The Children’s Trust is committed to investing in evidence-based programs and services that have been shown to positively impact the well-being of children and families. But not all problems facing Miami-Dade County residents can be solved using existing programs or services. Some challenges are new, others have not been identified until now, and still others are known but have not yet been addressed by existing programming.
That is why The Children’s Trust invests in its Innovation Fund, a grant program for innovative ideas and program designs that address existing community needs and have not previously been implemented in our community.
An Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) will fund multiple entities, for up to $1,000,000, for innovative ideas and program designs for the next round of Innovation Fund projects this year. The grants program is scheduled to open in February and is the latest effort by The Trust to support and nurture new ideas that can make a big impact in our community.
The Innovation Fund supports the piloting of innovative ideas, strategies, methods and partnerships not previously utilized in Miami-Dade’s diverse community to promote effective and equitable opportunities for populations of children with greater needs to thrive. Innovation aims to build on existing community assets, encourage collaboration and promote the sustainability of successful projects that identify issues, develop potential solutions and test strategies.
Innovation is a driver of growth and contributes to the development of solutions to persistent economic and social challenges. While evidence-based programs yield proven results when implemented with fidelity, there is also a need for practice-based innovation to identify and address new or evolving social problems.
In October 2022, the previous innovation cycle began with 17 contracts, including projects like a Mobile Diaper Pantry from Miami Diaper Bank, a program to leverage the arts to promote mental health by the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, a mobile app to guide parents with newborn children in the NICU, and a Gender Equity Index from the Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade. These programs have already made a difference in addressing the problems they set out to impact, and many are moving forward with expansion and long term plans.
To learn more about these programs, click on The Trust’s Annual Report at TheChildrensTrust.org/About-Us and search for “Innovation Fund.”
To get more information on the upcoming Innovation Fund launch, visit TheChildrensTrust.org/Grants.