New Era

Welfare

Social Impact Bond to Reduce Elderly Loneliness and Promote Optimal Aging

The Project

Reducing loneliness among elderly individuals who receive support from the City of Tel Aviv-Yaffo’s Welfare Department using volunteers trained in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), as well as using a tailored digital platform that helps strengthen seniors' connections with family and community. To finance the project, ~₪2.3 million was raised from impact investors. For the first time in the world of impact investments, 43% of the investment amount was raised through a crowdfunding mechanism, allowing 230 individual investors to participate in funding the program.

The Impact

Elderly loneliness was reduced by about 25% on average by the end of the program. 72% of participants reported maintaining these results even six months after the program ended. About 60% of the seniors in the program reported improvement in their loneliness. Additionally, the project's success provided impact investors with an unprecedented annual return of ~8.6%.

Looking Ahead

The project is being expanded to additional relevant agencies, while Best Practices developed by the SFI Group are being implemented in the relevant professional unit at the Tel Aviv Municipality. Additionally, the SFI Group won a tender from the Ministry of Welfare and will provide guidance and assistance to other local authorities while they gain more budgetary flexibility in providing services to senior citizens. Within this framework, the learned Best Practices will be integrated and in-depth guidance, work plan building, and results-based management will be carried out in local authorities.