News and Insights

Third Sector Capital Partners, with support from the Health Trust, has published a case study that documents Santa Clara County’s exploration of a Pay for Success initiative from its origins in community conversations through the County Board of Supervisors’ vote to fund the construction of one or more Pay for Success contracts. In the case study, Third Sector discusses the critical factors that advanced the project and key lessons learned by stakeholders. Click here to view the case study.

Massachusetts Awarded $11.67 Million U.S. Department of Labor Grant for Pay for Success Project Led by Third Sector Capital Partners Massachusetts has been awarded an $11.67 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that will expand the Commonwealth’s Social Innovation Financing project by providing additional success payments tied to increases in employment and reductions in recidivism. Third Sector Capital Partners is the project intermediary for this juvenile justice project, in partnership with New Profit Inc. “The Department of Labor’s grant award represents an important endorsement of the quality of the …

Santa Clara County Hires Third Sector to Construct and Implement Pay for Success Pilot Project  Santa Clara County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on August 27, 2013 to advance the County’s pursuit of Pay for Success (PFS). The Board’s vote allocated $75,000 in funding for Third Sector Capital Partners (Third Sector). The Sobrato Family Foundation and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation will match the County’s support. The County’s funding is an important evolution in the PFS field and demonstrates government’s increasing interest in providing financial support for PFS exploration and project …

Third Sector recently testified at an informational hearing on social innovation finance (SIF) held by the California state legislature. The hearing, What is the Role of Social Innovation Financing in California?: Are we ready for Social Impact Bonds, was called by the Business, Professions & Economic Development Committee and the Select Committee on Procurement. Senators Curren Price and Ted Lieu chaired the hearing. Invited by the California legislature to share information about Third Sector’s experience developing and implementing SIF projects around the country, Caroline Whistler, Third Sector Co-Founder & Partner, testified about the Massachusetts’ juvenile …

Third Sector partners George Overholser and Caroline Whistler have written an article prominently featured in the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Community Development Investment Review. “The Real Revolution of Pay for Success: Ending 40 Years of Stagnant Results for Communities” discusses how Pay for Success and Social Innovation Finance have the potential to improve the performance of America’s social sector, accelerating a historically slow march of social progress. The Review features 22 articles exploring Pay for Success financing; authors include representatives of Third Sector collaborators Roca, the Massachusetts Housing …

Third Sector Capital Partners, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, has published a case study on its experience working with Roca, Inc. on their successful response to Massachusetts’ Social Innovation Financing project for juvenile justice. The case discusses the challenges, lessons learned, and process of launching the nation’s first state-level Pay for Success contract. Click here to view the case study.

Social Solutions Webinar: Pay for Success from the Service Provider Perspective Roca’s Experience with Preparations and Contract Negotiations in Massachusetts January 28, 2013 John Grossman, Partner & General Counsel, recently participated in a webinar hosted by Social Solutions that focused on Pay for Success from the perspective of service providers. The webinar looks at how Roca, a performance-driven provider of services to young people at high risk of incarceration, worked with Third Sector Capital Partners to prepare for and determine that a PFS contract would be worth pursuing. Moderator: Ingvild Bjornvold, …

2012 has been an extraordinary year for Third Sector Capital Partners and the field of Social Innovation Finance, one that will be remembered for its many firsts. Pay for Success and Social Impact Bonds have gained worldwide attention and are quickly taking root across the United States, with several tangible pilots under development. We offer a huge thank you to every member of this growing community, each of whom has helped accelerate America’s transition to a performance-based social sector. 2012: A Year of Firsts New York City launched the nation’s …

Cuyahoga County Partners with Third Sector Capital Partners on Pay for Success Pilot Procurement READ THE PRESS RELEASE Boston, MA and Cleveland, OH (November 2, 2012) – Cuyahoga County, OH became the first County government in the United States to release a Request for Responses (RFR) for a Pay for Success pilot. Third Sector Capital Partners, a market leader in developing Pay for Success programs, is serving as a technical advisor to the County in this process. “Pay for Success will allow Cuyahoga County to direct its limited budget towards …

Third Sector CEO and Co-Founder George Overholser participated in a webcast hosted by the Council of Development Finance Agencies and BNY Mellon that focused on the rise of social impact bonds. Overholser was joined during this webcast by Navjeet Bal from Nixon Peabody and Deborah Burand from the University of Michigan to discuss how these bonds are supporting cutting-edge social service programs. CDFA-BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: The Rise of Social Impact Bonds VIEW THE WEBCAST

Holder: New Anti-Crime Spending is “Investment” in Innovation by Ted Guest – The Crime Report – October 2, 2012 With government funds for new initiatives scarce as a few federal fiscal year begins, the Obama administration has announced some potentially innovative spending aimed at preventing repeat criminality. Describing what he called “investments […] designed to aid in the development, implementation, and expansion of proven strategies for intervention,” Attorney General Eric Holder told the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in San Diego yesterday that the Justice Department is working “to improve …

Massachusetts Selects Third Sector Capital Partners for First-in-the-Nation “Pay for Success” Contracts Boston, MA (August 1, 2012) – The Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced today that it has selected Third Sector Capital Partners to develop its two groundbreaking Social Innovation Financing pilots, more commonly known as “Pay for Success” contracts. Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to issue a competitive process to obtain services using social innovation financing. Third Sector will serve as lead intermediary, in partnership with New Profit Inc., for a youth recidivism initiative and as partner to the Massachusetts …

“Mass. program ties nonprofits’ pay to success” by Dan Adams – The Boston Globe – August 1, 2012 Two groups of nonprofit social service providers have been selected by the state to tackle chronic problems with homeless people and juvenile criminals under an innovative new program that will reward the agencies if they can prove their techniques work, or pay them little or even no money if they fail. The program, called Social Innovation Financing, operates on a simple “pay for success” model, in which nonprofits must demonstrate that by keeping youth from …

Third Sector Capital Partners Advances Pay for Success in Cuyahoga County, OH READ THE PRESS RELEASE Third Sector Capital Partners held three public presentations July 9th through July 11th on advancing Pay For Success initiatives in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The presentations advanced a strategy laid out in the Western Reserve Plan, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald’s vision for improving county services, lowering taxes and increasing government efficiency. The Pay for Success mechanism (also referred to as Social Impact Bonds) has emerged as an innovative procurement mechanism that increases investments in effective social interventions. It fundamentally …

“For Ambitious Nonprofits, Capital to Grow” by DAVID BORNSTEIN – New York Times – June 27, 2012 Imagine that you’re an entrepreneur running a chain of coffee bars and you want to raise capital to open up in new locations. You meet a potential investor, and he says, “I’d love to finance your business, but only the chai latte operation, not the coffee, and only to support drinks you sell in Cleveland next year.” It might sound absurd, but this is the kind of thing that people running nonprofit organizations hear all …

“Investors May Fund Social Programs: State Exploring ‘Pay For Success’; Profits Would Be Tied to Cost Savings” by TODD WALLACK – Boston Globe – June 27, 2011 Massachusetts could be among the first states in the country to raise money for social services by offering investors the chance to earn profits on programs they establish. The approach is known as “social impact bonds” or “pay for success.” It is based on the idea that if programs backed by investors succeed in reducing, for example, the number of inmates in prison or the homeless population, governments will realize big savings, which …

Pay for Success: Investing in What Works George Overholser, CEO and Co-Founder of Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc. speaks about Pay For Success and Social Impact Bonds at the White House. Pay for Success: Investing in What Works was hosted by The White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, in partnership with the Nonprofit Finance Fund, and brought together officials from federal, state and local governments, as well as nonprofits, philanthropists, academics and intermediaries to identify the potential of the Pay for Success concept and opportunities to pursue Pay for Success …