Smith Announces Grant to Friends of the Children Seattle
Washington, D.C. – The Corporation for National and Community Service Social Innovation Fund is granting $1.2 million total over four years to Friends of the Children Seattle. The Social Innovation Fund identifies and supports innovative community-based solutions that have compelling evidence of improving the lives of people in low-income communities throughout the United States.
February 23, 2017
“I want to congratulate Friends of the Children (FOTC) for their tireless work towards breaking the cycle of generational poverty through exemplary community work to help our region’s most vulnerable populations,” said Congressman Adam Smith. “The Corporation for National and Community Service has recognized the critical services FOTC offers, and has chosen to support FOTC as they continue to invest in our children’s future through programs like their One Child at a Time Expansion Project. Many of the students served by FOTC receive reduced price lunch, have parents who are incarcerated, were born to a teen parent, or are living within the foster care system. Nonprofits like FOTC help to ensure a brighter future for our youth.”
The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) employs advanced metrics to measure the effectiveness of the programs it provides funds to, in order to ensure that the nonprofits are constantly growing and changing to adapt to changing community issues. FOTC Seattle was selected in recognition that they have built positive relationships with key partners in the local schools and with local child welfare offices. In its 16 years, FOTC, has established a proven record of responding to the unique issues of the 9th district’s at-risk youth.
The SIF award will support FOTC Seattle in their goal to double the number of children served over the next four years, an increase of 128 youth. FOTC Seattle will enroll 32 youth each of the four years of the grant award: Half of those youth each year will be selected from the foster care system, and half will be kindergarteners with the highest number of risk factors coming from high poverty schools.