That’s the service provided by Community Schools Collaboration (CSC), helping schools be more effective at their most important mission: educating children.

As a lead partner for the Tukwila and Highline School Districts, CSC has site managers based at each school, where they:

• Communicate with teachers to identify and assist students with academic challenges.
• Provide academic support after school, including tutoring and homework help.
• Offer hands-on projects to enhance school-day learning.
• Coordinate with community partners to provide enrichment activities ranging from dance to art to sports.
• Bring health services and education into the schools, so that students are healthy and ready to learn.
• Reach out to parents/caregivers, and encourages family involvement in the schools.

CSC’s strong working relationships with the school districts they serve and their active participation in the Road Map Project impressed SVP’s K-12 Education Grant Committee members Jeff Hansen and Sandy Hill.  “CSC will be an excellent fit in the SVP portfolio,” says Jeff.  “They operate in the Road Map region addressing a wide range of needs for a diverse set of communities across all grade levels.”

The committee also saw great opportunities for SVP to help advance their work.  “CSC has a successful track record and is now at an inflection point where SVP’s engagement could really make an impact,” explains Jeff. “Their Executive Director, Deborah Salas will be great partner in that effort.”

For their part, “Community Schools Collaboration is excited about working with SVP to strengthen systems and capacity in order to continue to offer high quality programs and services to students and families in South King County,” says Deborah. “The expertise that SVP brings will allow CSC to strengthen tracking and reporting procedures that will positively impact programs for student success.”

We look forward to partnering with CSC on future projects and are honored to have them join our SVP family!

Learn More and Get Involved

Please feel free to learn more about Community Schools Collaboration, the schools they serve, and their results.

If you are interested in volunteering with them, please contact Mike Quinn.  In particular, we are looking for a Lead Partner, who will work closely with CSC and act as the primary liaison during their 3-5 year relationship with SVP. If you have project management experience and would like to dive deep with an organization, this might be the role for you!

Congratulations to Our Three Other Finalists!

SVP would like to recognize three additional nonprofits that were selected as finalists by our K-12 Education Grant Committee: Communities In Schools Seattle, Technology Access Foundation, and 826 Seattle.   Each of these organizations is doing exceptional work in the community and impressed our committee members.

826 Seattle

826 Seattle is a nonprofit writing and tutoring center dedicated to helping youth, ages six to 18, improve their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Their services are structured around their belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.  Learn more about 826 Seattle and check out some of their students’ work.

Communities In Schools Seattle

Communities In Schools (CIS) Seattle surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.  CIS Seattle is an accredited affiliate of the national CIS network that serves 1.25 million students, and was recently featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review’s “What Works” column.  The article talks about the effectiveness of the program and profiles CIS Seattle site coordinator Dalisha Phillips. Learn more about the Communities In Schools Model and explore their impact in this recent video.

Technology Access Foundation

Technology Access Foundation equips students of color for success in college and life through the power of a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.  They address three problems that keep students of color away from STEM: low expectations, a shortage of role models and lack of access to a quality, STEM-focused education. TAF partners with public education, businesses and the community to engage students in the real world of STEM. Learn more about TAF on their website and in their recent video.

If you would like to learn more about our finalists, or get connected to them, please email Mike Quinn.  We are happy to facilitate that process!

This means that there are actually more STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) jobs than qualified applicants. In fact, the number of STEM jobs has grown three times faster than other jobs in the past three years, which is why SVP’s teen philanthropy group decided to focus on their grantmaking in this area.

STEM education can not only improve the employment rate, but can help break the poverty cycle by providing people with high-paying jobs, particularly in Washington State, which has one of the highest concentrations of STEM jobs in the country.

Social Venture Kids is therefore quite excited to announce their 2013 Investees:

Year Up Puget Sound

Year Up Puget Sound closes the opportunity divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Year Up accomplishes this with an intensive program consisting of six months of training in technical skills, business writing, communications, and other professional skills, along with six months in a paid corporate internship following completion of the training program.

Year Up promotes STEM education by guiding young adults ahead in life by helping them attain technology-based skills that are attractive on the job market and can be built upon. SVK has granted Year Up $6,500 to further them in their work in closing the opportunity divide via education in STEM.

KidsQuest Children’s Museum

KidsQuest Children's Museum is an innovative museum for children and families located in Factoria Mall. Art, science, technology and daily life experiences are integrated in world-class exhibits with strong ties to the Pacific Northwest. KidsQuest Children's Museum supports and encourages learning that engages the whole family and uses emerging research and studies in early childhood education and family support to develop creative programs and exhibits.

KidsQuest Children's Museum promotes STEM education by integrating STEM into interesting exhibits that are experienced by thousands each year. SVK has invested $3000 in KidsQuest Children's Museum.

Huge Thank You!

We’d like to give a shout out to SVK’s fearless facilitator, Susan Sullivan, who after seven years and has passed the baton to Sergey Smirnov and Alex Dent.  Thank you Susan, Sergey and Alex!

Munira's Story

Since I was a young child, I’ve wanted to become a doctor. I became interested in this field when I was admitted to the hospital and treated for two months with malaria.  I was inspired by the way the doctors constantly checked up on me until I was well. Since that time, I have had an idea of what I want to do in life, but I never understood what steps it would take to reach my goal.

I came to America from Ethiopia when I was fourteen. I had to start my life over again by adopting a new culture and the English language.  My parents didn’t speak English well, so it was not easy for me. I often felt alone and confused, and when I entered high school, the school work got much harder. My parents hadn’t finished high school and I struggled.  But I never gave up. I began to think about college during my junior year, but I didn’t know where to start. I went to college workshops, but I had no idea what to write for my personal statement or how the process of completing a college application worked.

I am grateful I saw College Access Now offered at school during my senior year. When I actually started working on the applications, I was surprised that the process is not as easy as it looks.  I don’t know what I would have done about the college process if I hadn’t joined CAN. The staff and volunteers dedicated their time to help me. They pushed me to apply to colleges and for scholarships that I may not have applied to on my own. I will never forget their support and kindness and for being patient with me through the process.

Mara's Perspective

Students like Munira are the reason I signed up for AmeriCorps.  Her kindness and maturity stood out from the beginning of the year. As a College Access Now student mentor at Roosevelt High School, I have a chance to help my cohort of 33 students rise to their full potential.  So far, 12 of my students who originally weren’t on track to go to college have been accepted to four-year institutions, with more planning to transfer to one in the future.

As a recent college graduate, I know that affordability is a huge factor for families trying to send someone to college for the first time. In addition to helping all my students complete the FAFSA, I’ve helped steer them towards scholarships that they might not have learned about otherwise.

Munira was awarded a Washington State Opportunity Scholarship for students pursuing majors in science, math, technology and engineering. She is on track to enroll at the University of Washington this fall without having to take out student loans.

More about College Access Now

Founded in 2005, College Access Now has helped nearly 500 students like Munira embark on their path to a college degree. CAN actively recruits students who are not on track to attend college. One-hundred percent of CAN students are from low-income families and will be the first in their family to attend college.

To date, 98% of CAN students have gained acceptance to college; 85% have enrolled, and 46% of CAN’s very first cohort has graduated with a 4-year degree (as compared to the national graduation rate of 11% for first-generation students from low-income families).

In the 2013-14 academic year, CAN will support 560 juniors and seniors at six high schools throughout Seattle. This year, CAN launched a College Persistence Program through which 400 college students will be served next year across Washington State and the country.

How SVP Fits In

SVP has supported CAN since 2011, providing $85,000 in grants as well as skilled volunteers and funds for paid consultants.  In partnership with SVP, CAN tackled a number of projects to strengthen their organization, such as:

• Reviewing and improving IT systems with SVP Partners Alexander Dent and Kevin Phaup
• Updating their human resources manual with SVP Partner Christine Martin
• Optimizing staff use of Excel and Power Point through a training with SVP Partner Dan Weaver
• Peer learning groups for the Executive Director, fund development and program staff
• Staff and board strategic planning with facilitation help from SVP Partner Rick Beaton

“As a new Executive Director, having a partner in SVP has been key to our ability to move forward on critical projects such as Strategic Planning,” shared Susan Mitchell.

Want to Get Involved?

If you are interested in volunteering with College Access Now, please contact Mike Quinn.  You can also check out other ways to help on their website.

Please feel free to check out all our Investees and current capacity building projects here.

He recently received the Philanthropist of the Year Award at the Future in Review conference (right), and received a Red Winged Leadership Award from Seattle University’s Albers School of Business.

Paul was also featured in Alliance Magazine (subscription needed to view the full article), and provided the keynote address for a series on Impact Capitalism.

Go Paul!

You can check out his interview for the Red Winged Leadership Award below.

We not only want to congratulate Lisa, but make sure anyone considering international nonprofit work knows about this great resource!

As Mary L. Fahey, former General Counsel for Tax Executives Institute puts it:

"Lisa Norton has written a book that is straightforward, authoritative, and extremely practical. It is a must read for any nonprofit contemplating an international expansion. I only wish this resource had been available when TEI established its first international chapter more than a decade ago."

Lisa also shared a bit about why she wrote the book on Amazon.com, which we have included below.

Why I Wrote How To Be A Global Nonprofit

How To Be A Global Nonprofit was born out of a desire to help passionate individuals and their nonprofit organizations find the best way to further their international causes. For some, this may be raising funds to support a U.S.-based organization that does work overseas.  For others, it may mean funding and collaborating with a foreign-based organization. For those who have a burning desire to pursue a passion, and the ability to devote the necessary resources, this can be starting and operating a new program in a foreign country, or even multiple countries.  Each individual and organization will find the path that is right, if they know what it takes to succeed.

Over the past several years, in the course of my law practice and other activities in the nonprofit sector, I have noticed a groundswell of people who want to engage in international philanthropy.  The growth in international giving by Americans has been dramatic. Indeed, from 2009-2011, international giving by Americans grew more than any other philanthropic sector, according to Giving USA, the annual yearbook of American philanthropy.  But I am referring to something even more astounding.  Increasingly, people want to get involved in a hands-on way. They are not content to give only money. They want to volunteer, and even create and run their own foreign programs.

I don't know how many people have come to me saying, "I want to [start a school for girls] in [name the country]. Can you help me set it up?"

In the fall of 2010, I was reflecting on this phenomenon, just as I saw an article by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times Magazine, entitled, the "D.I.Y. Foreign-Aid Revolution." I thought to myself, "If Nicholas Kristof, the renowned New York Times columnist is noticing this trend, it must be real."  I saw that these passionate people needed some resources to help them figure out the best way to further their causes.

Indeed, some people create schools in remote areas of developing countries, and have amazing impacts on the people they serve.  Many others, however, find that creating and sustaining an international program is far more than they bargained for. If they had only known what they were getting themselves into, they might have made better use of the funds they raised by collaborating with an existing U.S. or foreign organization.  Of course, every organization needs to consult their own lawyer, but at the least, their journeys could have been easier and less costly, had they gone in with their eyes open to the legal and practical challenges they would encounter.

I interviewed representatives from many organizations, from the largest to the smallest, to gain insights into how they decided to approach international engagement, and how they overcame legal and practical challenges.  Ten of these organizations appear in my book as case studies, and I will continue to post additional case studies on my blog.  

I wrote about three audacious founders who, against all odds, forged ahead to create unique programs in foreign countries. One even created a global fundraising structure.  These are inspiring stories, but they are also cautionary. They show that it takes more than passion to be successful in creating and sustaining an international nonprofit.

My sincere hope is that, by shedding light on the special legal and practical challenges organizations face in the international arena, How To Be A Global Nonprofit will help more people to succeed in furthering whatever international cause ignites their passion.

Learn more about Lisa >>

Karen had a 15-year career at Weyerhaeuser Company in various roles including President of the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation. She then moved to the Gates Foundation where she spent two years as Deputy Director of Grants Management in the Global Development Program.  Most recently, Karen ran her own consulting firm, providing services to corporate and nonprofit organizations on strategy development, evaluation, project management, and communications.  Learn more about Karen >>

Rebecca spent nearly seven years at KidsQuest Children’s Museum in Bellevue where she was involved in Community Connections, Development, and Marketing. For the last year, she has worked at the Institute for Corporate Productivity. Rebecca has a BA from the University of Washington and brings a passion for the nonprofit sector to this work and her new role at SVP.  Learn more about Rebecca >>

“We are very excited about both Karen and Becca,” shares Executive Connector, Paul Shoemaker. “Our 500+ Partners are our biggest asset. We’re investing in Partner development to help them become more effective volunteers, philanthropists, and community leaders.”

Additional Organizational Changes

In addition to our new team members, SVP will also undergo a few other organizational changes:

• Lynn Coriano, our Director of Community Investment, is being promoted to the role of Deputy Director. This not only recognizes the great work Lynn has done over the last 5+ years for SVP, it also positions our organization to have stronger day-to-day leadership, management, and strategy alignment.

• Mike Quinn will step up to the role of Senior Manager of Capacity Building, where he will work closely with Investees, Lead Partners, and the Portfolio Grant Committee. Mike will also lead our work to “raise the bar” on SVP’s capacity building outcomes.
• Paul Shoemaker will remain SVP Seattle’s Executive Connector, but these two new hires and Lynn’s new role will enable Paul to focus on promoting the SVP vision locally and nationally, and help grow the network. The SVP movement and brand has significant momentum and the timing is great for Paul to step up his game.

As Paul articulated at our 15^th Anniversary, we are just getting started on the real work of making our community a better place for kids and families, and helping to create and sustain a healthy environment. The combination of these new people and organizational changes position us to propel SVP’s work to a new level of impact and positive change.

A Huge Thank You and Fond Farewell

After almost 6 years as our dedicated Operations Manager, Marlene Rapues has moved on to new personal and professional adventures.   During her tenure with us Marlene brought a constant warmth and friendly presence to both the SVP staff team and her interactions with partners.  Whether it was her first time meeting you or the 100^th, she always greeted you with a big smile and an even bigger hug.

Marlene was the force behind the management of the office – from the not-so-glamorous daily details to the planning and logistics of our biggest events and important milestones including our move this past fall and our recent 15 year anniversary.  She has a left a deep personal impression on us and an indelible mark on SVP.  We wish her our best as she heads off to Hawaii to spend the next month with family and friends.

We will soon begin the task of filling Marlene’s big (and stylish) shoes.  If you know someone up to the task, please stay tuned for our job posting!

SVP is pleased to announce that we have launched the first Encore Fellowship in the Seattle region. Rayna Liekweg (right) is joining Eastside Pathways as an Encore Fellow in the position of Outcomes and Accountability Manager.  Rayna will play a key role in furthering Eastside Pathways’ leading-edge, collective action work in support of kids from cradle to career.

Rayna’s responsibilities will include defining a process for collecting and reporting on their community scorecard, and building the data and measurement infrastructure in support of initiatives such as the Campaign for Grade Level Reading.  She will also act as a primary liaison to Eastside Pathways’ peer communities and regional and national resources on the topic of data and measurement.

Like all Encore Fellows, Rayna’s position draws upon her extensive professional career.  Designed for individuals who are transitioning from midlife careers to encore careers, the Fellowships deliver new sources of talent to organizations solving critical social problems.

During the Fellowship period (typically six to 12 months, half to full time), the Fellows take on roles that bring significant, sustained impact to their host organizations. While they are working, the Fellows earn a stipend, learn about social-purpose work, and develop a new network of contacts and resources for the future.

In Rayna’s case she will build upon years of work with IBM and AT&T Wireless, where she specialized in data networks and managing large scale technical implementations, as well as her significant volunteer experience.

This is a significant first step towards developing an Encore Fellowship Network in the Seattle area, and another SVP initiative that builds capacity in the social sector and provides a direct path to impactful social purpose work for SVP Partners and prospective Partners.

Looking for Your Own Encore Opportunity?

SVP is currently looking for candidates to match with Northwest Energy Efficiency Council in a Marketing Fellow position.

Anyone interested in the environment, clean energy and that has marketing experience – especially in development of merchandising or product marketing – should contact Jim McGinley (jim@svpi.org).

You can also fill out an Encore Fellows application.

When I was growing up, my mother always told me to study hard. “Study hard,” she said, “so that you can work in an office one day and go to meetings and push paper, and not have to do manual labor like me and your dad.” Then she would add: “And eat some food. You look like a pale exhausted monkey and are the second least attractive member of our extended family.” (Thank God for cousin Nghi and her one twitching eye).

Anyway, Mom got her wish, because I do work in an office and I go to a lot of meetings, and sometimes those meetings are even useful. Our field does a lot of meetings, and yet we don’t stop to think much about them. Today, we’ll talk a little about the layout of the room and how it impacts the dynamics between participants. We barely notice, but simple things like where tables and chairs are placed and where the meeting participants are sitting in relation to one another makes a huge difference in power dynamics, and thus, the outcomes of the meeting.

First, let’s talk about large meetings with multiple people. The results of the meeting can be determined before anyone even walks into the room by how the tables and chairs are arranged.

The Power Formation. The front of the room is the seat of power, and people in the front are perceived to be more powerful than everyone else. This is why we naturally place politicians, panel speakers, and other experts and authority figures in the front of the room. This can be tricky, though, because sometimes you do not want them to be perceived as more powerful than you. One time, I was attending a community meeting designed to hold some higher-ups in Seattle Public Schools accountable for the inequity among our schools. This meeting was organized by the community. I entered the room and saw 8 seats in the front, facing the audience of 15. While the intent was to place the officials in the “hot seat,” the reality was that they now seemed like authority figures towering over the rest of us.  By the end of the meeting, they got us to promise that we’ll work harder to close the achievement gap.

The Circle Formation. Having everyone sit in a circle (or square) conveys a sense of democracy and community. It is also is the appropriate diffuser of power, forcing authority figures to recognize unconsciously that they are just like everyone else, the toiling, unwashed masses. This is what we should have done instead of the Power Formation in the situation above. Plus, the Circle Formation is the most efficient formation for snack distribution.

The U Formation. Arranging tables in a U shape conveys a sense of regalness. The person placed at the head of the table cannot have a diametric opposite, meaning this person has ultimate power. This formation best used when there is a very special guest of honor present, such as the Queen or an Iron Chef, in which case, break out the fine linens and hire some butlers. Otherwise, this formation is pretty stupid and should be avoided at all times.

The Small Groups Formation. Having people sit in small groups fosters both teamwork and competitiveness. It reminds people of high school, when they had to sit in small groups and do projects together, occasionally teasing that one lanky vegan kid who with the bad haircut because his dad always cut his hair. Well, oh yeah, David? Look who’s a nonprofit executive director now while all you got is a “JD”?! What is that anyway, some sort of degree you made up?!

Sorry, I got distracted. This formation is a great way to get people to know one another, especially if you throw in a competitive game or two. It is also an effective diffuser of power. When you have multiple authority figures, scatter them across different groups. When more than one is present, their power combined is not additive, but exponential, along with how annoying they are, being all chummy with one another and saying stuff like, “Yes, let’s get lunch soon” and “Vu, why isn’t the draft of next fiscal year’s budget done? The board must approve it at the next meeting.”

Many of our meetings are one-on-one. For those meetings, it is important to analyze with whom you are meeting and for what purpose. Then determine the appropriate formation to take:

The Adversarial Formation (aka The Interrogation Formation). Sitting directly across a table from someone sends the message that you want to be formal. We use this position when we are playing competitive board games, like Chess. This is a good position when you want to keep your distance or seem imposing. Sometimes it becomes the Interrogation Formation, where a panel of people sits across the table from one person, usually to glare at them while asking interview questions and looking cryptic. Generally I avoid sitting directly across a table from anyone in a one-on-one meeting, as it is unconsciously intimidating. It is useful though when you’re dealing with unsolicited visitors, people you’re meeting for the first time, staff who want to meet with you to complain about their health insurance not kicking in even though it’s been eight months or some other ridiculous reason. Or you are just trying to hide a fifth of whiskey. The bigger the table, the more formality is conveyed. If the table is small, though, such as at cafes, the effects are greatly minimized.

The Intimate Formation. Sitting on the same side of the table as someone sends the message “We’re on the same team” and is really creepy. Unless you know someone well, never ever sit on the same side as they are sitting. It’s like giving an awkward hug, but for an hour, or however long the meeting lasts. Exceptions can be made if you need to look at some documents together, or if for some reason the two of you are on the porch with a cold beer each, sharing war stories or something.

The Corner Formation. Sitting across from someone in such a way that there is one corner of the table between the two of you is a great middle ground between the intimidating Adversarial Formation and the creepy Intimate Formation. I like to use this position as the default when I am meeting with people one-on-one. It makes me seem approachable, but there is still a buffer between me and the other person, allowing them to feel a sense of security. This is a great formation to use when interviewing people for jobs, as it allows them to feel relaxed in a formal setting. It’s also great to use when you have to give bad news or feedback.

Those are the 7 main meeting formations. Learn them well and you’ll be able to greatly affect the outcomes of any meeting. But there are other formations, for more advanced meeting goers. For example the Flanking Formation, where two people from the same organization will flank someone from a different organization, causing disorientation and intimidation. Then there’s the Wagon Wheel Formation, the Intervention Formation, the Fish Bowl Formation (aka the Thunder Dome Formation), and the Lemmings Formation.

But we’ll discuss those later in a future post. We’ll also discuss the different snacks and how they affect power dynamics. Hint: Hummus is an effective tool when deployed strategically.

--

Vu Le is the Executive Director of the Vietnamese Friendship Association (VFA), an SVP Investee. His column, Point of Vu, documents the fun of nonprofit work. Vu also publishes regularly on his own blog, Nonprofit with Balls. He can be reached at vu.le@vfaseattle.org.

Seemed like a great idea and it was. We took off fast in Seattle … and then Jerry Hirsch from Phoenix, Rich Osborn from Vancouver, Karen Rodman from Dallas, Brad Zumwalt from Calgary, Darcy Bingham from San Diego (you get the idea) called and said they’d like to do an SVP in their town. Because of them SVP became a model, not just a program in a city.

What resonated back then was the idea of being engaged in philanthropy beyond your money, bringing your human capital to the table too, and building the capacity of nonprofits. Paul Brainerd & Scott Oki and co. were right … it was a powerful model and it did bring in a new generation of philanthropists and it would’ve been neat if the story ended there ….

… but it didn’t. There is a story unfolding today around the world, quite literally, that some of of you have probably heard bits & pieces about, but just a few of us have been lucky enough to see the “whole elephant.” It’s pretty remarkable and speaks to a vision that is even more powerful today than  it was 15 years ago.

If you were at the 15^th Anniversary, you got a few pieces of the story from Arathi Laxman and Lance Fors. If you would’ve been with me in Portland for dinner back in November, that’s when it started to come into full view. Here’s the deal … in the last year, SVP has launched in not just Charleston and Chicago, but in Bangalore, with more on the way in India (the hyperlinks really help tell this story). We launched last week in Melbourne and will finalize an agreement shortly to launch SVP in China, starting in Beijing. Are ya still with me?!

Within the next 12 months, we will launch not only in Houston, but in Dublin and London and …. somehere else, I’m sure. When we meet for the next SVP Network Conference Oct 17-19 in Palo Alto (BE THERE!), we will have members from around the world. I assume you are starting to catch on at this point … this is all transpiring because more people are finding SVP, we are proactively seeking out leaders in cities and countries, we have phenomenal Staff (Ruth, Rona, and co.) and Board (Lance, Nancy, Kevin and co.) leadership, and we’ve rolled out a global SVP brand – check it out!

Back on April 17, there was an email string that went like this – about a year ago, someone in Calgary referred a partner to Seattle, who is now going back to Calgary. I shared that story, after which Toronto chimed in and said she has contacts in London (and Hong Kong), where we will be starting up an SVP. The Network office responded and pointed out other places / nodes where SVP’s will be starting up. Waterloo is paying attention and says she and Toronto need to talk, but also lets us know that she’ll be headed to India, also has connections to Melbourne, where another SVP just started. And Waterloo has a partner that moved to Dublin.

That was just one email string in less than 24 hours, sometimes connected to the message before, sometimes a new thread starting up because the previous messages sparked a thought. That’s what happens when a network really takes off and reaches a tipping point …

… and when it hits you that a Vision has gotten even more powerful 15 years later! SVP is cutting across not just geographies, but across political beliefs and cultures. There is something universal in what each and all of us are doing and it resonates around the world … it’s about the connectedness of doing philanthropy collectively, the power of a local / regional / national / worldwide network, and it’s about people unlocking their own potential to change their neighborhood or their world. I’m not sure if those 5 people knew how powerful their vision was almost 16 years ago … but it doesn’t really matter, does it? It just is … that powerful.

When we got together at MOHAI back on March 23^rd, the main theme I tried to convey was that we are just getting started, we are not yet who our community, our world needs us to be. I would have meant that if we were just talking about Seattle, but when you start thinking about the world, well ... I’ve wanted to write this note for weeks now, almost desperate for everyone to really grasp what is going on, what you are a part of.

No one can say they aren’t helping to create this worldwide movement, because without each of us and all of us, there is no SVP worldwide movement. That’s one heck of a vision 15 years later ….

What will we be saying about that Vision 15 years from now?!

Dear Nonprofit Director: We recently moved to Seattle from Texas, and my 14-year-old son has been having challenges adjusting. He has no friends, spends all his time in his room, and just looks sad and miserable all the time. It breaks my heart to see him like this, as he was always an outgoing and cheerful boy. What can I do? Beginning to Lose All Hope

Dear BLAH: Huge changes can severely affect the morale of any team. Take your son to lunch to express your concerns and listen to his side. Oftentimes, just knowing that you care can do a lot to raise his spirit. Work with him to figure out a strategy to ensure he has a meaningful and productive experience while in Seattle. For example, perhaps he can join a gluten-free baking club, an artisanal urban farming chicken raising class, or an organic biking meet-up group. If things do not improve, you may want to consider counseling. In any case, express to your son your expectations that he meet the outcomes you and he agreed to when he joined your family.

Dear Nonprofit Director: My four siblings and I live in the same city. We used to be very close until last year, when our oldest brother decided to spend Thanksgiving with his partner’s family out of town. So then my younger sister figured it would only be fair for her to spend Christmas skiing with her friends, which led to my other brother deciding to go to Vegas. My mother was very hurt, and now no one is looking forward to this year’s holidays. I’m trying to be the bridge-builder but I’m getting tired. Stuck in the Middle

Dear Middle: Your family may benefit from a weekend teambuilding retreat to reenergize and develop a strategic plan for how you spend the holidays. Determine your objectives and budget, then draft up an RFQ to hire a facilitator. During this retreat, make sure you do some trust falls and other team dynamics activities involving blindfolds. Do not leave the retreat without a one-year action plan as to who will spend which holiday where, along with specific metrics and evaluation instruments to determine if each holiday was successfully enjoyed.

Dear Nonprofit Director: I am thinking of giving my seven-year-old a small weekly allowance to teach him financial responsibility. My husband is reluctant, insisting that kids should just be kids. Who is right in this situation?  No Clever Acronym

Dear NCA: A team cannot function if each of its members does not have clear roles, responsibilities, and autonomy to make decisions. Giving your son an allowance and a clear line-item budget along with an orientation on which items he has full control over will increase his skills in financial management, develop his sense of ownership and investment, and relieve some of the burdens on you and your husband to take care of certain lesser purchases, such as food and clothing. Make sure your son documents all his spending with receipts so that you can do final accounting at the end of the fiscal year.

Dear Nonprofit Director: My daughter seems to favor her 10-year-old son “Billy” over her 12-year-old daughter “Abby.” It is sadly obvious. Abby gets into trouble all the time for the littlest things, while Billy can get away with anything and is rather spoiled. Abby confided to me that her mother is unfairly biased toward Billy and asked me to intervene in her behalf. I told my daughter this, but she became resentful and said I was intruding on her rights as a parent. What should I do? Concerned Grandma

Dear Grandma: The children are your daughter’s direct reports, so she does have the right to supervise them without intrusion, within reason. You made the mistake of intervening in your granddaughter’s behalf, which now creates tension between your daughter and granddaughter. What you should have done, and should do next time, is to encourage Abby to give feedback directly to her mother. This helps to increase respect between the two and helps Abby learn to problem-solve. If this does not work out, you may have to consider if your daughter is the right driver for this bus.

Dear Nonprofit Director: My boss has severe halitosis, smelling of a toxic combination of rotting garlic, sardines, and compost. Plus, he’s a “close-talker.” I dread any one-on-one meetings with him. How do I politely tell him without hurting his feelings or putting my job in jeopardy? Hate It Down in Ellensburg

Dear HIDE: Most people do not know that they have bad breath, which may be a sign of dental or even heart problems. They tend to appreciate the feedback, since very few people are courageous enough to deliver it. Let your boss know in private, and also tell him that he’s too close when he talks. If you feel that being direct might put your job in danger, it may be helpful to bring in a consultant to survey all the staff about the work environment and write up a report. Oftentimes, you can say something for months and get nowhere, but a consultant comes in, says the exact same thing using a report with some colorful graphs, and your boss will think it’s pure genius.

“Ask a Nonprofit Director” is the premiere syndicated advice column on life issues from the perspective of an Executive Director. Send your questions to askanonprofitdirector@gmail.com and it may be published in Episode 3. Also, check out Episode 1 of “Ask a Nonprofit Director” for even more awesome advice.

--

Vu Le is the Executive Director of the Vietnamese Friendship Association (VFA), an SVP Investee. His column, Point of Vu, documents the fun of nonprofit work. Vu also publishes regularly on his own blog, Nonprofit with Balls. He can be reached at vu.le@vfaseattle.org.

Bill Henningsgaard, like the coastal Oregon town of Astoria where he grew up, has a pronounced strength of character as well as charm. He lights up as he talks about Eastside Pathways, a partnership of organizations and individuals sharing a commitment to the idea that each and every child should have the chance to make the most of their lives.

Influenced by his civically engaged parents, Henningsgaard understood at a young age that being part of a community means helping to define and create the community’s life forces that affect so many.

His path to a high level of civic responsibility was not a linear one. “To be honest, I didn’t think much about public service as an undergraduate at Harvard, overseas in Norway or Scotland post-graduation or even at business school at Stanford,” he says.

But caring about his community was in Henningsgaard’s DNA. After years at Microsoft and traveling worldwide, he longed for a deeper connection with his town. Microsoft co-worker Paul Shoemaker had recently launched Social Venture Partners (SVP) and suggested that Henningsgaard join the board of one of SVP’s first investees, Youth Eastside Services.

After attending a Bellevue Schools Foundation coffee at Lake Hills Elemen­tary School in January 2011, he “was stunned” to learn of the numbers of kids who were struggling to succeed in many of Bellevue’s elementary schools.

“They were facing hurdles connected to poverty, language and mobility, and our schools weren’t able to close the resulting gaps,” he says. “After that coffee, Roxanne Shepherd from Bellevue Schools Foundation and John Stokes [a Bellevue City Council member] and I had coffee; they were immediately taken with the collective impact potential.  The conversation extended to the district, the city, key social service agencies and the college.”

By March 2011, Henningsgaard and his team had gathered 30 key community leaders for a discussion, and by June, they launched the organization with a 90-person kickoff. Today, Eastside Pathways has 40 partner organizations.

Eastside Pathways’ goal through collective action is to mobilize the entire community of Bellevue to support every child, step by step, from cradle to career.

“Our efforts to ‘connect the dots’ between all parts of our community enables us to help make the most of existing resources and make sure kids don’t fall through the cracks,” Henningsgaard says.

—AS

What most motivates you to give back to the community?
I enjoy this work. The people I’ve met and the sense of community and purpose are really gratifying. The closer I get to the schools and the community organizations that support kids and families, the more evident it is that they’re filled with dedicated and passionate people trying to change lives one kid at a time. It’s a privilege to get to know and work with them.

What qualities do you most admire in others?
I’m attracted to people who can see possibilities in the world around us. This community is full of those folks, which is the only explanation I can give why so many people and organizations have supported Eastside Pathways from the very beginning

Best recent read?
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. Also, I like crime thrillers by James Lee Burke or Norway’s Jo Nesbø.

How do you take your coffee?
Drip, black. Plain Jane all the way.

--

Bill Henningsgaard has been an SVP Partner since 1998. He is also currently the Executive Director of Eastside Pathways, an organization that mobilizes communities to support each child from cradle to career. Bill is also a co-founder of the Institute of Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, and a member of the board of Youth Eastside Services. Be sure to also check out Janice Deguchi's interview for ParentMap here!

In life, there are few things sweeter than that beautiful moment after a fundraising event is done (provided the event didn’t suck completely). It’s like living in a part of Alaska where it’s dark for six months at a time, and then finally seeing a sunrise and knowing that the darkness is abating. It reminds me of that time after my wedding reception. It was an awesome reception, complete with glowsticks and a live bunny and tons of booze, and we felt so much love and support and had more fun than we could remember. But that day that followed, that was magical. Sure, there were thank-you notes to write and other stuff to do, but slowly we started to feel a semblance of normality, like we had been lost in the woods and raised by wedding-planning wolves and now we were back to civilization.

Wedding-planning wolves, that’s hilarious. I am so sleep deprived. For the past couple of weeks, I have not been able to sleep. This is partially due to the baby, who wakes up every 30 minutes for the express purpose of wailing and spitting up on his father. But also because of this dinner, a 9-month ordeal very comparable to childbirth, including the screaming and crying and fetal positions, but without a cute baby at the end. For all the stress and night terrors and occasional fist fights, though, it actually turned out pretty well. We had an effective planning team, led by our no-nonsense Development Director (slash Finance Director slash HR Director slash Office Manager) Rachel, who, like any good Development Director, inspires people even as she simultaneously strikes fear into the heart of everyone around her.

300 or so people came, including several political leaders, and the event started and ended on time. For days I was worried about my speech, the standard inspiring ED speech, having had no time or energy to work on it. I was supposed to practice for a couple of hours before the event, but then exhausted I promptly feel asleep, waking up an hour before the dinner started, panicking and hoping the Maya just miscalculated their calendar and that the Apocalypse was still going to happen before I had to speak.

Anyway, I didn’t screw up my speech, or at least I didn’t think I did; I couldn’t tell, since in my baby-induced exhaustion it seemed kind of like a day dream, except this time, I wasn’t an Iron Chef on the Food Network. I think we may reach our goal, and besides one person who emailed later to say he and his guests hated the food and the location and their sound system and their table position and my suit and said the decorations gave him cancer and who actually had gotten his table to get up up and walk out (!) of the event in protest, I think the guests overall had a good time.

Still, we could certainly improve for next year. Here are some lessons I learned:

• Don’t seat politicians all together at the ED’s table. Politicians always leave early, since they run on political time, which is twice as fast as civilian time. Halfway through the dinner, I was left with my wife and baby and three other guests. I felt like a loser table captain who couldn’t fill his table. Next time, scatter the pols around, or seat the ones who plan to leave early in the back.
• Using tablets to do floating registration is awesome. We had volunteers with tablets who just went around the room checking people in, which completely cut out the waiting-forever-in-line-at-the-registration-table curse that plagues many annual events. Technology is so cool. Eventually, we’ll just have volunteers wearing Google Glass go around blinking at people to check them in. That’s the future.
• Check and double check the AV system, and spend money on a professional if necessary. There will always been AV issues. We had trouble with the microphones, which cut in and out, and all sorts of other stuff. The most painful part was during the heart-tugging video, which we had spent months on, and it turned out really well. But the 7-minute clip froze and buffered, ruining the momentum, and with each buffer my eye started twitching more and more, and I put my face in my hands to stop myself from openly weeping.
• Try to get a good night’s sleep before being video-taped for the heart-tugging video. I had a rough night the previous evening, and it showed in the video, where I look like Steve Buscemi’s less attractive younger brother who has slightly better teeth. (This, however, may have spurred some people to donate more out of pity.)

All right, there’s a whole bunch of other lessons learned, but I have to sign these acknowledgement letters and write little handwritten notes on each one before Rachel strangles me with her Development Director hands, which are super strong from all that envelope stuffing she does for our mailing campaigns. I am tired, haven’t slept more than 3.5 consecutive hours in the past 15 days, and smelling like spit-up and diaper rash cream. And yet, I feel good, and this high will last for a month or two, before we start planning next year’s event.

Thank you so much, to all our friends and supporters, for helping VFA to lift up families and communities.

--

Vu Le is the Executive Director of the Vietnamese Friendship Association (VFA), an SVP Investee. His column, Point of Vu, documents the fun of nonprofit work. Vu also publishes regularly on his own blog, Nonprofit with Balls. He can be reached at vu.le@vfaseattle.org.

Mimi Siegel’s parenting journey began in 1972 with the premature birth of her daughter. At the time, available avenues of support for a new parent caring for a preemie proved depressingly difficult to find.

Years later, when Siegel and her family moved to the Seattle area, she applied for a part-time job at Kindering, a not-for-profit neurodevelopmental center founded in 1962 by five Eastside mothers of preschoolers with disabilities. At Kindering, Siegel found not merely a job — she discovered her calling. “My own start as a parent connected me through the heart to this organization and to what we at Kindering call the ‘unexpected journey’ that our families have experienced.”

Siegel, who celebrates her 35th anniversary at Kindering later this year, describes the center’s work in easing early intervention pathways for children with special needs and their families as “a labor of love.” The impacts of Kindering and of Mimi Siegel’s leadership — she’s executive director — are striking: Today, Kindering helps more than 3,000 infants and children with special needs each year here at home in Washington.

The ripple effect goes well beyond our state’s borders, given the role Kindering has played over the decades in influencing national movements, and in creating program and operational blueprints for other centers like it around the country and the world.

Siegel’s admiring colleagues laud her as a skilled and compassionate leader, a prudent yet innovative steward of Kindering’s mission, an encouraging mentor, a community treasure. For Siegel, the work is its own deepest personal reward. She speaks with reverence and relish about the culture of excellence at Kindering, her inspiring mandate to innovate new programs to address community needs (what she calls “the puzzle of the work”) and the web of service organization relationships that help to create a safety net for the most vulnerable among us.

And how about this for a definition of job satisfaction?

“I am motivated by the fact that we have created answers. Our graduates are out in the community, and they are doing really well. We’ve not only given them hope, we’ve given them success.”

—Patty Lindley

Who is your personal hero?
My husband and two children. They have each sought different paths, focused on different priorities, and chosen different ways of relating to each other and to others. They have taught me that there really is no one right way of doing things, that all ways are authentic and earnest.

What quality do you most admire in others?
Integrity, but I don’t mean that in a shallow way — I mean a congruence, a cohesiveness of character and actions in the world.

What qualities do you try to cultivate in yourself?
Thinking bigger and bolder for Kindering is something I am always stretching to do. I’ve heard the term “raging incrementalism” used — I think that describes me and how we’ve built Kindering, program by program. I want to challenge myself to take some bigger leaps for the organization.

Best recent read?
I am reading Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris. Roosevelt was a fascinating and complex man.

How do you take your coffee?
Grande nonfat latte.

--

Mimi Siegel is the Executive Director of Kindering, a nonprofit focused on helping infants and children with special needs live life to the fullest. Mimi is also a founder of the Early Childhood Development Association of Washington, as well as a published author on subjects such as early intervention, therapeutic child care, and foster care. Be sure to check out Bill Henningsgaard's interview for ParentMap here!

Promoting self-advocacy is at the heart of the Denise Louie center’s mission; the 35-year-old program got its start in Seattle’s Chinatown–International District and today serves more than 300 children younger than 5 years old, many from immigrant communities, with top-quality preschool, multicultural early learning services and educational programs.

“I need to do work that I can believe in,” says Deguchi. “That’s what first led me to the social service sector. The work we do at Denise Louie Education Center matters immensely.”

An avid mentor, Deguchi is known for taking parents and Denise Louie staff to Olympia to meet with state legislators on behalf of early learning programs. Her role as past president of the Washington State Association of Head Start and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) allowed her to help serve more than 20,000 low-income children and families in Washington. Deguchi has also served on a number of statewide initiatives, including the Washington Early Learning Guidelines Advisory Committee.

As the parent of two school-age children in Seattle, Deguchi knows firsthand the importance of rich early learning experiences.
“Janice understands the needs and complex issues facing families — she gets it!” says Mai Nguyen, director of finance and operations for the Puget Sound affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and a personal friend of Deguchi. “She spends her time fighting for every kid to have the same access to learning so they can be kindergarten ready.”

— MJ

What most motivates you to give back?
I stay inspired by the great work of the staff and the involvement of so many of our parents.

How can we  inspire today’s youth to pursue their biggest dreams?
Children copy everything we do. If they see their parents taking on leadership, working, going to school and being engaged in the community, the children will be inspired to do the same.

What quality do you most admire in others?
Engagement and perseverance.

Best recent read?
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander was an eye-opener.

How do you take your coffee?
Stash licorice spice tea is my favorite hot drink!

--

Since 1997, Janice Deguchi has been the Executive Director of Denise Louie Education Center, a nonprofit dedicated to providing multicultural early learning and family support services to ensure that children in Seattle are fully equipped to succeed in school and life. She is also involved in other organizations such as the Minority Executive Directors Coalition and the Early Learning Action Alliance. Be sure to check out Mimi Siegel's interview for ParentMap here!

We are still not what the world needs us to be.

Paul Shoemaker, the Executive Connector of SVP Seattle, shares his vision for SVP's future, and why we're just now at the tip-off point.

Game on.

--

Paul Shoemaker is SVP Seattle's Executive Connector, as well as the Founding President of Social Venture Partner International. Paul was one of our five speakers at SVP's 15th Anniversary Flight; be sure to check out Tre' Maxie's story, too!