Pay for Success (PFS) is a form of government contracting in which third-party investors, including foundations, commit to paying the upfront costs for providing evidence-based social services; government agencies repay investors with a modest return if the program achieves the agreed-upon outcomes. For other funders interested in exploring this emerging model of impact investing, Philanthropy Northwest has learned of three new opportunities through the Corporation for National and Community Service's Social Innovation Fund and the University of Utah’s Policy Innovation Lab.

Tim Crosby, Cascadia Foodshed Financing Project | Impact investing seeks to combine financial returns with social and environmental benefits. We have long held the tools to assess financial returns, but measuring social and environmental returns is far more complex. Impact investing in food systems gets even more complicated, because we're aiming for environmental and social goals that may not necessarily be aligned — for example, investing in small farmers who use organic growing practices while funding strategies to make healthy food more available and affordable to low-income families.

Philanthropy Northwest, Thrive Washington and the Washington State Department of Early Learning invite you to engage with leaders from across the country about Pay for Success. Pay for Success is an innovative financing model that can help drive resources to programs that deliver positive...