Delaware Community Foundation launches ‘Pay for Success’ grants

Longwood Foundation President There DuPont, Michele Hart-Henry, vice president and chief operating officer of the Blood Bank of Delmarva; John Ferretti, New York Blood Center board trustee; Stuart Comstock-Gay, Delaware Community Foundation president and CEO; Amy Walls, Discover Assistant CRA Director

The Delaware Community Foundation (DCF) has partnered with Discover Bank and the Longwood Foundation to offer “Pay for Success” grants to Delaware service providers.

The Pay for Success model, an innovative approach to grant making employed in 22 other states, is designed to award grant recipients for program effectiveness and efficiency. The Social Impact Fund first launched in 2017 with a donation from Discover Bank.

“Our goal is to help the community maximize the impact of the charitable resources available. Pay for Success is one of the many creative, effective tools we use to help stretch philanthropic dollars for community benefit,” DCF President and CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay said.

Blood Bank of Delmarva was the first Delaware participant in the program. The nonprofit received a $450,000 grant with the goal of securing 500 units of blood from millennial donors over the course of three consecutive years.

When the Blood Bank meets the goal, the Longwood Foundation will “pay back” the $450,000 with a premium into the DCF Social Impact Fund. This will make the money available for the DCF Social Impact Fund to invest in another initiatives

“Pay for Success is a win-win-win idea,” said There du Pont, president of the Longwood Foundation. “It’s an exciting way to seed social change initiatives that are well planned and positioned to succeed.”