Pension Action Center Selected as a Finalist for Root Cause’s 2011-2012 Social Innovation Forum

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Root Cause’s Social Innovation Forum selected the Pension Action Center as one of 28 innovative, results-oriented nonprofit organizations in Greater Boston competing to receive more than $100,000 in cash and capacity-building services from Root Cause and its partners. An evaluation committee made up of more than 60 social issue experts from the business, government, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors reviewed over 100 applications to select the finalists.

The Pension Action Center, which is part of the Gerontology Institute of the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston, was selected for its in-depth work in insuring that New Englanders get the retirement benefits they have earned and in working to expand pension and retirement plan access to workers across the economic spectrum. 

Root Cause’s Social Innovation Forum believes that spreading social innovation takes a vast community of stakeholders to spread ideas that work. Our goal is to create a social impact market that brings nonprofits, philanthropy, government, and business together to advance social innovations through the early stages of development to widespread social impact. Each year, the Social Innovation Forum partners with leading foundations, corporations, and individual donors that support our Social Innovators with financial contributions, in-kind resources, volunteer time, and personal referrals or connections. Selected Social Innovators will receive access to:

• $10,000 from the social issue track sponsor
• A package of Root Cause consulting, executive coaching, and other in-kind services valued at over $100,000
• A second Root Cause consulting engagement 18 months out from the Showcase valued at $10,000
• Support from the Social Innovation Forum staff on performance tracking and relationship-building
• The Social Innovation Forum’s growing network of nonprofit, business, government and foundation leaders

For the 2011-2012 program year, the Social Innovation Forum will select one Social Innovator for each of the following six social issue tracks:

At-Risk Children and Youth in MetroWest: Providing Adult Guidance and Support
Sponsoring Partner: The Sudbury Foundation

Food, Nutrition, and Fitness: Promoting Healthy Living for Children, Youth, and Families
Sponsoring Partner: The Trefler Foundation

Healthy Aging: Engaging and Supporting Older Adults in their Communities
Sponsoring Partner: Tufts Health Plan Foundation

Impact Investing: Scaling Social Enterprise
Sponsoring Partner: The Devonshire Foundation

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education and Enrichment for Children and Youth Sponsoring Partners: Amelia Peabody Foundation and Microsoft New England Research & Development Center

Workforce Development: Skills and Support for Workers in Today’s Economy
Sponsoring Partner: Highland Street Foundation

The chosen Social Innovators will present their social impact models to leaders from Boston’s public, private, and nonprofit sectors at the Social Innovation Forum’s Showcase event on Thursday, May 3, 2012.

Root Cause is a nonprofit research and consulting firm that partners with nonprofits, philanthropy, government, and business to advance solutions to today’s toughest social issues. For more information, please visit the Root Cause website (www.rootcause.org).