Content and Form of Application Submission ..................................................................... 24

C. Submission Date and Time................................................................................................... 26

D. Intergovernmental Review................................................................................................... 27

E. Funding Restrictions............................................................................................................. 27

F. Submitting Match Verification Documentation .................................................................... 27

V. APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS...................................................... 28

A. Selection Criteria.................................................................................................................. 28

B. Review and Selection Process.............................................................................................. 35

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION................................................................... 38

A. Award Notices...................................................................................................................... 38
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B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements.............................................................. 39

C. Use of Material..................................................................................................................... 39

D. Reporting Requirements ...................................................................................................... 39

E. Other Responsibilities Under the Cooperative Agreement .................................................. 40

F. Continuation Funding Information and Requirements......................................................... 42

VII. Agency Contacts.................................................................................................................... 44

VIII. Other Information ................................................................................................................ 44
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I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION 

A. Purpose of Social Innovation Fund Funding

The purpose of the Social Innovation Fund is to grow the impact of innovative communitybased solutions that have compelling evidence of improving the lives of people in lowincome communities throughout the United States. The Social Innovation Fund directs 

resources toward increasing the evidence-base, capacity, and scale of the organizations it 

funds in order to improve the lives of people served by those organizations. The Social 

Innovation Fund also generates broader impact by leveraging grant funding to improve how 

philanthropies, federal government departments and agencies, state and local government, 

and community-based organizations deploy funds to address social challenges. Additionally, 

it enhances the ability of the nonprofit sector to support the growth of innovative, highimpact organizations.

Operating Model

The operating model of the Social Innovation Fund has been explicitly designed to advance 

these objectives and is distinguished by five key elements: 

1) Relying on intermediaries (also called “grantees”) with strong skills and track records of 

success to do the critical work of competitively selecting, validating, and growing highperforming nonprofit organizations (“subgrantees”). At least 80 percent of awarded 

federal funds must be invested in subgrantee programs.

2) Requiring that each federal dollar granted by the Social Innovation Fund be matched 1:1 

by the intermediaries with money from private and other non-federal sources and that 

each subgrant awarded by these intermediaries also be matched 1:1 by the subgrantees 

3) Requiring that all intermediaries select subgrantees to implement interventions that are 

both innovative and at least evidence-informed and then engage subgrantees in formal 

evaluations of program performance and impact which substantively advance the sector’s

knowledge base. These interventions must have at least preliminary evidence of 

effectiveness.

4) Providing capital to both evaluate and scale the intervention. In many cases, a given 

intervention may have promising evidence that it is effective in a particular community, 

at a small scale, or for a certain population. The SIF provides both the operational dollars 

and evaluation dollars to test if these positive results hold true as the program grows and 

achieves “scale” or is adapted to other populations or communities.

5) Requiring each intermediary to commit to knowledge sharing and other initiatives that 

advance social innovation more generally in the nonprofit sector.

Successful intermediaries must have strong track records of successfully engaging in the key 

processes that constitute the essential work of the Social Innovation Fund: 

• Selecting high-performing nonprofits (“subgrantees”) implementing promising 

interventions with a high potential for generating strong impact.

• Supporting these organizations in increasing capacity, scale and impact.

• Substantively evaluating implementation and results for the subgrantees.
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In this context, high-performing refers to nonprofit organizations that are well-run and 

financially healthy with capable leadership, clear goals and clear objectives; that diligently 

collect quality data and use this data to understand which of their efforts work and which do 

not; and that use this knowledge to make adjustments to their approach to continuously 

improve.

The term promising interventions refers to a model at a specific stage of development that, 

at a minimum, must have at least preliminary evidence of effectiveness as defined in this 

Notice.

Within the SIF framework, we refer to two types of scaling: scaling the delivery of the 

model by serving more of the original population, and scaling the applicability of the model 

by testing if the intervention continues to be effective for additional populations or 

geographic areas. For interventions with preliminary levels of evidence, scaling the delivery 

will generally allow the intervention to achieve a sufficient size to support a stronger 

evaluation and further validate the model. 

For interventions with moderate and strong levels of evidence, scaling delivery generally will 

allow for more substantial growth to provide services to larger numbers of people in the 

current or new geographic area(s), while scaling the applicability of the model would call for 

more limited expansions of the model to test the effectiveness of the intervention with new 

populations or locations. 

Not all organizations with preliminary evidence have reached a stage of development or 

produced the kind of substantial results that would make them ready for large-scale growth or 

expansion. Instead, they should focus on the kind of limited scaling that aims to further 

validate the model. 

B. Funding Priorities

In the 2014 competition, CNCS expects to fund applicants that successfully meet the 

requirements and respond to the Selection Criteria described in this Notice. Within that 

context, CNCS seeks to target its 2014 grantmaking towards intermediaries that seek to 

develop programs and target applicants that are not only enhancing or expanding their own 

model but are also addressing the most critical local and national challenges and seeking to 

fill gaps in the available evidence base. CNCS continues to expect that all grantees will serve

the vulnerable populations within the below focus areas.

Specifically, this Notice prioritizes 2014 grantmaking toward the following Focus Areas, 

approach and beneficiaries.

Focus Areas

CNCS will only award funds to intermediaries proposing to make subgrants to nonprofit 

organizations targeting one or more of the focus areas listed below. Applications that do not 

specifically identify a focus area will not be considered for funding. The FY 2014 SIF focus 
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areas are:

• Youth Development – Preparing America’s youth for success in school, active 

citizenship, productive work, and healthy and safe lives

• Economic Opportunity – Increasing economic opportunities for economically 

disadvantaged individuals and/or

• Healthy Futures – Promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing the risk factors that can 

lead to illness

“Low-income communities” 

As specified in section 198K of the National Community Service Act (NCSA), Social 

Innovation Fund intermediary grantees must make subgrants and otherwise support programs 

that serve “low-income” communities. For purposes of this Notice, “low-income community” 

means either:

• A population of individuals or households being served by a subgrantee on the basis of 

having a household income that is 200 percent or less of the applicable federal poverty 

guideline, or

• Either a population of individuals or households, or a specific local geographic area, with 

specific measurable indicators that correlate to low-income status, such as, but not 

exclusive to, K-12 students qualifying for free- or reduced-lunch, long-term 

unemployment, risk of homelessness, low school achievement, persistent hunger, or 

serious mental illness. An application that proposes to rely on measurable indicators 

should fully describe the basis for relying upon those indicators (including citations to 

appropriate studies). The application also must describe and cite the source of data 

supporting the conclusion that the targeted community meets the indicators.

“Significantly philanthropically underserved” communities

For purposes of this Notice, CNCS considers applicants to be serving significantly 

philanthropically underserved communities if they support subgrantees that carry out 

activities in low-income communities that have considerably less than the average number of 

active philanthropic institutions or investments as similarly populated communities in their 

state or region. If applicable, applicants must describe, using data and statistics, why and how 

this definition applies to their community. 

Optional Funding Priorities

In addition to addressing one or more of the above focus areas, which is a mandatory 

requirement, CNCS is particularly interested in supporting applications that propose to 

include one or more of the following optional priorities:

• A Collective Impact Approach

• Targeting of at least one of the following types of beneficiaries:

o Opportunity Youth

o Traditionally Underserved and Underrepresented Geographic Areas and Populations 

• Presidential Initiatives to Expand Access to Opportunity 

While there are no points assigned for addressing one or more of the optional funding 

priorities, high scoring applications that address a priority are more likely to be 
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recommended for funding than those that do not. Descriptive explanations of each priority 

follow.

Collective Impact Approach

CNCS is interested in testing models that use a Collective Impact Approach. Collective 

Impact is a promising model in which cross-sector coalitions form to identify a common set 

of challenges and evidence-informed and evidence-based solutions, and then work together 

to implement the solution. CNCS is interested in learning whether this approach can 

demonstrate at least a moderate level of evidence in producing better outcomes than other, 

singular or additive models. 

Collective Impact efforts should include the following characteristics:

• Common Agenda: All participants have a shared vision for change including a common 

understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed upon 

actions.

• Decision Making, Data, and Shared Measurement: Agreement from all participants to 

implement solutions that are at least evidence-informed. Collecting data and measuring 

results consistently across all participants to ensure that efforts remain aligned and that 

participants hold each other accountable.

• Mutually Reinforcing Activities: Participant activities must be differentiated while still 

being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action.

• Continuous Communication: Consistent and open communication is needed across the 

many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and appreciate common motivation.

• Investment and Sustainability: There is broad ownership from all participants in 

building infrastructure and resources to sustain the work and continuously improve 

outcomes. 

• Backbone Organization: Creating and managing collective impact requires a separate 

entity with staff and a specific set of skills to serve as the backbone for the entire 

initiative and to coordinate participating organizations and agencies. Successful 

applicants will have demonstrated experience leveraging the Collective Impact approach 

with existing “backbone” entities.

• Evaluation and Accountability: To be funded by the SIF, collective impact approaches 

must include a strategy for rigorous evaluation, including a strategy for isolating causal 

effects of the approach.

Target Beneficiaries 

CNCS is interested in proposals focused on meeting the needs of Opportunity Youth and 

traditionally underserved populations. 

Opportunity Youth: Opportunity Youth are defined as young people between the ages of 14 

to 24 who are homeless, in foster care, involved in the juvenile justice system, or who are not 

employed or enrolled in the education system1

. Between five and seven million youth – one 

in six young people are not connected to education or jobs. Costs to the nation from direct 

 1 President’s FY 2013 Budget – General Provisions, Sec.737 Performance Partnership Pilots
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and indirect social costs were estimated to be $93 billion for 2011 alone2. 

CNCS is particularly interested in proposals that use place-based Collective Impact or 

network development approaches that bring together all organizations that work with youth 

to create a community system that tailors delivery of services to the needs of youth at various 

stages of development and reconnection. This service delivery should result in outcomes that 

are achieved more rapidly and are at levels that reflect a significant improvement over the 

status quo. 

The types of organizations that tend to focus on this issue include but are not limited to 

education, youth development, workforce development, health and human services 

organizations, as well as employers, industry groups, and labor unions, particularly those 

running pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.

Federal and private sector efforts are identifying new directions for policies and programs. 

New designs and enhancements of services are producing program interventions which are 

more comprehensive and intensive, provide sequences of connected services, support 

transitions for youth along pathways to better outcomes, and use data systems to 

continuously plan, assess, and improve services, systems, and outcomes. Interventions for 

opportunity youth focus on the following key elements in creating pathways to school, 

career, and life success: 

• Re-engagement: identifying youth who have been disconnected from education, 

employment and stable housing, including those who have been in foster care or in 

juvenile justice placements; understanding the specific needs of the population, and 

working closely with youth to connect them to strong programs and supports that have at 

least preliminary evidence that they can help them surmount their individual challenges.

• Educational Momentum: helping youth reach early and frequent education milestones in 

addition to attaining longer term education goals, such as completing a high school 

degree, GED, and postsecondary credential or degree. 

• Connection to Employment: connecting youth with relevant training and work 

experiences to help them gain the credentials and connections that will facilitate their 

entry into family-supporting careers.

• Stable Housing: promoting safe and stable housing arrangements during and after 

program participation. 

• Youth Development: helping youth develop healthy relationships and leadership skills; 

addressing their social, emotional, physical, and behavioral health needs; and engaging 

youth as partners in creating pathways for their own success and for contributing to the 

well-being of their communities. 

Applicants should propose interventions that are based on these definitions and 

characteristics, but they can be expanded or augmented as evidence shows to be appropriate 

for greater impact. Information on proven or promising practices and policies can be found 

at: http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/evidence-innovation.

 2 Final Report, Community Solutions for Opportunity Youth, June 2012, White House Council on Community 

Solutions
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Traditionally Underserved and Underrepresented Geographic Areas and Populations: 

CNCS strives to ensure that the Social Innovation Fund portfolio includes those 

intermediaries that serve significantly economically underserved geographic areas or 

geographic areas that are not being currently served by the Social Innovation Fund. We also 

aim to include vulnerable populations that are traditionally underserved in communities 

nationwide. As such, this Notice seeks applicants with robust plans to target and select 

applicants that serve such populations, including but not limited to rural and economically 

depressed communities, tribal communities, disabled populations, veterans, etc. CNCS 

provides these examples that are commonly known to and prioritized by us, but permit 

applicants to demonstrate through data other traditionally underserved, underrepresented 

populations they wish to target.

Presidential Initiatives to Expand Access to Opportunity: In alignment with SIF’s mission 

and the aforementioned priorities, CNCS will also give priority to eligible grantmaking 

institutions with high scoring applications that propose to contribute to local strategies 

designated under Presidential priority initiatives to expand access to opportunity for low 

income individuals and distressed communities, such as the Promise Zone initiative. If a SIF 

applicant is applying as a Promise Zone partner, a partnership agreement with the Promise 

Zone lead organization must be included for this priority preference to apply.

To see a map of current Social Innovation Fund programs, visit our website: 

http://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2012_SIF_subgrantee_initiatives_

map.pdf

Applicants proposing programs that receive priority consideration are not guaranteed funding 

and all funded applicants will first need to demonstrate that they have effectively met program 

requirements, especially those related to use of evidence and evaluation capacity. 

C. Performance Measurement

Grantees will be required to use performance measures to assess progress. Grantees should 

expect to work with CNCS to finalize the expected performance measures they will use

which may include some standardized performance measures related to their identified focus 

areas. For the purposes of this Notice, applicants should disregard the Performance 

Measures section of the Application Instructions.

D. Key Program Requirements

1. Match 

Social Innovation Fund intermediaries are required to match the entire amount of federal 

funds expended on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The match must be in non-federal cash; in-kind 

match is not allowable. At the time of their application, Social Innovation Fund applicants 

must demonstrate the ability to meet 50 percent of their first year cash match requirement. 

Subgrantees also will be required to match the full amount of the grant they expend from the 

intermediary on a dollar-for-dollar basis, in cash. CNCS is interested in applicants that 
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present both a strong capacity to raise additional dollars to be provided to subgrantees, and a 

serious commitment to share the fundraising burden of their subgrantees.

2. Subgranting 

By statute, intermediaries must select subgrantees on an open, competitive basis. This means 

that intermediaries must run an open competition that is available to eligible nonprofit 

organizations beyond their own existing grant portfolio or network. 

Intermediary applicants may propose subgrant funding strategies that are of two distinct 

types. In both cases, the intermediary will have defined a specific social problem it intends to 

address through its own Social Innovation Fund. Under one strategy, the intermediary will be 

seeking and investing in subgrantee organizations that have themselves developed and/or 

implemented innovative solutions to the specified problem. Under the other strategy, the 

intermediary will have identified the innovative solution and will be seeking subgrantees that 

are able to effectively implement that solution.

CNCS will require Social Innovation Fund grantees to submit for approval detailed plans for 

selecting subgrantees. The subgrantee selection plan will include the following: 

• The estimated number or range of subgrant awards that will be made

• Whether the subgrantees will be: 1) implementing more than one intervention across 

multiple subgrantees with separate evaluation plans, 2) implementing more than one 

intervention across multiple subgrantees in which all subgrantees are participating in the 

same evaluation, or 3) implementing the same intervention across all subgrantees in 

which all subgrantees are part of the same evaluation.

• The estimated range of subgrant award amounts, noting:

o How the grantee will ensure that nonprofits with preliminary levels of evidence 

receive less funding for scaling than nonprofits with higher levels of evidence.

o How the grantee will ensure subgrantees have the information they need, based on 

best practices and lessons learned, to develop adequate evaluation budgets, and 

outline such plans accordingly. 

o How the grantee will ensure that applicants have thoroughly addressed long-term 

sustainability and funding streams after SIF dollars have ended. 

• A description of: 

o How key subgrant eligibility criteria required by this Notice will be determined, 

particularly the level of evidence currently established for proposed subgrantee 

programs.

o How the intermediary will assess the subgrantee’s capacity to implement evaluation 

requirements.

o The proposed review and selection process.

o Who will review grant applications and how the process will ensure appropriate 

conflict of interest policies are in place.

Intermediaries may propose their own unique processes for selecting subgrantees, but their 

selection process must ensure that the following information is available to all potential 

applicants:
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• The desired characteristics and eligibility requirements of organizations the intermediary 

is seeking as subgrantees.

• How to obtain and submit an application.

• The selection criteria that will be considered in reviewing applications, including the 

relative percentages, weights, or other means used to distinguish among the criteria 

• Requirements for program growth and the evaluation of subgrantees that are selected.

• The evaluation strategy the intermediary intends to pursue, e.g. one evaluation for all 

subgrantees, an individual evaluation for each subgrantee, or a combination. This should 

also include information about the anticipated budget requirement for the evaluation, 

including what portion of the evaluation the intermediary expects to cover and what 

portion will be the responsibility of the subgrantee.

• If the grantee intends to implement one intervention across all subgrantees, the grantee 

must develop and submit a preliminary summary and outline of their proposed subgrantee 

evaluation plan (SEP), which documents the evaluation’s technical design and 

demonstrates how the plan will measure and increase the program model’s evidence base.

These plans must be approved by CNCS before implementation.

Subgrants are to be made in annual amounts over $100,000 in sufficient size and scope to 

enable the subgrantee to build its capacity to manage initiatives and sustain replication or 

expansion for the initiatives. Subgrants should be for a period of between three and five 

years. Social Innovation Fund intermediaries should award larger programmatic and scaling 

dollars to programs that show higher levels of evidence, as defined in section I.C.4. Evidence 

and Evaluation below, and have higher capacity. Applicants should note that their 

subgrantees will be required to provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds, in cash, for each 

year that they receive a Social Innovation Fund subgrant. 

Successful intermediary applicants will need to demonstrate plans for achieving the program 

goals and requirements through its subgrant programs. Experience with previous Social 

Innovation Fund grantees has shown that this can be challenging for subgrantees at the 

lowest level of funding. Therefore, if an applicant is proposing subgrants at the minimum 

level, the applicant will need to explain how they plan to ensure sufficient capacity for 

meeting program and evaluation requirements at the minimum level of funding. 

In order to maximize the impact of the Social Innovation Fund and ensure a diverse array of 

innovative grantees across the federal government, intermediary applicants should direct 

Social Innovation Fund funds toward innovations that will not receive grants for the same

activities from other federal innovation funds (e.g., “Investing in Innovation” at the federal 

Department of Education). Final Social Innovation Fund award decisions may take into 

consideration the outcomes of other federal competitions.

3. Growing the Impact of Program Models

One of the purposes of the Social Innovation Fund is to grow the impact of innovative 

community-based solutions that have compelling evidence of improving the lives of people 

in low-income communities throughout the United States. Further, the Social Innovation 

Fund is explicitly focused on high-performing organizations that have sufficient evidence of 

the effectiveness of their program model (detailed in section I.C.4. Evidence and Evaluation) 
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and the organizational capacity to justify at least limited growth as the organization 

progresses toward the “strong evidence building” stages. 

Subgrantees may grow the impact of their program model in several ways, including through 

expansion of existing program sites or replication of the program to new sites in different 

communities. However, all strategies should involve expanding the selected solutions so that 

more people in low-income communities derive substantial, measurable benefit. 

All intermediaries who receive funding will be required to propose and implement detailed 

plans for growing their reach during the period of their grant and ensuring fidelity to the 

program model. These plans will include at a minimum the following information:

• How growth is supported by existing evidence and connected to the subgrantee’s plan to 

improve its level of evidence 

• The estimated number of additional people expected to benefit from the program each 

year due to growth

• The strategies subgrantees will use to generate growth in the number of people reached 

through strategies such as expansions in current locations, replication of the program 

model to more locations or other methods that do not require physical expansion (for 

example, expanded use of technology, adoption of wide-scale policy mandates, etc.).

• The estimated number of and description of new populations and locations to be reached, 

and the strategies subgrantees will use to generate such growth 

• The services, including training and technical assistance, the intermediary will provide to 

subgrantees to facilitate the planned growth and ensure fidelity to the program model

• How the intermediary will track and assess actual growth of service capacity as measured 

compared to the estimates included in their plan.

While all subgrantees will be expected to demonstrate growth during their time in the Social 

Innovation Fund, CNCS expects that there will be a direct, positive relationship between the 

levels of growth that intermediaries propose for given subgrantees and the level of evidence 

the subgrantees possess at the time of their selection for funding. For example, a program 

that has strong evidence of impact would be expected to have a more ambitious growth plan 

than a program with preliminary evidence; we would not expect to see a plan for broad 

replication from a subgrantee with preliminary evidence. Likewise, programs with higher 

levels of evidence that have higher growth targets would receive larger funding awards. 

4. Evidence and Evaluation 

CNCS will select Social Innovation Fund intermediaries that have a track record of using 

evidence to select and invest in their grantees. In this Notice CNCS defines three tiers of 

evidence: preliminary, moderate, and strong. CNCS will select Social Innovation Fund 

intermediaries that propose to both fund program models with at least preliminary evidence 

of effectiveness and support further evaluation of those models in order to improve the level 

of evidence and develop greater understanding of what makes the program successful. 

Evaluation Requirements. The program models funded by Social Innovation Fund 

intermediaries must produce rigorous evaluative evidence that not only assesses 
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effectiveness, but also builds the existing evidence base for the intervention/model. 

Evaluations are expected to be conducted by third party and independent evaluation partners. 

Accordingly, it is the expectation of CNCS that each program model will achieve moderate 

or strong evidence of impact (as defined in this section) by the end of its three to five year 

subgrant period. Because of the rigor of such evaluation designs, program models with only 

early stages of preliminary evidence may not be appropriate candidates for subgrants through 

the Social Innovation Fund. Applicants at this stage must be able to demonstrate a 

compelling plan for how they can meet rigorous compliance standards and achieve moderate 

or higher levels of evidence. Please refer to the definition of promising models in section I. A. 

Purpose of Social Innovation Fund, Operating Model, for more information. 

Intermediaries and subgrantees are required to commit significant time and resources to 

ensure formal evaluations of each program model that receives Social Innovation Fund 

funding. As noted in section VI.F Continuation Funding Information and Requirements, 

successful development of the plans, including achieving CNCS approval, is a consideration 

for continued grant funding. 

Once selected, Social Innovation Fund intermediaries should expect to participate in and 

manage several activities to ensure the successful evaluation of models within their 

portfolios. These activities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop an overall portfolio evaluation strategy (PES) that reflects the key outcomes and 

levels of evidence their subgrantees are expected to achieve, and describe their contracted 

research partners, timetable, budget, and methodology for coordinating all stakeholders 

and required evaluation activities.; the PES will be reviewed by CNCS

• Develop individual subgrantee evaluation plan (SEP) for each funded intervention (which 

could be an overarching model or unique to each subgrantee) that documents the 

evaluations’ technical design and demonstrates how each plan will measure and increase 

the program model’s evidence base; these plans must be approved by CNCS before 

implementation 

• Provide any necessary capacity building and technical assistance to their subgrantees to 

ensure they are able to build their capacity to accomplish all Social Innovation Fundrelated evaluation requirements and continue to measure their program model’s impact 

into the future

• Ensure the implementation of individual subgrantee evaluation plans and report progress 

and results to CNCS

• Collaborate with CNCS to review and strengthen their strategies and plans and ensure 

appropriate implementation and reporting of each plan.

Use of Contracted Research Partners. CNCS expects that most intermediaries will choose to 

contract with a research partner and/or require their subgrantees to contract with a research 

partner to help with some or all of the following activities: 

• Determining the technical design of their evaluations plans for assessing program fidelity 

and impacts

• Implementing their CNCS-approved evaluation plans and reporting on the evidence 

collected 
16

• Conducting technical assistance for subgrantees to build their capacity to accomplish all 

Social Innovation Fund-related evaluation requirements and continue to measure their 

program model’s impact into the future.

CNCS strongly suggests applicants consider hiring a research partner, particularly if they do 

not have the capacity or skills within their own staff to meet evaluation requirements for the 

program.

Funding for Evaluation Activities. CNCS recognizes that rigorous evaluations are expensive 

and that nonprofits often are unfamiliar with these processes and costs because many funders 

do not make evaluations a priority. Given the central role that evaluation plays in the success 

of the Social Innovation Fund, please be advised that intermediaries and their subgrantees are 

expected to allocate appropriate resources to cover the many activities related to the 

evaluation of each program model’s effectiveness. Your application should specifically 

indicate your estimated costs related to evaluation. Refer to section VIII. A. Technical 

Assistance of this Notice for a link to evaluation tips, including considerations when 

budgeting for evaluation.

CNCS Role. CNCS is committed to supporting intermediaries in their efforts to increase the 

evidence of program effectiveness within their Social Innovation Fund portfolios. The 

agency will work closely with intermediaries to meet this goal by providing them with 

technical assistance on the design, implementation, monitoring and reporting of their 

subgrantee evaluation plans. All subgrantee evaluation plans proposed by intermediaries will 

require the approval of CNCS before implementation. CNCS sees this process of ongoing 

evaluation and knowledge building as a key aspect of the Social Innovation Fund that can 

improve grantee and subgrantee programs and also benefit other organizations throughout the 

nonprofit sector. 

Evidence Tiers. CNCS will use the following definitions of preliminary, moderate, and strong 

evidence recognizing that there are multiple levels of development within each tier. These 

definitions are consistent with those used by the Office of Management and Budget:

• Preliminary evidence means evidence that is based on a reasonable hypothesis supported 

by credible research findings. Thus, research that has yielded promising results for either 

the program model or a similar program model will meet CNCS’ criteria. Examples of 

research that meet the standards include: 1) outcome studies that track participants 

through a program and measure participants’ responses at the end of the program; and 2) 

third-party pre- and post-test research that determines whether participants have 

improved on an intended outcome. 

• Moderate evidence means evidence from previous studies on the program, the designs of 

which can support causal conclusions (i.e., studies with high internal validity) but have 

limited generalizability (i.e., moderate external validity). This also can include studies for 

which the reverse is true—studies that only support moderate causal conclusions but have 

broad general applicability. 
17

The following would constitute moderate evidence: (1) At least one well-designed and 

well-implemented experimental or quasi-experimental study supporting the effectiveness 

of the practice strategy, or program, with small sample sizes or other conditions of 

implementation or analysis that limit generalizability; (2) at least one well-designed and 

well-implemented experimental or quasi-experimental study that does not demonstrate 

equivalence between the intervention and comparison groups at program entry but that 

has no other major flaws related to internal validity; or (3) correlational research with 

strong statistical controls for selection bias and for discerning the influence of internal 

factors.

• Strong evidence means evidence from previous studies on the program, the designs of 

which can support causal conclusions (i.e., studies with high internal validity), and that, 

in total, include enough of the range of participants and settings to support scaling up to 

the state, regional, or national level (i.e., studies with high external validity). The 

following are examples of strong evidence: (1) More than one well-designed and wellimplemented experimental study or well-designed and well-implemented quasiexperimental study that supports the effectiveness of the practice, strategy, or program; or 

(2) one large, well-designed and well-implemented randomized controlled, multisite trial 

that supports the effectiveness of the practice, strategy, or program.

Of Note: CNCS sees the relationship between evidence and program growth as an 

iterative process. While subgrantees must have at least preliminary evidence of the 

effectiveness of their proposed program model in order to receive funding, CNCS 

recognizes that all programs move through stages in developing a greater body of 

evidence. Depending on the circumstances and the existing data about an intervention, 

different types of evaluation design or data collection could be appropriate. 

As a result, in order for each program model to achieve moderate or strong evidence of 

impact by the end of the three to five year subgrant period, CNCS expects that some 

models may require a set of evaluations to build their evidence-base during their grant. 

The agency will work with intermediaries to determine appropriate short-and-long term 

evaluation plans to meet this goal.

E. Relationship to Other Federal Evidence-Based Programs

Given that innovation funds currently exist in the Departments of Education, Health and 

Human Services, and Labor to invest specifically in evidence-based programs in education, 

employment and training system delivery, teen pregnancy prevention, home visiting, and 

health care delivery. CNCS does not intend to make Social Innovation Fund awards to 

programs in these areas unless they clearly propose a solution to an unmet need which cannot 

be funded through these other funding streams, as identified in consultation with these 

Departments. CNCS also intends to ensure the Social Innovation Fund is not simply adding 

dollars to existing initiatives. As such, we will prioritize efforts where SIF dollars can serve a 

unique and integral purpose to advance and accelerate the innovation. To learn more about 

key innovation and evidence initiatives at the Departments of Education, Health and Human 

Services, and Labor, please visit their websites: 
18

Department of Education 

• Investing in Innovation Fund: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html

Department of Health and Human Services

• Teen Pregnancy Prevention Tiered Evidence Initiative:

http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/oah-initiatives/teen_pregnancy/

http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/oah-initiatives/teen_pregnancy/db/

• Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Tiered Evidence Initiative:

http://homvee.acf.hhs.gov/

http://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/homevisiting/

• Employment Opportunity and Youth Development Research and Evaluation 

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre

• Health Care Innovation

http://innovation.cms.gov/

Department of Labor 

• Workforce Innovation Fund: http://www.doleta.gov/workforce_innovation/

• Office of Evaluation: http://www.dol.gov/asp/evaluation/AllStudies.htm

II. AWARD INFORMATION 

A. Estimated Available Funds

According to the FY 2014 Congressional Appropriations, $65.8 million is available for SIF 

grant awards this fiscal year. CNCS expects to provide the first three years of funding [at the 

time of the initial award] to all intermediaries, so long as they have demonstrated the capacity 

to meet SIF’s rigorous compliance and match raising standards for all three years. CNCS 

reserves the right to prioritize continuation grants. Based on recent experience and 

expressions of interest, CNCS anticipates that this Social Innovation Fund grant competition 

will be highly competitive.

Publication of this Notice does not obligate CNCS to award any specific number of grants or 

to obligate the entire amount of funding available.

B. Estimated Award Amount

Annual award amounts for the FY 2014 Social Innovation Fund grant competition will vary. 

Per statute, CNCS will make annual awards in the range of $1 million to $10 million per 

year. CNCS expects to make larger grants to intermediary organizations seeking subgrantees 

with moderate or strong evidence of effectiveness. As has occurred previously, CNCS may 

make awards that provide multiple years of operational funding. 
19

C. Project Period

The grant award covers a three to five year project period. Applicants’ project and evaluation 

plans should represent the full three to five year period they are requesting. As stated 

previously, CNCS expects to provide the first three years of funding at the time of the initial 

award to all intermediaries, so long as they have demonstrated the capacity to meet SIF’s 

rigorous compliance and match raising standards for all three years. Grantees are eligible for 

continuation funding in subsequent years contingent upon:

• Satisfactory performance, including making appropriate progress in advancing the 

evaluations and growth of subgrantees, that signals the intermediary is on track to 

achieve its approved objectives at the end of the grant

• Demonstrated capacity to manage the grant

• Compliance with grant requirements, including terms and conditions, reporting, and 

securing the required match

• Availability of Congressional appropriations.

Please see section VI.F Continuation Funding Information and Requirements for more 

information. 

D. Funding Instrument

The funding mechanism for Social Innovation Fund is a cooperative agreement, which 

provides for substantial involvement by CNCS with the grantee organizations 

(intermediaries) as the approved grant activities are implemented. The assigned CNCS 

program officer will confer with the grantee on a regular and frequent basis to develop and/or 

review service delivery and project status, including work plans, budgets, periodic reports, 

evaluations, etc. In particular CNCS anticipates having substantial involvement in: 

• Setting parameters for subgrantee selection

• Developing and approving subgrantee selection plans and incoming level of evidence 

associated with subgrantee intervention

• Developing, approving, and monitoring the implementation of subgrantee evaluation 

plans

• Developing and approving subgrantee growth plans

• Documenting and sharing lessons learned through a CNCS-sponsored learning 

community.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

This competition is open to existing grantmaking institutions or eligible partnerships. A 

grantmaking institution is an organization in existence at the time of the application that 

invests in nonprofit community organizations or programs through grants as an essential 

rather than a collateral means of fulfilling its mission and vision. The emphasis on 
20

grantmaking activities as a part of an organization’s mission should be evident in the 

applicants’ mission statement and promotional materials, and should be clearly reflected as a 

significant percentage of their annual operating budget. 

In keeping with this view, grantmaking institutions will generally:

• Conduct open or otherwise competitive programs to award grants to or make 

investments in a diverse portfolio of nonprofit community organizations, which may 

have included in-network organizations

• Negotiate specific grant requirements with nonprofit community organizations

• Oversee and monitoring the performance of grantees.

Eligibility has been expanded for the FY 2014 competition to include a wider range of 

organizations. In past years, grantmaking institutions that had a history of only making grants 

within an affiliated network (in-network only), were not considered eligible to compete for 

SIF funding if they did not meet a rather narrow definition of the term “existing grantmaking 

organization,” even if they were willing to open up their competitions. After several years of 

program experience, CNCS believes such organizations are well positioned to identify 

innovative, evidence-based solutions through a more open form of grantmaking and provide 

the strategic support, oversight, and technical assistance that is critical to success. 

Therefore, this year, in an effort to seek more innovation and impact, applications from 

primarily in-network only grantmaking institutions will be considered if they clearly and 

specifically propose to conduct open subgrant competitions that will involve investing in a 

diverse portfolio of out-of-network nonprofit community organizations, but which may 

propose to include a limited number of in-network investments that do not exceed 

approximately one-third of the grant dollars to be distributed. In all other respects, an innetwork grantmaking organization is required to meet the same eligibility requirements as 

other existing grantmaking institutions as set out below. 

A unit of government is not considered to be an existing grantmaking institution. A unit of 

general local government may participate in an eligible partnership, but cannot itself apply 

without an existing grantmaking institution partner. Other units of government may 

collaborate with an existing grantmaking institution or eligible partnership.

A university is also not considered an existing grantmaking institution for purposes of this 

Notice, but may collaborate with an existing grantmaking institution or an eligible 

partnership.

An eligible partnership is a formal relationship between an existing grantmaking institution 

(as defined above) and either an additional grantmaking institution, a State Commission on 

National and Community Service, or a chief executive officer of a unit of general local 

government where the partner organizations will share responsibilities under the award. In a 

cooperative agreement with a partnership, CNCS would expect to be dealing with each 

partner organization with some degree of independence concerning their collective 

responsibilities. For example, a partnership could include one organization that handles all 

aspects of a Social Innovation Fund program related to evaluation, while another 
21

organization handles all aspects related to finances and grant administration.

Other collaborations, which may be similar to consultant or contractor arrangements, in 

which an organization obtains access to needed competencies but remains fully responsible 

for performance of the cooperative agreement, will not be treated as partnerships for 

purposes of determining eligibility.

Organizations that have been convicted of a federal crime may not receive assistance 

described in this Notice. Pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an organization 

described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 501 (c)(4), 

that engages in lobbying activities is not eligible to apply.

Current Social Innovation Fund grantees may apply under this Notice. However, previous 

funding from CNCS or another federal agency is not a requisite to apply under this Notice. If 

a current Social Innovation Fund grantee applies, it must seek funding for a program that is 

distinct from the program currently being funded. An application from an existing grantee to 

expand a program currently supported by the Social Innovation Fund into different 

geographical areas will not be considered an application for a distinct program.

Applicants that do not meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline will be 

ineligible for review and consideration in this competition. 

For purposes of the Social Innovation Fund, nonprofit community organizations which

may receive subgrants will include:

• Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and

exempt from taxation under section 501(a); and

• Any entity or organization described in sections 170(c)(1) or (2) of the Internal

Revenue Code.

It should be noted that the types of organizations which can receive Social Innovation

Fund subgrants includes most charitable organizations, states, local governments (and

other political subdivisions), public schools, tribes, as well as certain faith-based

organizations and other educational institutions.

B. Matching Requirements 

FY 2014 Social Innovation Fund intermediary grantees are required to match their grant 

dollar-for-dollar. The match must be in cash from non-federal sources. Subgrantees will be 

required to provide the same match—dollar-for-dollar in cash—for every dollar they expend 

as well. Please note that federal rules apply to the federal funds awarded as well as to the 

match funds contributed by the grantee. For example, the cost of raising funds in order to 

meet the matching funds requirement is not an allowable cost under the OMB cost principles. 

At the time of application, Social Innovation Fund applicants must demonstrate the 

ability to meet 50 percent of their first year cash match requirement. 
22

The statute allows intermediaries serving a community that the intermediary can demonstrate 

is significantly philanthropically underserved to apply for a match reduction of up to 50% if 

it is having extreme difficulty raising match due to extreme circumstances. The match 

reduction waiver will only be granted in extraordinary circumstances. 

C. Other Requirements

1. Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and System for Award 

Management (SAM) 

Applications must include a DUNS number and an Employer Identification Number. The 

DUNS number does not replace an Employer Identification Number. 

You can get a DUNS number at no cost by calling the DUNS number request line at 

(866) 705-5711 or by applying online at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. Although the 

website indicates a 48-hour e-mail turnaround time on requests for DUNS numbers, we 

recommend you register at least 30 days before the application due date. 

All applicants must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM, 

www.sam.gov) and maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is 

complete and, should a grant be made, throughout the life of the award. Finalize a new 

registration or renew an existing one at least two weeks before the application deadline. 

This should allow you time to resolve any issues that may arise. 

If you do not comply with these requirements, you could become ineligible to receive an 

award. See the SAM Quick Guide for Grantees at: 

https://www.sam.gov/sam/transcript/SAM_Quick_Guide_Grants_Registrations-v1.6.pdf.

CNCS requires all entities that plan to apply for federal grant funds, that receive 

federal grant funds, or that receive subgrants directly from a federal grantee to:

• Be registered in the SAM before they submit an application

• Maintain an active SAM registration with current information while they have an 

application under consideration by CNCS and for their entire active award period, 

if any

• Provide its active DUNS number in each application it submits to CNCS.

CNCS is prohibited from making an award until an applicant has complied with these 

requirements. CNCS may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive an award 

if the intended recipient has not complied with these requirements at the time an award is 

ready to be made.

2. Requirements to be Compliant for Review

In order for an application to be reviewed, the applicant must:

a) Submit a budget that reflects a federal share of between $1 million and $10 million
23

b) Submit a budget that reflects a plan to distribute at least 80 percent of awarded federal 

funds to subgrantees. Note: for further information on this requirement, please see the 

Budget Instruction in the separate application instructions.

c) Demonstrate either cash-on-hand or commitments (or a combination thereof) toward 

meeting 50 percent of the required first year matching funds, based on the amount of 

grant funds requested at the time of submission. For example, a request of $1 million 

needs to be accompanied by documentation of $500,000 in cash on-hand or 

commitments at the time of application. Instructions for how to provide 

documentation of matching funds are provided in section IV. F. Submitting Match 

Verification Documentation. 

d) Declare its status as either a geographically-based or issue-based Social Innovation 

Fund that will focus on improving measurable outcomes. CNCS asks applicants to 

use a thematic approach in describing their proposed investments in community 

organizations. 

As established in section 198K of the NCSA, there are two basic operational models 

of Social Innovation Fund intermediaries. The first is a Social Innovation Fund that 

will operate in a single geographic location, and address one or more priority issues 

within that location. This model is referred to as a “geographically-based Social 

Innovation Fund.”

The second model is a Social Innovation Fund that will address a single priority issue 

area in multiple geographic locations. This model is referred to as an “issue-based

Social Innovation Fund.” CNCS will assess whether the application properly 

proposes goals and objectives as either a geographically-based or an issue-based 

Social Innovation Fund.

i. Geographically-Based Social Innovation Fund

To apply as a geographically-based Social Innovation Fund, the applicant must 

propose to focus on serving low-income communities within a specific local 

geographic area, and propose to focus on improving measurable outcomes 

related to one or more of the following priority issue areas:

• Youth Development 

• Economic Opportunity and/or

• Healthy Futures.

ii. Issue-Based Social Innovation Fund

To apply as an issue-based Social Innovation Fund, the applicant must propose 

to focus on addressing one of the following priority issue areas within multiple 

proposed target low-income communities in multiple geographic locations:

• Youth Development 

• Economic Opportunity or 

• Healthy Futures.

e) Submit an application in a timely manner as provided in this Notice; and

f) Submit an application that is complete, in that it contains all required elements and 

follows the instructions provided in this Notice.
24

3. Requirements to be Eligible for a Grant Award

In order to be eligible for an award, applicants must:

a) Be an existing grantmaking institution or an eligible partnership, as defined in section 

III.A. Eligible Applicants.

b) Have an evidence-based decision making strategy. 

Applicants must include information in their application that describes the ways they 

use evidence and evaluation to:

• Select and invest in subgrantees

• Measure the effectiveness of subgrantees

• Support, monitor, and assess the success of subgrantees’ growth 

• Achieve measurable outcomes.

Applicants also must have a well-articulated proposal to: 

• Select and grow subgrantee programs that have been shown to have at least 

preliminary evidence of effectiveness and

• Implement and/or oversee evaluations of all subgrantee program models to grow 

the evidence base for their funded interventions .

Plans may include collaborating with research organizations to carry out rigorous 

evaluation of subgrantees. 

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Address to Request Application Package

The Social Innovation Fund Notice and Application Instructions can be found online at: 

http://www.nationalservice.gov/build-your-capacity/grants/fundingopportunities/2014/social-innovation-fund-grants-fy-2014.

For further information or for a printed copy of related material, call (202) 606-3223 or email 

innovation@cns.gov. The TTY number: 800-833-3722. 

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

1. Application Content

Your application must provide a well-designed plan with a clear and compelling 

justification for receiving the requested funds. Reviewers will assess your application on 

the basis of your program design, organizational capability, and cost effectiveness and 

budget adequacy.

Your completed application must have the following components and must be submitted 

by the application deadline, as noted in section IV.C Submission Dates and Times:
25

• Standard Form 424 (SF-424) Face Sheet: This is automatically generated when you 

complete the data elements in the eGrants system. When you complete the application 

in eGrants, many of the fields will automatically be filled with information you 

entered during your registration process.

• Narratives

o Executive Summary: This is a brief description of your proposed program. The 

Executive Summaries of all compliant applications are published on the CNCS 

website following grant awards.

o Program Design

o Organizational Capability

o Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy

• Standard Form 424A Budget 

• Authorization, Assurances, and Certifications

• Performance Measures.

2. Page Limits

Do not exceed 45 double-spaced pages for your Narratives, including the Standard Form 

424 (SF-424), Executive Summary, and Program Narrative as the pages print out from 

eGrants. The Budget section and Performance Measures are not included in the page 

limit.

Please note that reviewers will be instructed to stop reading the Narrative section of 

the grant application after page 45. Reviewers will not consider material past the page 

limit, even if eGrants allows its submission. We strongly encourage you to print out your 

application from the “Review and Submit” page before you submit it, in order to make 

sure it is within the page limit. 

Do not submit supplementary material such as videos, brochures, letters of support, or 

any items not requested in this Notice. CNCS will not review or return them.

3. Submission in eGrants

You must submit your application electronically via eGrants, CNCS’s web-based 

application system (https://egrants.cns.gov/espan/main/login.jsp). We recommend that 

you create an eGrants account and begin your application at least three weeks before the 

deadline. You should draft your application as a word processing document, then copy 

and paste it into eGrants no more than 10 days before the deadline.

Contact the National Service Hotline at 800-942-2677 or via 

(https://questions.nationalservice.gov/app/ask_eg) if a problem arises when you create an 

account or prepare or submit your application. National Service Hotline hours are 

Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST. Be prepared to provide your 

application ID, organization’s name, and the Notice to which you are applying.

If technical issues will prevent you from submitting an application on time, please contact 

the National Service Hotline before the deadline to explain the technical issue and to get 
26

a ticket number. If the issue cannot be resolved by the deadline, you must continue 

working with the National Service Hotline to submit via eGrants.

If extenuating circumstances make it impossible for you to submit in eGrants, you may 

send a paper copy of your application to the address in section VII. Agency Contacts of 

this Notice via overnight carrier. Please use a non-U.S. Postal Service, in order to avoid 

security-related delays. All deadlines and requirements in this Notice also apply to 

paper applications. Paper applications must include a cover letter detailing the 

circumstances that make it impossible to submit via eGrants. CNCS does not accept 

applications submitted via fax or email.

C. Submission Date and Time

1. Notice of Intent to Apply

Although it is not required, CNCS strongly encourages you to submit a Notice of Intent 

to Apply. To do so, please state your intent to apply in a note to innovation@cns.gov by 

March 24, 2014. Please include the name of the applicant organization, address, contact 

person, and phone number in your Notice of Intent to Apply. The Notice of Intent to 

Apply helps CNCS plan an efficient application review process and allows CNCS to 

notify applicants directly if application materials are updated.

2. Application Submission Deadline

The application is due no later than April 22, 2014 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 

Applications must arrive at CNCS by the deadline in order to be considered (see section 

VI.B. Content and Form of Application Submission for more information). Applications 

received after the deadline will be determined non-compliant and therefore not eligible 

for review and consideration. CNCS reserves the right to extend the submission deadline 

and will post any extended deadline in eGrants.

3. Late Applications 

CNCS may consider an application after the deadline, but only if you submit an e-mail 

explaining the extenuating technical circumstance that caused the delay. CNCS will 

determine the admissibility of late applications on a case-by-case basis. However, please 

be advised that CNCS will not consider an advance request to submit a late application.

You must send the e-mail to LateApplications@cns.gov within the 24 hours immediately 

after the deadline. Communication with CNCS staff, including your program officer, is 

not a substitute for sending a letter to LateApplications@cns.gov. If technical issues 

prevented you from submitting an application on time, please include your eGrants 

National Service Hotline ticket number in your e-mail. You may get a ticket number by 

calling the National Service Hotline before the deadline and explaining the technical 

issues that prevented you from submitting your application on time. 

If extenuating circumstances make it impossible for you to submit in eGrants, you may 

send a paper copy of your application to the address in section VII. Agency Contacts of 

this Notice via overnight carrier. Please use a non-U.S. Postal Service to avoid security-
27

related delays. All deadlines and requirements in this Notice also apply to paper 

applications. Paper applications must include a cover letter detailing the circumstances 

that make it impossible to submit via eGrants. CNCS does not accept applications 

submitted via fax or email.

D. Intergovernmental Review

Applicants under this program are not subject to Executive Order 12372: Intergovernmental 

Review of Federal Programs.

E. Funding Restrictions

Cooperative agreements under this program are subject to the:

• Applicable Cost Principles under OMB Circulars A-21 (2 CFR part 220), A-122 (2 CFR 

part 230, or A-87 (2 CFR part 225)

• Uniform Administrative Requirements for grants under A-102 (45 CFR part 2541) or A110 (45 CFR 2543 or 2CFR part 21)

• Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) if an award goes to a for-profit organization.

See www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/circulars for further information on the Circular(s) that 

apply to your organization(s). Awards will also be subject to the law(s) under which the 

award is made (e.g., SAA), as well as specific terms and conditions established for 

cooperative agreements or defined in Provisions or Special Conditions attached to an 

award. If necessary, applicants will have an opportunity to negotiate conditions before they 

accept an award.

F. Submitting Match Verification Documentation

At the time of submission, applicants must demonstrate through a letter or other form of 

documentation that they have either cash-on-hand or commitments (or a combination 

thereof) toward meeting 50 percent of their first year matching funds, based on the amount of 

federal grant funds applied for. For example, a request of $1 million needs to be 

accompanied by documentation of $500,000 in cash on-hand or commitments at the time of 

application. Signed letters verifying match, as well as all other required documentation, can 

be sent via email to SIFApplication@cns.gov or via overnight carrier (non-U.S. Postal 

Service to avoid security-related delays in receiving mail from the U.S. Postal Service) to the 

following address:

Corporation for National and Community Service

ATTN: Office of Grants Policy and Operations/Social Innovation Fund Application

1201 New York Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20525

When submitting match verification by email, applicants should reference their application 

ID and organization name in the subject line of their email. Match verification, as well as all 

other documentation must be received by the application deadline. Submission of evidence of 

match by the application deadline is a compliance criterion. 
28

V. APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

A. Selection Criteria

Reviewers will assess the applications against the following Selection Criteria: Program 

Design, Organization Capability, and Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy. The weights 

assigned to each category are detailed in the following chart. Reviewers will assess 

application narratives against these Selection Criteria and weigh them accordingly.

Category Percentage Sub-Category Percentage

Program Design 45 Goals and Objectives 10

Description of Activities: Subgrantee 

Selection

5

Description of Activities: Proposal for 

Evaluation

15

Description of Activities: Proposal to 

Identify innovative, More Effective 

Solutions 

5

Description of Activities: Proposal for 

Growing Subgrantee Impact

10

Organizational 

Capability

40 History of Competitive Grantmaking 10

Experience Growing Program Impact

Evaluation Experience 15

Ability to Provide Program Support and 

Oversight, capable leadership and track 

record of success. 

15

Ability to Provide Financial Support and 

Oversight and Track record of success.

Strategy for Sustainability

Cost Effectiveness and 

Budget Adequacy 

15 Budget Justification 15

Description of Match Sources and 

Capacity

In assessing applications, reviewers will examine the degree to which the applicant clearly 

and convincingly responds to the criteria below.

Application Executive Summary
29

Applicants will be required to provide an Executive Summary of their applications. Executive 

Summaries will be used to determine compliance with requirements and eligibility for the 

competition, but will not be used by reviewers to assess the quality of applications.

1. Program Design (45%)

Please note the following definition of terms in this section:

• Applicants with a pre-identified intervention: The applicant is applying to scale the 

reach of impact of a specific, single evidence-based or evidence-informed 

intervention. 

• Applications without a pre-identified intervention: The applicant is applying to 

address a specific issue (or range of issues) but does not plan to select the evidencebased or informed intervention the subgrantees will implement. Rather the 

subgrantees will apply having selected their own evidence-based or informed 

intervention aligned with the grantee’s goals. 

a) Goals and Objectives

For All Applicants, reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Identifies themselves as either a geographically-based or an issue-based Social 

Innovation Fund as defined in Section III.C.2 Requirements to be Compliant 

for Review.

• Clearly identifies the target community or geographies that they will serve and 

the target issue(s) on which their programming will focus.

• Makes a persuasive case that they have identified an issue of critical national 

and/or local importance using statistical information for the need related to the 

issue area(s) identified in the target geographical area(s) listed.

• Demonstrates that solutions currently being implemented to address the 

selected issue or geography have not been proven to be effective, are not 

achieving outcomes at scale, or are too slow to respond.

• Makes a compelling case for their specific ability to successfully support the 

focus, goals, and approach they propose, including their track record and 

resources.

• Provides a clear, logical theory of change that outlines their investment 

approach and proposed outcomes 

• Clearly identifies specific measurable outcomes that will be achieved through 

their proposed program.

• Identifies the value-added activities, including technical assistance or other 

services that will be offered to subgrantees to support their success in 

achieving these outcomes.

• If applicable, clearly identifies how the proposed program addresses the 

funding priorities described in Section I.B. Funding Priorities.

• If the applicant is a current recipient of, or is under consideration for, other 

federal funding, clearly describes how the proposed SIF project is distinct 

from, or will supplement rather than duplicate, other federally funded projects.
30

For Applicants With a Pre-Identified Intervention, reviewers will assess the extent 

to which the applicant: 

• Demonstrates that their targeted innovations have at least “preliminary” 

evidence of results, are showing signs of effectiveness, and have the potential 

for greater scale. 

• Describes the pre-identified strategy, the existing level of evidence for the 

intervention, the intended goals, and this strategy is a “transformative,” 

“innovative approach” [as defined in the Overview section of this Notice]. 

For Applicants Without Pre-Identified Interventions, reviewers will assess the 

extent to which the applicant:

• Describes how the evidence-based or informed models and thus subgrantees 

will be selected and how current reviews of the landscape demonstrate that

there are adequate models with at least preliminary levels of evidence 

available with the potential to be “transformative” “innovative approach(es)” 

[as defined in the Overview section of this Notice].

b) Description of Activities

Subgrantee Selection

For All Applicants, reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant:

• Provides a clear profile of the type of subgrantee organization they hope to 

fund

• Provides a clear and comprehensive plan for carrying out a competitive 

subgrantee selection process, including the estimated number or range of 

subgrant awards that will be made; the estimated range of subgrant amounts; 

and the criteria that will be used to determine prospective subgrantees’ fit with 

the applicant’s theory of change and/or successfully contribute to its outcome 

measures; a general timeline or timeframe outlining when stages of the 

selection process would be completed. Note: the selection process must be 

completed within six to eight months of grant award.

• Presents a selection process that has a high likelihood of successfully 

identifying subgrantees that are high-performing as defined in the Operating 

Model section of this Notice, and are positioned to conduct evaluations.

For Applicants With a Pre-Identified Intervention, reviewers will assess the extent 

to which the applicant: 

• Makes a persuasive case for how it will select subgrantees who are well-suited 

to implement the pre-defined intervention.

For Applicants Without a Pre-Defined Intervention, reviewers will assess the 

extent to which the applicant: 

• Provides a clear articulation of how they will assess applicants for readiness 

and capacity to implement a rigorous evaluation plan that would achieve 

moderate or strong levels of evidence over a three to five year period 
31

• Provides a clear articulation of how they will assess applicants for readiness 

and capacity to implement program growth as a part of their participation in 

the Social Innovation Fund

• Adequately proposes a means of allocating grant awards so that larger sums 

are given to those subgrantees with higher levels of evidence to support the 

growth of their program impact.

Proposal for Evaluation

For All Applicants, reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Describes a reasonable evaluation strategy to ensure that funded program 

models will achieve at least moderate levels of evidence over their three to 

five year grant period.

• Explains how they will assess needs for and provide technical assistance to 

subgrantees as they design, implement, and monitor evaluations of their 

program models.

• If addressed, describes how they will work with an evaluation partner and 

what activities this partner will do to support the Social Innovation Fund 

portfolio. If not, describes the capacity and expertise of staff to successfully 

support the SIF portfolio.

• Describes an appropriate and detailed budget to support the cost of reasonable 

evaluation activities that will meet Social Innovation Fund evaluation 

requirements.

For Applicants With a Pre-Identified Intervention, reviewers will assess the extent 

to which the applicant: 

• Describes the proposed program model that will be evaluated and whether it 

has the potential to achieve at least a moderate level of evidence of 

effectiveness during the Social Innovation Fund grant period of three to five 

years. Note: In cases where applicants are applying with a pre-identified 

evidence-based intervention, CNCS will assess the level of evidence. 

For Applicants Without a Pre-Identified Intervention, reviewers will assess the 

extent to which the applicant: 

Describes examples of program models that will be evaluated, and whether these 

models have the potential to achieve at least moderate levels of evidence of 

effectiveness during their Social Innovation Fund grant period of three to five 

years.

Proposal to Identify Innovative, More Effective Solutions

For All Applicants, reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Describes the selected issue area being addressed, why the issue is a problem 

of national or local importance and why the existing solutions are not 

sufficient, or the gap in the research on effectiveness in tackling the issue or 

need. 
32

For Applicants With a Pre-Identified Intervention, reviewers will assess the extent 

to which the applicant: 

• Makes a persuasive case that the solutions it has identified (or will target) are 

innovative and potentially transformative, as described in the Overview of this 

Notice. 

For Applicants Without a Pre-Identified Intervention, reviewers will assess the 

extent to which the applicant: 

• Describes how it will attract and select solutions that are innovative and 

potentially transformative, as described in the Overview of this Notice. 

Proposal for Growing Subgrantee Impact

For All Applicants, reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Articulates their theory or approach to growing effective subgrantee program 

models in alignment with their overall theory of change.

• Provides an appropriate list of characteristics the applicant will use to assess 

subgrantee capacity for growth. 

• Includes a description of how evidence of effectiveness will be used to 

determine when or how a program is well-situated for growth.

• Describes their means of supporting subgrantee growth through technical 

assistance or other resources.

• Describes their plans to help subgrantees plan for strategic and effective 

growth that results in long-term sustainability for the expanded program long 

beyond the 3-5 year SIF grant period, including specific thoughts on the types 

of capital that will sustain growth. 

2. Organizational Capability (40%)

a) History of Competitive Grantmaking

Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant:

• Demonstrates experience selecting and awarding competitive grants to 

nonprofits.

• Demonstrates capacity to undertake the subgrant selection process outlined in 

their application. 

b) Experience Growing Program Impact

Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant:

• Describes adequate examples of past efforts supporting grantee program 

growth through replication or expansion.

• Describes adequate resources to support successful subgrantee growth as 

proposed.

• Proposes how best practices will be captured and shared, preferably based on 

successful past efforts.

c) Evaluation Experience 
33

Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant:

• Demonstrates experience in managing and supporting evaluations of program 

models they have funded in the past.

• Demonstrates the capacity to apply evidence/evaluation results to decisionmaking and investment strategies.

• Has experience influencing and supporting its grantees to use evidence to 

improve program performance.

• Demonstrates their staff’s capacity (or contracted capacity) to ensure 

successful evaluation of their subgrantees’ program models.

d) Ability to Provide Program Support and Oversight

Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Describes compelling examples of setting and implementing goals with its 

current and past grantees.

• Presents a qualified roster of staff members that have the experience and 

capacity to effectively implement the proposed program. This includes the 

involvement of management, board members, etc.

• Presents a compelling plan to provide assistance or support to build 

subgrantee capacity as needed.

• Describes experience operating and overseeing programs comparable to the 

ones proposed in the identified priority issue area(s) of activity, including 

specific examples of prior accomplishments and outcomes in these area(s).

• Describes a plan for developing subgrantee performance measurement

systems and using these to monitor and improve subgrantee performance 

• Describes experience monitoring subgrantees for compliance against 

programmatic requirements, as well as a sufficient plan monitoring new 

Social Innovation Fund grantees.

• Proposes an approach to hold both subgrantees and themselves accountable 

for meeting program goals.

e) Ability to Provide Financial Support and Oversight

Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Provides a compelling case that they have the experience and staff capacity to 

successfully manage the proposed Social Innovation Fund grant program at 

both the intermediary and subgrantee level from a fiscal perspective.

• Describes a staffing plan that engages staff members with sufficient capacity 

and experience to be effective and compliant.

• Describes sufficient plans for ensuring compliance with federal guidelines at 

the intermediary and subgrantee level.

• (If new to federal funding) Provides adequate evidence that they have the 

means and plan to acquire necessary capacity to ensure compliance.

• Demonstrates that the grant award would generate additional or new private 
34

sector funds to meet match requirement.

• Demonstrates a strong capacity to raise additional dollars, beyond 

intermediary match, to provide to subgrantees, if needed, and a serious 

commitment to share the fundraising burden of their subgrantees.

f) Strategy for Sustainability

Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Demonstrates commitment to continue the investment priorities articulated in 

this application beyond the life of the grant.

• Describes a successful strategy for ensuring subgrantees are positioned to 

continue evaluation and sustain program growth beyond the grant lifecycle.

3. Cost Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy (15%)

a) Budget Justification

Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Proposes a reasonable and justifiable budget that will support the capacity 

necessary to achieve desired outputs and outcomes.

• Presents a budget adequate to successfully support program activities, 

especially in regard to evaluation, supporting subgrantee program growth, and 

running a successful subgrantee selection process.

• Demonstrates how the program has or will obtain diverse non-federal 

resources for program implementation and sustainability.

• (If applicable) Makes a compelling case for higher program costs due to an 

intention to make subgrants in areas that are significantly philanthropically 

underserved.

• (If applicable) Explains why, if awarded, they could not meet match 

requirements unless they apply for and are granted a match reduction (up to 

50 percent). Also describes how the community they are serving is 

significantly philanthropically underserved as described previously in this 

Notice. CNCS expects to grant match waivers only in extraordinary 

circumstances.

b) Description of Match Sources and Capacity

Reviewers will assess the extent to which the applicant: 

• Presents a compelling plan for securing the total match commitment for their 

Social Innovation Fund program.

• Describes adequate plans or efforts to assist subgrantees to secure their 

required match.

4. Additional Balancing Characteristics and Priorities that will be Considered 

During the Review Process

In selecting applicants to receive awards under this Notice, CNCS will assess the 

criteria listed above but will also take balancing criteria, such as geographic and 
35

economic factors, and optional funding priorities into consideration. While there are 

no points assigned for addressing one or more of the optional funding priorities, high 

scoring applications that address a priority are more likely to be recommended for 

funding than those that do not. 

CNCS staff will assess to what extent the applicant addresses the following optional 

funding priorities. Applicants that plan to focus on these funding priorities should 

reflect this in their application narrative.

• Describes a program design that targets organizations leveraging a Collective 

Impact approach as described in the Funding Priorities section of this Notice. 

• Describes a program design that targets organizations that plan to serve at least 

one of the following types of beneficiaries as described in the Funding Priorities 

section of this Notice:

o Opportunity Youth

o Traditionally Underserved and Underrepresented Geographic Areas and 

Populations 

o Presidential Initiatives to Expand Access to Opportunity

B. Review and Selection Process

The assessment of applications involves a wide range of considerations. CNCS will engage 

External and Internal (Staff) Reviewers with relevant knowledge and expertise in social 

innovation, philanthropy, evidence-based solutions, non-profit evaluation, scale, collective 

impact, opportunity youth, healthy futures, economic opportunity and youth development to 

provide insight and input on the eligible applications. 

1. Selection Factors

The review and selection process is designed to:

• Identify outstanding eligible applications that demonstrate:

o High alignment with the Selection Criteria 

o Alignment with priorities identified in section I.B Funding Priorities of this 

Notice

o Exemplary track record of administrative operations and programmatic 

success and

o Experience with and plans for subgrantee evaluation proposals that will build 

the level of evidence of effectiveness for each implemented intervention or 

program design

• Compile a balanced portfolio based on the following characteristics: 

o Geographic representation: As described in the Section I.B Funding Priorities

of this Notice

o Focus Area representation 

o Fidelity to innovative models, evidence-based approaches and rigorous 

evaluation and strategic growth to new populations and locations.

2. Stages in the Review and Selection Process

a) Compliance Review
36

CNCS staff will review all applications to determine compliance with the 

eligibility requirements identified in section III.A. Eligible Applicants and the 

deadline and completeness requirements identified in section IV. Application and 

Submission Information. The compliance review does not include reading the 

entire application. Applications that do not meet all compliance criteria will not 

be considered. 

In order to be compliant and advance to the application assessment, an applicant 

must: 

• Be an eligible organization

• Submit an application by the submission deadline

• Submit an application that is complete, in that it contains all required elements 

and follows the instructions provided in this Notice (section IV.B. Content and 

Form of Application Submission)

• Identify itself as either issue-based or geographic-based

• Submit a budget that reflects a federal share of between $1 million and $10

million

• Submit a budget that reflects a plan to distribute at least 80 percent of awarded

federal funds to subgrantees (note: for further information on this requirement, 

please see the Budget Instruction in the separate application instructions) 

• Demonstrate either cash-on-hand or commitments (or a combination thereof) 

toward meeting 50 percent of the required first year matching funds, based on 

the amount of grant funds requested.

b) Expert Review

Expert reviewers will assess applications based on the Program Design, 

Organizational Capability, and Cost Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy selection 

criteria. Each application will be reviewed by at least three expert reviewers. 

Reviewers will be recruited and selected on the basis of demonstrated expertise in 

social innovation, growing the impact of successful programs, nonprofit 

management, program evaluation and/or the focus areas. All expert reviewers are 

screened for conflicts of interest.

c) Post-Expert Review Quality Control 

After the expert review process is complete, CNCS staff will review the results 

for fairness and consistency. At this stage, some applications may be selected for a 

Post-Expert Review Quality Control assessment. This additional level of 

application review will be done by a review panel of External Reviewers who will 

assess the applications for which significant panel scoring anomalies were 

identified.

d) Internal (Staff) Review

CNCS staff will assess the applications based on the published Selection Criteria, 

particularly focusing on applicants’ capacity to successfully implement their 

proposed program in accordance with Social Innovation Fund requirements, 

strength of community relationships and collaborations, opportunity for scale, 
37

potential to impact public discussion, and rigor and sophistication of evidence and 

evaluation. Based on results from the initial review process and the Post External 

Review Quality Control, as well as the consideration of the priorities and 

selection factors, CNCS staff will decide which applications advance to Internal 

(Staff) Review.

e) Risk Assessment Evaluation

CNCS staff will evaluate the risks to the program posed by each applicant, 

including conducting due diligence to ensure an applicant’s ability to manage 

federal funds. This evaluation is in addition to the evaluation of the applicant’s 

eligibility and the quality of its application, and results from this evaluation will 

inform funding decisions. 

If CNCS determines that an award will be made, special conditions that 

correspond to the degree of risk assessed may be applied to the award. 

In evaluating risks, CNCS may consider the following: 

• Financial stability

• Quality of management systems and ability to meet the management standards 

prescribed in applicable OMB Guidance

• Applicant’s record in managing previous CNCS awards, cooperative 

agreements, or procurement awards, including: 

o timeliness of compliance with applicable reporting requirements

o if applicable, the extent to which any previously awarded amounts will 

be expended prior to future awards

• Information available through OMB-designated repositories of governmentwide eligibility qualification or financial integrity information, such as:

o Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System 

(FAPIIS)

o Duns and Bradstreet

o “Do Not Pay”

• Reports and findings from single audits performed under OMB Circular A133 and findings of any other available audits

• IRS Tax Form 990

• Applicant organization’s annual report

• Publicly available information, including information from the applicant 

organization's website

• Applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other 

requirements imposed on award recipients.

f) Clarification Process

Following the review and selection process and risk assessment evaluation, CNCS 

might ask some applicants to provide clarifying information. CNCS staff uses 

clarifying information to inform funding recommendations. A request for 

clarification does not guarantee a grant award. If an organization does not respond 

by the deadline to a request for clarification, CNCS will remove its applications 
38

from consideration. Be prepared to provide documentation of eligibility criteria 

and other support documentation described in the narrative. CNCS staff may 

conduct a site visit inspection, as appropriate.

g) Program Staff Recommendation 

CNCS staff will recommend applications for selection based on the results of the 

initial review, Post Review Quality Control, Risk Assessment Evaluation, 

Applicant Clarifications, and the priorities and selection factors stated in this 

Notice.

h) Selection for Funding

CNCS seeks a diversified portfolio. The Chief Executive Officer or designee will 

select the final portfolio based on the staff recommendations, priorities, and 

selection criteria.

CNCS reserves the right to change the review and selection process depending on the 

number of applications received or extenuating circumstances.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

CNCS anticipates announcing the results of this competition in August, 2014. 

Successful applicants will receive an official notification that their application was 

selected for an award. This notification is not an authorization to begin grant 

activities. The Notice of Grant Award signed by the grant officer (or equivalent) is the 

authorizing document for grant activities, and will be sent at a later date. 

Unsuccessful applicants will receive a notification that their application was not 

recommended for funding.

4. Feedback to Applicants 

Following grant awards, compliant applicants will receive summary comments from 

the Expert Review. This feedback will be based on the review of the original 

application and will not reflect information that may have been provided during 

clarification.

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notices

CNCS will make awards following the grantee selection announcement. CNCS anticipates 

the awards will be issued in August, 2014. 

CNCS is not obligated to make any awards as a result of this Notice.

An awardee may not expend federal grant funds until the start of the Project Period identified 

on the Notice of Grant Award. 
39

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 

The Notice of Grant Award will be subject to and incorporate the requirements of section 

198K of the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as well as other applicable 

sections of the Act. The Notice of Grant Award will also incorporate the approved 

application and budget as part of the binding commitments under any cooperative agreement. 

Awardees will be subject to the following (as applicable):

• 2 CFR Part 175: Award term for trafficking in persons

• 2 CFR Parts 180 and 2200: Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension

• 2 CFR Part 215 and 45 CFR Part 2543: Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants 

and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit 

Organizations (OMB Circular A-110)

• 2 CFR Part 220: Cost Principles for Educational Institutions (OMB Circular A-21)

• 2 CFR Part 225: Cost Principles for State, Local and Tribal Governments (OMB Circular 

A-87)

• 2 CFR Part 230: Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations (OMB Circular A-122)

• 45 CFR Part 2541: Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative 

Agreements to State and Local Governments

• 45 CFR Part 2545: Government-wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Financial 

Assistance)

• 45 CFR Part 2555: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or 

Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance

• The Single Audit Act (31 U.S.C. Chapter 75) and OMB Circular A-133, Audits of States, 

Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations 

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/a133/a133_revised_2007.pdf)

C. Use of Material

To ensure that materials generated with CNCS funding are available to the public and readily 

accessible to grantees and non-grantees, CNCS reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and 

irrevocable right to obtain, use, modify, reproduce, publish, or disseminate publications and 

materials produced under the award, including data, and to authorize others to do so (45 CFR 

§§ 2543.36; 2541.30).

D. Reporting Requirements

Grantees are required to provide quarterly or bi-annual progress reports and bi-annual 

financial reports through eGrants, CNCS’s web-based grants management system. All 

grantees must provide quarterly expense reports through the Payment Management System 

(PMS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Evaluation reports (interim and final) outlined in approved Subgrantee Evaluation Plans will 

be submitted to CNCS for review. Final evaluation reports will be made available to the 
40

public.

In addition, at the end of the grant period, grantees must submit final financial and progress 

reports that are cumulative over the entire award period and consistent with the close-out 

requirements of CNCS’s Office of Grants Management. The final reports are due 90 days 

after the end of the agreement. 

Award recipients will be required to report at (www.FSRS.gov) on all subawards over 

$25,000, and may be required to report on executive compensation for the recipient 

organization and its subgrantees. Grantees and subgrantees must have the necessary systems 

in place to collect and report this information. See 2 C.F.R. Part 170 (2 CFR Part 170) for 

more information and to determine how these requirements apply. 

While applications will not be evaluated on these criteria, grantees will be expected to have 

data collection and data management policies and practices that provide reasonable assurance 

that they are giving CNCS high quality performance measure data. At a minimum, grantees 

should have policies and practices that address the following five aspects of data quality:

• The data measures what it intends to measure

• The data reported is complete

• The grantee collects data in a consistent manner

• The grantee takes steps to correct data errors

• The grantee actively reviews data before submission.

In addition, CNCS expects intermediaries to hold subgrantees accountable for their progress 

against agreed-upon indicators of success. The intermediaries will be asked to report 

subgrantee performance information to CNCS. As part of knowledge collection and 

dissemination efforts, all or a portion of reports submitted may be made available to the 

public. 

E. Other Responsibilities Under the Cooperative Agreement

CNCS will require Social Innovation Fund grantees to develop detailed plans for selecting 

subgrantees and for evaluating their funded interventions. These plans will be reviewed and 

approved by CNCS. Grantees also will develop final detailed plans for growing subgrantee 

program impact that will be reviewed and approved by CNCS. 

Subgrantee Selection Plan

The subgrantee selection plan will include the following: 

• The estimated number or range of subgrant awards that will be made

• The estimated range of subgrant award amounts

• A description of: 

o How key subgrant eligibility criteria required by the Statute will be determined, 

particularly the level of evidence currently established for proposed subgrantee 

programs

o The proposed review and selection process
41

o Who will review grant applications and how the process will ensure appropriate 

conflict of interest policies are in place.

Subgrant eligibility criteria include at a minimum:

• A description of the initiative the community organization plans to replicate or expand, 

and how the initiative relates to the issue area(s) identified by the intermediary 

• Data on the measurable outcomes the community organization has improved, and 

information on the measurable outcomes the community organization seeks to improve 

by replicating or expanding a proven initiative or supporting a new initiative, which shall 

be among the measurable outcomes that the eligible entity identified in the eligible 

entity’s application, in accordance with subsection 

• An identification of the community in which the community organization proposes to 

operate

• A description of the evidence-based decision making strategies the community 

organization uses to improve the measurable outcomes, including—

o A description of how the community organization uses data to analyze and improve 

its initiatives

o Specific evidence of how the community organization will meet the requirements for 

providing matching funds

o A description of how the community organization will sustain the replicated or 

expanded initiative after the conclusion of the subgrant period and

o Any other information the intermediary may require.

Portfolio Evaluation Strategy and Subgrantee Evaluation Plans

The evaluation strategy and individual subgrantee evaluation plans will address key 

questions, such as the following:

• What are the specific questions the evaluation(s) intend(s) to answer? 

• How will fidelity of implementation be assessed and analyzed?

• What type of impact research design(s) (e.g., randomized control trial, quasiexperimental) do you hope to conduct? Why is this evaluation design appropriate for the 

program’s stage of development, and what useful information do you hope to gain? How 

will the proposed research designs achieve the moderate or strong level of evidence over 

three to five years? 

• What is the timeline and estimated budget for the evaluation(s)?

• Who will conduct the evaluation(s) and how will the process you will employ maintain 

independence and ensure high quality reports?

• How will you ensure benchmarks and baselines?

• What is your plan to publically share progress along the way?

Plan for Growing Subgrantee Program Impact

The plan for growing subgrantee program impact will document each intermediary’s 

approach and goals for subgrantee growth including: 

• Existing evidence that supports the plan for growing impact

• How growth is connected to the subgrantees’ plan to improve its level of evidence;

• The estimated number of additional people expected to benefit from the program each 
42

year due to growth

• Which specific new locations or populations will be reached

• The strategies subgrantees will utilize to generate growth in the number of people 

reached, e.g., through expansions in current locations, replication of the program model 

to additional locations or other methods that do not require physical expansion (e.g. 

expanded use of technology, adoption of wide-scale policy mandates, etc.)

• The services, including training and technical assistance, the intermediary will provide to 

subgrantees to facilitate the planned growth and

• How the intermediary will track and assess actual growth of impact as measured 

compared to the estimates included in their plan.

SIF intermediaries also must:

• Identify and document effective practices and lessons learned in order to share those 

lessons widely

• Participate in a Social Innovation Fund learning community that will work 

collaboratively to capture and share lessons and insights within the network and social 

sector to inform the work of the larger philanthropic, nonprofit, and public sectors

• Meet as necessary with their CNCS program officer, or other staff or consultants

• Provide ongoing information about and access to subgrantees and match funders

• Encourage subgrantees and match funders to provide information about program progress 

and to participate in SIF network events and conversations 

• Require attendance from senior-level leadership and SIF project staff at annual meeting

• Provide copies of intermediate and final evaluation findings to CNCS before making

those findings public.

F. Continuation Funding Information and Requirements

As mentioned in section II.C. Award Information, CNCS will require all Social Innovation 

Fund grantees to participate in a continuation process in order to receive funding for 

activities in years 2 through 5. Funding is contingent upon appropriations. 

Grantees will submit a continuation request in response to the review criteria below. In 

addition to the continuation submission, the review will also be based on progress reports, the 

federal financial report (FFR), Subgrantee Evaluation Plans (SEPs), Scaling Plans, and 

CNCS staff knowledge of the grant program. To be approved for continued funding, grantees 

must demonstrate satisfactory performance with respect to key program goals and 

requirements, as well as compliance with the terms and conditions of the grant. The review 

criteria are:

1. Subgrantee Selection and Continuation

a) Grantee has successfully completed its subgrantee selection process in alignment with 

the approved subgrantee selection plan, including ensuring that all subgrantees had at 

least preliminary levels of evidence

b) Grantee has successfully completed its subgrantee continuation review process and 

made decisions based on subgrantee performance, spending, and progress towards 
43

evaluation goals (as applicable)

c) Grantee has a reasonable plan for use of any funds recouped through the subgrantee 

continuation review process (as applicable)

2. Program Evaluation

a) Grantee has secured (or is making sufficient progress towards securing) approval of 

its subgrantee evaluation plans

b) Grantee is in compliance with the evaluation requirement outlined in its governing 

Notice: 

i. 2010 Grantees: Must identify the existing level of evidence for each 

intervention/program model being implemented and build on that level of 

evidence, reaching moderate or strong whenever possible 

ii. 2011 Grantees and beyond: Must propose evaluation plans for SIF-funded 

interventions/program models that will reach moderate or strong levels of 

evidence of effectiveness by the end of the three or five year grant period 

c) Grantee demonstrates adequate progress towards subgrantee evaluation plan 

implementation, satisfactorily addressing challenges where they have occurred 

3. Growing Subgrantee Impact

a) Grantee has an approved scaling plan

b) Grantee has made appropriate progress towards its goals for scaling or replicating 

subgrantees, or otherwise building their capacity for growth

4. Ensuring and Maintaining Compliance with Grant Requirements and Laws

a) Grantee has provided adequate training to subgrantees on grant requirements

b) Grantee is adequately overseeing and monitoring its subgrantees

c) Grantee has effectively utilized (or ensured the utilization of) grant funds at the 

grantee and subgrantee level 

d) Grantee and subgrantee are on track to meeting their match requirements on an 

annual basis 

e) Grantee has taken appropriate action in response to subgrantee non-compliance (e.g., 

not raising the required annual match)

f) Grantee has communicated program implementation challenges with its program 

officer and has adequately addressed them 

g) Grantee has been responsive to CNCS requests for information including timely 

submission of financial, evaluation and progress reports, Subgrantee Evaluation Plans 

and continuation applications

5. Proposed Changes to the Program Plan and Budget

a) Grantee has presented reasonable justification for proposed changes to the program 

plan or budget

Grantees will be held accountable for meeting these expectations and, likewise should have 

processes in place to assess and monitor their subgrantees’ progress towards these 

expectations. Should a subgrantee or grantee fail to meet these expectations, consequences 

will ensue and may include the return of grant or subgrantee funds or reduction and/or refusal 

of future annual awards. 
44

VII. Agency Contacts

The Notice and Application Instructions are online available at

http://www.nationalservice.gov/build-your-capacity/grants/funding-opportunities.

The TTY number is 800-833-3722.

For more information or a printed copy of related material(s), call (202) 606-3223 or send a note 

to innovation@cns.gov. 

For technical questions and problems with the eGrants system, call the National Service Hotline 

at 800-942-2677. National Service Hotline hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 

8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can also use this link: https://questions.nationalservice.gov/app/ask 

for questions. Be prepared to provide the application ID, organization’s name, and the name of 

the Notice to which you are applying. 

The mailing address for submitting application material is:

Corporation for National and Community Service 

ATT: Office of Grants Policy and Operations/Social Innovation Fund Application 

1201 New York Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20525

VIII. Other Information 

A. Technical Assistance

CNCS will host technical assistance calls and/or workshops to answer questions about the 

funding opportunity and about eGrants and strongly encourages all applicants to participate 

in these sessions. The schedule of calls and call-in information will be posted on CNCS’s 

website: http://www.nationalservice.gov/build-your-capacity/grants/funding-opportunities.

B. Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

For more information regarding the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, please go to: 

http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/09_0331_recovery_summary.pdf.

C. Re-Focusing of Funding

CNCS reserves the right to re-focus program dollars in the event of disaster or other 

compelling needs for service.