Social Impact Investing

Youth" to "Opportunity Youth" in order to more appropriate consider these young people
as valuable assets who could contribute to economic growth and civic renewal. The
Council also generated additional output, including the creation of toolkit for employers
seeking to hire Opportunity Youth. It spawned other outcomes, including the launch of
the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions headed up by former White House Domestic
Policy Advisor Melody Barnes.
Summer Jobs + and Youth Jobs +
The Administration launched the Summer Jobs + initiative, which provided paid
employment opportunities to low-income and disconnected youth and pathways to
employment through resume writing workshops, mentorship programs and job shadow
days. Through the initiative, over 300,000 employment opportunities were provided to
youth in 2012, over 100,000 of which were paid.
In April 2013, the President launched the Youth Jobs + initiative. He challenged
business, non-profits and government to work together to provide employment
opportunities for low-income and disconnected youth that will also aim to reduce youth
violence in local communities. In September, the White House hosted a convening that
focused on youth employment, especially "opportunity youth", people between 18–24
years of age. The event recognized and honored employers and nonprofits for
innovative work to develop the discipline and skills associated with the employment for
the country's youth.
Priorities within harnessing financial capital
Based on the research, it is clear that the social sector lacks adequate capital to
address the needs of Americans and maintain its role as a safety net and economic
engine. To reverse this trend, the Office of Social Innovation has laid out a strategy to
optimize the flow of scarce public dollars and to increase the flow of incremental private
dollars. This dual track is enabled by a five-part framework:
1. Better Information
2. New Instruments
3. Strong Intermediaries
4. Institutional Capital
5. Impact at Scale
Harnessing better information, taking into account transparencies provided by
technology, data and evidence can support what programs are working, and which are
in need of iteration or reform. Better information can lead to evidence that a program is
working, and can help the government better allocate grants to support successful
programs. Consequently, the government can have a higher probability of "investing in
what works," better optimize public spend, and serve as a more responsible fiduciary for
taxpayers. New instruments can help government alloy public dollars with private
dollars, leverage outside expertise for localization or diligence, and attract outside
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