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Social Venture Partners Network
Ruth Jones, CEO
T: 206-728-7872
Based in the United States
32 SVP member organizations in five countries Globally

Social Venture Partners Network

Mission:

SVP builds powerful relationships among people and organizations that are out to make the world a better place. With a network of more than 2700 engaged donors in 32 cities, we help individuals amplify their giving, fund and strengthen nonprofits and equip our communities to tackle our greatest social challenges - together.

Brief:

The first SVP was established in Seattle in 1997. Paul Brainerd had just sold his software company, Aldus Corporation, and was ready for his next journey. Drawing on a life-long passion for the environment, Paul invited colleagues, friends and community members to discuss his new idea - this one borne of the desire to get thousands more people highly engaged in philanthropy. These people would not just write checks. They would work shoulder-to-shoulder with nonprofits - using their professional skills to tackle Seattle's most pressing problems. More than a hundred people showed up for that first meeting. Soon after the SVP model and the engaged philanthropy movement was set in motion.

What Makes Us Different:

Partners in the SVP Network pool their funds and together they make multi-year, unrestricted gifts to carefully vetted nonprofit investees with proven potential for social change. Partners also contribute their business and professional expertise to the nonprofits, all with the goal of strengthening the nonprofit and increasing its impact. Central to this work is the opportunity for Partners to learn about strategic philanthropy so they can make the greatest impact possible with their time, talent and financial investment.

More info:

What happens if you take the potential of every individual, connect them directly to people working on issues they are passionate about and challenge them to make a difference? Across the SVP Network we've seen what happens, and the results are transformational. The journey begins with you, an individual stretching to your full potential to fulfill the promise of true social change. - See more at: http://www.socialventurepartners.org

Inspirational Stories:

"It's like - need to fix your car? Here's some money to help get you going - and OH - here's the best mechanic on the planet. What SVP does is hard work. It matters and it works because it IS difficult. It's in the dirt and trenches. It's tedious. Not glamorous. But by getting in there and helping organizations wrestle with some of the hardest problems, the biggest challenges they are facing - they transform them. This is not work that can be done from a distance. SVP does this in 31 cities with 2700 Partners."

– Larry Eason, Board Chair of Healthy Child Healthy World, an Investee in the Los Angeles portfolio

Through their Ready for Kindergarten Collaborative, SVP Portland is harnessing the wisdom and energy of committed individuals, businesses, parents, service providers, communities of color, educators, and local governments - so that every child in Multnomah County enters school prepared to learn. By convening important voices across the community, they are at the forefront of collective action in their area.

Success Stories:

“The reason I’ve been a Partner for sixteen years – and I’ve done all the jobs – is because there isn’t any other group of people I trust better to get the job done.”

– Dawn Trudeau, SVP Partner in Seattle, board member Social Venture Partners International >

“We are in a unique position to say to the nonprofits we invest in, “What are your biggest dreams…and how do we help you get there?” SVP is really one of the only organizations that allows nonprofits to say what matters to them, what resources they need to get where they want to go, and that supports them in reaching THEIR goals – by paying for “overhead.”

– Meg Enderby, SVP Partner in Seattle

“I went through a mid-life crisis five years ago, one that forced me to reconcile how I was spending my time and money with my personal values and ideals. My journey of self-reflection and prioritization led me to join SVP. I opted to leave the lucrative for-profit world to join Genesys Works, a nonprofit, as the Executive Director. Leading a nonprofit gives me enormous purpose to my life and allows me to walk around with a smile on my face every day for I no longer have a job – I have a mission.”

– Jeff Tollefson, Partner in Minnesota and former board member Social Venture Partners International


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