The release of the final NOFA followed a one-month public comment period that generated over 200 public comments from a broad array of stakeholders, including potential intermediaries, nonprofit organizations and experts with deep experience in grantmaking, social change, evaluation, replication and expansion.

“The input of the nonprofit and philanthropic communities has greatly improved the final product that we’re publishing today,” said Stephen Goldsmith, the Chair of the Corporation’s Board of Directors. “This is a key first step toward providing the financial capital and the ideas to focus public and private resources on what works, so our nation can make dramatic progress on key social challenges.”

• A lowering of the minimum grant award to $1 million from $5 million in the draft NOFA.

This change will enable a broader pool of intermediaries to apply, including grantmakers working in rural areas or states with less philanthropic resources.

• The elimination of an explicit preference for intermediaries that have already selected their subgrantees at the time of application.

This change will ensure that a broader pool of effective nonprofit community organizations have a chance to access SIF funding and work in partnership with SIF intermediaries. It will also increase the quality of the subgrantees selected, as intermediaries will not rush to complete their processes by the application deadline.

The final NOFA retains strict criteria for successful intermediaries. Successful intermediary applicants will have:

• A strong track record of using rigorous evidence to select, invest in, support, and monitor the replication and expansion of their subgrantees;
• The capacity to conduct a competitive process for selecting innovative nonprofit community organizations with effective and potentially transformative approaches;
• Expertise in one or more priority issue areas; and
• Deep and broad relationships with stakeholders in one or more priority issue areas and and/or specific geographic regions.