Social Venture Kids

As adults with many advantages, one of our responsibilities is to help those less fortunate. Another is to prepare the next generation to share our values, to provide youth with the education & experiences to develop their own philanthropic priorities & the skills so that they can carry out their own good works. The Social Venture Kids (SVK) program starts that process.

What is SVK?

Started in 2000, SVK began as a grantmaking group modeled after the Social Venture Partner (SVP) program. SVK members select a topic, educate themselves about the issue, develop program priorities, fundraise $10, 000, solicit & evaluate grant applications, conduct site visits & award $10,000 in 1-2 grants. The cycle begins in September & concludes in June with the introduction of the grant recipients(s) to the SVP partnership. More recently, education sessions have been added to the SVK curriculum: how to fundraise with a direct marketing campaign, how to read non-profit financial statements, tips on conducting a site visit, etc.

Who are we?

This year we are eleven high school kids from Seattle and Bellevue. Some of us joined SVK because our parents thought we should. Others because we thought it would be a different and valuable volunteer experience. Others of us want to change the world. For the rest of us, it is probably a combination of those things. We lead busy lives and are involved in sports, clubs, and other activities. Sometimes it is hard to find time for SVK, but we work at it. Some of us are passionate about specific causes: homelessness, social justice and education. Some of us like the process: learning about philanthropy and grantmaking and giving away money. All of us want to have a voice in how we get things done.

We do everything by ourselves. We raise the money. We choose the topic. We decide where to give. We do it ourselves. We care more.

–Becca, SVK Member

It’s an interesting way to help your community.

–William, SVK Member

SVK Grants

In the past seven years SVK has funded organizations addressing the following issues: teen drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, teen depression and suicide, domestic violence, the juvenile justice system, quality preschool/daycare for low-income families, and homelessness. The programs have varied from parenting education to teen empowerment and life skills to a MySpace alcohol abuse screening program.

The support of Social Venture Kids is especially important to Youth Eastside Services because your organization represents young people who are working together to help other young people. This model of teens educating themselves about issues challenging the community - and then doing something about it to assist their peers - is commendable. As an agency, YES strives to guide and empower young people. The fact that a group of youth chose our programs for a grant means a lot to us.

–Patti Skelton-McGougan, YES Executive Director

See a list of SVK's past grantees...