In 2016, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) launched the Innovation Fund, an initiative to spur creative, catalytic efforts to improve the quality of life in the Pioneer Valley. In 2017 the Foundation provided seven new initiatives with early-stage funding to:

• Design and plan for strategies that can be implemented to address a pressing problem;
• Engage with end-users and incorporate their feedback;
• Identify barriers and collect relevant data and measures;
• Test ideas that may lead to a new approach to a community solution

CFWM hired Impact Catalysts as its technical assistance partner to work with seven Innovation Fund planning grant projects on the development of their strategies and evaluation methodologies. In 2018, we are working with the three initiatives selected for full grants by the Innovation Fund to develop final evaluation plans as part of the implementation of their funded projects.