OMNI Institute’s
Center for Social Investment
The Center for Social Investment rigorously measures the impact of innovative funding models.
In many parts of the social sector, people are trying new funding models to create positive impacts for people and communities. From direct cash assistance to impact investing and the shift towards trust-based philanthropy, funders are searching for new ways to leverage capital to drive social outcomes.
Innovative funding approaches require rigorous evaluation methods to demonstrate meaningful impact and support sustaining investments in these promising but often untested models. In the absence of clear and valid data for funders to understand impact, interest and faith in these approaches may falter and undermine the movement to diversify and expand investments in social change efforts.
Drawing on OMNI’s 40+ years of experience, the Center for Social Investment provides social scientific expertise and thought partnership to help changemakers drive financial investments toward positive social change.
Our Focus Areas
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Impact Investing
When a social objective is paired with an opportunity for financial return, critically assessing progress towards that social objective is part of understanding success. And we believe that impact investors should understand the social impact of their investments. The Center for Social Investment uses social science methods to identify appropriate and program-relevant outcomes and metrics for impact investment deals, supports investees in collecting data against those metrics, and analyzes progress over time during the life of the investment. We’ve designed and evaluated impact metrics for outcomes-based financing deals focused on educational attainment (including baccalaureate and upskilling programs), employment, housing, and financial security.
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Social Return on Investment
High-quality Social Return on Investment (SROI) models can help deepen our understanding of social impact. The Center for Social Investment conducts rigorous SROI calculations that translate social impact into dollars-and-cents to help investors, funders, and the communities understand costs and benefits within a financial framework. Our approach goes beyond superficial methods of attaching dollars to outcomes to provide robust estimates of SROI. We’ve quantified the economic benefits of family supportive services; investments in substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery initiatives; entrepreneurship for historically marginalized communities; and fiscal sponsorship for mission-driven initiatives.
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Trust-Based Philanthropy
Evaluation is integral to philanthropic strategies that reimagine the relationship between funders and communities to shift power and decision-making. While some suggest that a trust-based approach is incompatible with evaluation, we see things differently. Trust-based evaluation is equally as important as trust-based philanthropy, and answering fundamental questions about how these approaches drive change (what works, when does it work, and how does it work) is critical. The Center for Social Investment partners with foundations to inform and refine trust-based philanthropic strategies. We’ve conducted a landscape analysis to inform a place-based grant-making strategy that’s responsive to community assets and needs, and we’ve co-created a prospective evaluation of collective impact for direct service and policy funding initiatives.
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Direct Cash Assistance
There is much yet to learn about direct cash assistance as the social strategy. Once considered radical before the COVID-19 pandemic, these models have gained momentum and investment in communities across the US. We are dedicated to building a portfolio of evidence about when, how, and for whom direct cash assistance works. The Center for Social Investment designs, conducts, and shares findings from mixed-methods evaluations of direct cash assistance programs. We’ve supported implementation and evaluated direct cash assistance programs for individuals without U.S. documentation, family, friends, and neighbors (FFN) childcare providers, those with low income, and those directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Examples of Our Work
The Center for Social Investment provides research, evaluation, and impact strategy services to change-makers who use innovative approaches to invest in positive social change. Our services are customized to meet each client in their life-cycle - from planning and implementation through evaluation and replication. Check out some of our recent work below to learn more.
IMPACT INVESTING
Evaluation and Technical Assistance Supporting NPX’s Innovative Impact Financing Model
The Center for Social Investment at OMNI Institute conducts evaluations for a portfolio of unique impact investments, and since 2020 OMNI has provided independent evaluation expertise to NPX, Inc. to inform funding for the organization’s outcomes-based financing model. By co-creating meaningful metrics, implementing rigorous data verification processes, and conducting regular audits, OMNI ensures that the funding model in action is both transparent and accountable and enables funded entities to demonstrate tangible results.
SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT
The ROI of Two Family Resource Centers to the Child Welfare System
Funded by Casey Family Programs, OMNI partnered with the National Family Support Network evaluate the return on investment of two Family Resource Centers to the child welfare system: every $1 invested in a Family Resource Center in Orange County, California, resulted in $3.65 of savings for the child welfare system, and every $1 invested in a Family Resource Center in Teller County, Colorado, resulted in $2.92 of savings for the child welfare system. Listen to an episode exploring this work with Dr. Sara Bayless on the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect’s podcast Beyond the Jargon.
TRUST-BASED PHILANTHROPY
Wend Collective Landscape Scan
OMNI conducted a landscape analysis to learn more about the community in Aurora, Colorado, for the Wend Collective. One of the primary goals of this work was to develop a deeply contextualized understanding of the Aurora community, its unique community assets, partnerships, and core needs. The landscape analysis resulted in a toolkit to assist the Wend Collective in a new, community-centered model of philanthropy. The toolkit grounded all vested partners in a common understanding of the community, its needs, and provided concrete activities and resources to support the development of a deeper and collaborative relationship than is typically seen between a community and a funder.
DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE
Elevate Boulder Direct Cash Assistance Pilot Program Evaluation
Elevate Boulder, the City of Boulder’s direct cash assistance program, was launched in the fall of 2023 to provide 200 low-income residents with $500 per month for 24 months. OMNI designed an evaluation of the project to measure the short and longer-term impacts of the program on its participants. OMNI used weighted sampling to ensure that participation in the pilot would be representative of the community.
Leadership Team
Sara Bayless, PhD
Managing Director
As the founder of OMNI’s Center for Social Investment, Dr. Bayless identifies opportunities where rigorous social science methods can do more to drive learning, improvement, and understanding of impact for innovative funding models in the social sector. Dr. Bayless’s academic training and applied social science consulting career has focused on leading teams to complete complex research and evaluation projects that inform action, conducting advanced quantitative methods to rigorously answer pressing questions, and using social science methods in innovative ways to advance the evidence base for responsive community initiatives. Read Dr. Bayless’ full bio.
Ana Nunes, PhD
Program Director
Dr. Nunes provides best practice guidance regarding community engagement and trust-based philanthropy to strengthen partnerships and increase the ability to meet the goals of community investments and grantmaking. Dr. Nunes is an applied social science researcher with nearly two decades of experience developing and managing mixed-methods research and evaluation projects that provide high impact findings to promote positive social change. Read Dr. Nunes’ full bio.
Oskar Burger, PhD
Senior Scientist
Dr. Burger conducts rigorous, replicable, and responsive research and evaluation projects for innovative funding strategies, and guides the application and innovation of social return on investment methods. Dr. Burger is an applied social and behavioral science researcher with over a decade of experience conducting complex statistical models, developing novel methodologies needed to document and understand pressing social issues, and working in interdisciplinary teams. Dr. Burger’s interdisciplinary background includes theoretical and empirical training in several fields that study and model human behavior, from behavioral ecology to developmental psychology. Read Dr. Burger’s full bio.
Connect with the Center for Social Investment team.
Contact the Center for Social Investment research team to discuss measuring the social and economic impacts of innovative funding and investment models.
Media Contact:
media@omni.org
(720) 735-4922
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