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Ask a Nonprofit Director, Episode 2: Advice on child rearing, family dynamics, and halitosis

Vu Le — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:30:00 -0700

This post was originally posted on Vu's blog, Nonprofit with Balls.

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.

The Change-Maker: 2013 Superheroes for Washington Families

ParentMap — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:55:00 -0700

This blog post was originally published on the ParentMap blog.

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!

The annual dinner is over. Long live the annual dinner!

Vu Le — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:54:55 -0700

This post was originally posted on Vu's blog, Nonprofit with Balls.

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.

The Humanitarian: 2013 Superheroes for Washington Families

ParentMap — Sun, 12 May 2013 19:45:00 -0700

This blog post was originally published on the ParentMap blog.

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!

The Advocate: 2013 Superheroes for Washington Families

ParentMap — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:30:00 -0700

This blog post was originally published on the ParentMap blog. As executive director for Seattle’s Denise Louie Education Center, Janice Deguchi specializes in advocating for children so that they can advocate for themselves.

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!

Tip-Off Point

Lindsey Engh — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:20:00 -0700

Since SVP was founded fifteen years ago, we've grown exponentially and have supported hundreds of nonprofits and communities, and yet...

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!

200 Cities by 2025

Lindsey Engh — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:55:00 -0700

"There are no limits other than self-imposed."

At our 15th Anniversary bash, Lance Fors, the SVP Network Board Chair, shared his own personal quest to find meaning in his work. He also explains the story behind the SVP network, and the reason why this idea of a worldwide philanthropic network is so powerful; so powerful, in fact, that it is now a global phenomenon - transforming people and communities around the world.

Lance Fors is the chair of Social Venture Partners International. Since selling his company, Third Wave, in 2005, he has been focusing on social change and entrepreneurship in his work. Lance was one of our five speakers at SVP's 15th Anniversary Flight; be sure to check out SVP Bangalore ED Arathi Laxman's speech too!

One Idea, 8,000 Miles

Lindsey Engh — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:40:00 -0700

One small idea has made its way 8,000 miles to India, where the need for impactful philanthropy and social change exists perhaps more strongly than elsewhere. As the Managing Partner of SVP India and the ED of newly implemented SVP Bangalore, 15th Anniversary speaker Arathi Laxman explains how India, a nation of many contrasts and contradictions, has a great need for SVP's presence, and how true impact can be achieved through a collective voice.

Since April 2012, Arathi Laxman has been the Managing Partner of SVP Bangalore, the newest SVP in the network. SVP Bangalore focuses on the improvement of lives in India through jobs and livelihoods. She has also been the acting Managing Partner of SVP India since March 2013. Arathi was one of our five speakers at SVP's 15th Anniversary Flight; you can check out Paul Shoemaker's inspiring speech from the same evening here!

The most crotch-kickingly craptastic grant application notice ever

Vu Le — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:28:23 -0700

This post was originally posted on Vu's blog, Nonprofit with Balls.

Today, I paid 10 bucks to get kicked in the crotch by a funder. Well, not literally, but that’s what it felt like. We had applied for a significant grant (over 100K), in partnership with another organization. Yesterday, we were excited to get an email from this funder asking for the ED to come downtown for a meeting, and to bring copies of the grant application. Sweet! One step closer!

Normally, this is how a grantmaking process works: First, an RFP is released. We review the RFP, figure out if it’s a good match for our mission, rally potential partners, write the application, and submit it. Then we wait. Usually, one of three things happens. The best scenario, of course, is getting a phone call saying we got the grant, in which case, depending on the size of the grant, I close down the office, tell the staff to stop helping disadvantaged clients for the day, and we all go out for ice cream.

The most common scenario is we get a letter saying, “Blah blah, we had 300 applications and there is only so much funding to go around; your application, while strong, did not qualify; we’re available for feedback,” in which case, depending on the size of the grant, I close down the office, tell the staff to stop helping disadvantaged clients for the day, and we all go out for alcohol, and in an inebriated state we beg the bar owner to be a sponsor or at least for some sympathy fries on the house.

A third result is an email or phone call asking us to come in for an interview or a meeting, in which case, a whirlwind of activities happens, including reviewing the grant application (because by then, we’ve forgotten what we proposed, something about helping kids), doing a pre-meeting to determine who says what so that we don’t trip over each other, and determining logistics such as carpooling and whether we should color coordinate our interview outfits and get haircuts.

The interview stage does not automatically mean that we get the grant, but it is exciting to think that we are a little closer to being able to do some cool programming and help some great kids and families. I am on paternity leave, but this was a large grant, so I dragged my fellow ED from the collaborating organization, Sharonne, and one of my staff, James, and we drove downtown, getting there 30 minutes early to review our game plan. James had spent the previous night creating a chart to better illustrate our program model.

We walked into the room, ready to answer questions and dazzle the two grant reviewers, who seemed like nice women.

“So you know how this process works,” said one of the women, “we got 10 applications, and could only select 2. Unfortunately, VFA is not one of the two organizations. However, you came real close and just missed it by a couple of points.”

WTF? We looked at each other, confused. “We have some feedback here for you, and can answer any questions you have. Would you like to hear the feedback?”

Silently, we nodded, thinking this was the most bizarre meeting ever. She went through a long list of feedback about our applications, both good and bad, and we sat there, stunned, like we were in some weird sort of nonprofit twilight zone.

“So,” she said, “do you have any questions?”

We paused.

“Yes,” I said, “when did the notice about the grant go out? Did you send a letter saying that we didn’t get this grant? Because we didn’t get any notice…”

The women looked at each other.

“Well, uh, no, sorry, I know it’s a little cryptic when we called you in, but we didn’t want the word spreading about who got and didn’t get the grant, so we, um, wanted to call you in and talk to you, and THEN we send out the notices.”

I was trying hard to control my temper, and I could feel the anger rising in Sharonne and James.

“We feel blindsided,” I said, “Normally we get a rejection letter or phone call, and then we ask for feedback. We are used to rejections, so that is not the issue. You don’t call people in, leading them to think that they are advancing in the process, only to tell them they didn’t get the grant.”

“Well, uh, that’s the process that [our supervisor] set up.” She looked at her colleague. “That’s funny, this is the first time we’ve gotten this feedback.”

“I don’t appreciate this,” I said. I had had all of two or three hours of sleep each night for the past 18 days and was in no mood to be extra nice.

“Your assistant asked us to bring in copies of our grant application,” said Sharonne, “why would we bring copies if it’s just a feedback session?” She had driven over an hour to get to this meeting.

“Well, uh, we see what you mean,” one of the women responded, “we certainly didn’t need copies. We have so many!—“

“Which we thoroughly reviewed,” the other woman chimed in cheerfully.

“We’ll talk to our assistant,” they said.

We left, feeling extra crappy. Not getting the grant is one thing, and something that all nonprofits are used to even though it hurts each time, but driving all the way downtown and wasting our time preparing for this meeting only to get 5 minutes of feedback that could have easily been delivered by phone, simply because they didn’t want word spreading prematurely—that sucks. Since this was downtown Seattle, we wasted 20 bucks on parking the two cars, making us all feel like we each paid to get kicked in the gonads, and not in a good way.

“Let’s go get a drink,” I said, and others thought it was a great idea. After a mimosa in each of us at 11:37am, the episode seemed hilarious. This was hysterical! Ha, James stayed up making a chart! Sharonne drove up from Olympia! Me spending several minutes this morning figuring out if I should wear my red button-down shirt, which conveys power, or my purple striped button-down shirt, which conveys practicality. (I chose the purple one). We didn’t get the 100K grant that we had spent hours working on! It was really, really funny!

I love this work. It is never boring, even on some days when I wish for it to be.

Our waitress was extra nice when we told her what happened. “Keep trying,” she said. I should have asked her for some sympathy fries.

Under the Hood

Lindsey Engh — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:25:00 -0700

Five years ago, Powerful Schools became one of our first Investees to be reinvested in by SVP. Part of this reinvestment required the entire organization to go "under the hood" to find out exactly what worked well, and what didn't. The results of this exploration gave them the foundation they needed to grow exponentially - from 1,000 to 4,000 students within four years. Tre' Maxie, Executive Director of Powerful Schools and one of our 15th Anniversary speakers, shares why he thinks it's so important to have this kind of appraisal not only for the organization, but for each of the individuals who worked at Powerful Schools too.

Tre' Maxie is the executive director of Powerful Schools, a nonprofit dedicated to student achievement. He also serves on the Washington State Board of Education. Tre' was one of our five speakers at SVP's 15th Anniversary Flight; you can check out SVPI Board Chair Lance For's speech here.

Behind the Camera at the Denise Louie Education Center

Lisa Merrill — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:05:00 -0700

"If you see a gun, don't touch it, even to throw it in the garbage. Run and tell an adult in your house. It's their job to keep you safe."

Looking through my camera at the circle of rapt 4-year-olds at Denise Louie Education Center (DLEC) on Beacon Hill, I realized yet again how much we ask of our preschools. With half of Washington's children unprepared for Kindergarten, there's a lot of vital work to be done. While DLEC's Head Start program focuses on school readiness, its scope goes beyond academic and social/emotional skills to include other essentials for children's healthy development such as nutritious lunches, exercise, parent education, and on this day, a gun safety talk.

A professional photographer and long-time contributor to the work of Social Venture Partners, I volunteer with some of the nonprofits SVP funds and strengthens, helping them tell their story to potential clients, volunteers and funders through compelling images. It's challenging and rewarding work, and gives me an up-close perspective on stellar organizations tackling huge societal challenges.

Earlier this winter, I was privileged to witness and photograph many special moments at DLEC's Head Start and Early Head Start programs. I came away deeply impressed with the vital work DLEC is doing. Serving more than 300 children from birth to age 5 and their families, many from immigrant communities, DLEC is a leader in early childhood education. Executive Director Janice Deguchi was recently named a 2013 Superhero for Washington Families by ParentMap magazine. I wish all kids could benefit from an organization of its caliber!

DLEC's Beacon Hill Head Start facility is welcoming, clean, and colorful. I photographed teachers as they interacted with small groups of kids in a variety of activities. Encouraging and enthusiastic, each got down on the floor to engage young learners at their level, literally. The children quickly forgot about me as they played, explored and learned at craft tables, reading nooks, pretend kitchens, tubs of water toys, and a computer. A large rug by a window was the site of a new community as masterpieces of blocks were created piece by piece.

A bell signaled it was time for clean-up, hand-washing and lunch. I photographed the day's designated table-setters as they precisely folded napkins and counted plates and silverware. Once everyone was seated, the children took turns serving themselves a healthy meal – noodles, greens and fruit – carefully pouring milk from kid-sized pitchers. I found myself thinking about their many counterparts playing alone or watching TV or perhaps hungry for a nutritious meal.

After lunch, I was surrounded by kids on tricycles doing loops around the playground, while others shrieked by in carts pushed by classmates, and two girls pumped their legs on a swing trying to go higher and higher. My experience photographing festivals and my own kids' sporting events proved useful as I did some fast-paced action photography, capturing moments of glee in images for Denise Louie's website, annual report or other communications.

A few weeks later I photographed a boisterous group of toddlers and their young mothers at DLEC's Early Head Start (EHS) program, which recognizes the huge impact pre-preschool experiences have on brain development and a child's future success. Blocks were stacked, goo was mixed, and teachers gave parenting tips in Spanish. A few tears flowed when the moms went to an adjacent kitchen for a cooking and nutrition class. Later, while the just-baked healthy pizza was devoured, a member of DLEC's Policy Council urged the mothers to attend an upcoming meeting and get involved in their children's education.

Since our partnership began in 2010, SVP has made grants of $140K to Denise Louie. While this financial capital is especially important due to cuts in government funding, SVP's human capital is transformative. SVP Partners have worked with DLEC staff on leadership development, board development, human resources planning and other projects which enable DLEC to expand its capacity to have an even greater impact on our community.

If DLEC's work intrigues you, I urge you to learn more and consider investing your own funds and/or skills in this worthy organization. Find out more here >>

My husband and I joined SVP in 1998 because we wanted to donate our resources and skills to carefully vetted non-profits tackling huge challenges. 15 years later we're as passionate about SVP as ever, and I'm proud to serve on its Board of Trustees. My next pro-bono photo project will be for one of SVP's investees, and I'm confident it will be as challenging and rewarding as my work for DLEC.

To see more of my photography for social change organizations in the Seattle area and around the world, visit www.merrillimages.com. You can check out my non-profit gallery here. You can also see my photographs in DLEC's recent Annual Report.

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Lisa Merrill is a long-time SVP Partner and board member. She is also one of SVP’s 240 volunteers, who we honor during National Volunteer Appreciation Week. See our other volunteers here >>

Happy Volunteer Appreciation Week!

Willow Saranna Russell — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:30:00 -0700

Whether you served on an SVP committee, volunteered to help strengthen a nonprofit, took part in a project with the Family Service Group, gave time to our Social Innovation Fast Pitch, or made all of this possible with your annual contribution – THANK YOU.

It is an inspiration to be a part of community so committed to service!

Check Out Last Year’s 240 Volunteers!

Victor Alcantara	Beck Hallmann	Will Poole
Michael Aldridge	Kristen Hamilton	Tara Prakriya
Emily Anthony	Ben Hansen	Rona Pryor
Marc Avni	Jeff Hansen	Kim Rachmeler
Robin Avni	Cathi Hatch	Seema Ramchandani
Akhtar Badshah	Susan Heikkala	Ingrid Rasch
Rashmir Balasubramaniam	Linda Hendrickson	Brian Rayfield
Nona Battistella	Bill Henningsgaard	Robin Rayfield
Kristen Bauer	Sandy Hill	Karen Rea
Rick Beaton	Steven Hollinshead	Mike Rea
Ronny Bell	Polly Hopkins	Kate Reddy
Eric Berman	Bu Huang	Dave Richards
Jennifer Beyers	Walter Impert	Sherry Richardson
John Bigelow	Denise Jason	Dan Rinder
Allison Bilas	Dan Johnson	Pam Robbins
Byron Bishop	Darrell Johnson	Joe Roberts
Fraser Black	Jean Johnson	Gerod Rody
Alan Blickenstaff	Bruce Jones, Jr.	Chris Rogers
Susan Bloch	Ammen Jordan	Laurie Rosini
Colette Boeker	Pam Kahl	Charles Roxin
Warren Boeker	Nadine Kano	Renee Russak
Lisa Bontje	Adrianne Keffeler	Carol Ryan
Norm Bontje	Dan Kihanya	Julie Sandler
Andrew Boyd	Virginia Klamon	Don Schlosser
Bryan Brewer	Jack Knellinger	Tim Schottman
Brad Brickman	Tony Laliberte	Dianne Schultheis
Craig Bruya	Christine Larsen	Steve Schwartz
Cindy Butler	Aana Lauckhart	Tim Seifert
Mike Cadigan	Vu Le	Cheryl Sesnon
Hermann Calabria	Andrea Learned	Sarita Shaffer
Sandira Calviac	Jeff Leinaweaver	Meredith Shank
Kathleen Campbell	Janet Levinger	Matt Shaw
Sean Cappello	Arlene Levy	Katja Shaye
Marti Casey	Luni Libes	Sachi Shenoy
Paul Cavanaugh	Eric Liu	Rob Short
Vikram Chalana	Janis Machala	Mimi Siegel
Bonnie Chan	Joan Machlis	Ericka Sisolak
Lisa Chin	Pragya Madan	Bill Skilton
Bridgette Christiansen	Rags Madison	Sergey Smirnov
Kate Cochran	Carl Malone	Peter Smith
Jacob Colker	Peter Mansour	Christie Snyder
Bettijean Collins	Erik Marks	Stephanie Solien
Karen Conover	Brenda Marshall	Greg Sommers
Tim Crosby	Mary Marshall	Peter Spiro
Charlie Curtis	Christine Martin	Sarah Stachowiak
Sarah Daniels	Shaula Massena	Monika Steen
Daniel Davis	Charles Mauzy	Mike Stewart
Julie Davis	Tré Maxie	Heidi Stolte
Dean DeCrease	Jim McGinley	Christina Storm
Ken Deering	Austin McNamee	Brad Struss
Bob Dent	Bernadette Merikle	Susan Sullivan
Tiffany Devoy	Nicholas Merriam	David Summers
Mark Dickison	John Merrill	Sangeetha Suryanarayanan
Casey Dilloway	Lisa Merrill	Matt Talbot
Tolis Dimopoulos	Tony Miles	Jeff Thiel
Emer Dooley	Laurie Miller	Eric Thomas
Dick Dudley	Peter Miller	Dave Thompson
Julie Edsforth	Prady Misra	Martin Tobias
Matt Eldridge	Sweta Modi	Kentaro Toyama
Bill Ellis	Diane Moore	Dawn Trudeau
Meg Enderby	Gillian Muessig	Wendy Tse
Chris Enslein	Ron Murray	Ben Tweet
John Enslein	Karen Myers	Jeanne Tweten
Stephen Faciszewski	Neal Myrick	Chaitra Vedullapalli
Claire Fang	Thomas Neilson	Fortunato Vega
John Fine	Samantha Neukom	Nitya Venkateswaran
Doug Forbes	Lakshmi Nidamarthi	Todd Vogel
Kirsten Franklin-Temple	Lisa Norton	Gary Voth
Michele Freed	Bob Nowlin	Linda Wagener
Ali Friedman	Sean O'Connor	Ann Watson
Patricia Friel	Erin Okuno	Dan Weaver
Zoe Gadgil	Sue Oliver	Ted Weiler
Laura Galbato	Kevin Owyang	Lowell Weiss
C'Ardiss Gardner Gleser	Ken Pawlak	Jerry Weissman
Richard Gary	Helen Perdue	Brian Whitaker
Julio Gil	Julie Pham	Mary Willis
Kari Glover	Kevin Phaup	Sherri Wolson
William Gould	Gifford Pinchot	David Woolley-Wilson
Kristin Graham	Nataliya Piskorskaya	Jamie Zembruski
Deb Hagen-Lukens	Tina Podlodowski	Amy Zimerman

Did we miss you or someone you know? Please share your/their name below so we can add them to our list!!

8 Facts You Didn't Know About Earth Day

Lindsey Engh — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:10:00 -0700

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. -- John Muir

From grassroots beginnings to the global celebration it is today, Earth Day celebrates its 43rd anniversary today. Read on for eight facts you may not know about one of our most enduring holidays.

Earth Day is one of many holidays dedicated to environmental issues, campaigns, and ideas throughout the year.
Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was inspired by the anti-war protests of the late 1960s. His original goal was to create a "national teach-in on the environment," as well as to raise public awareness of air and water pollution to bring environmental issues into the national spotlight and political agenda.
The first Earth Day focused on air and water pollution, as well as recognition of the environmental degradation that phenomenal post-war growth of American industry caused. Today, the Earth Day Network emphasizes the issue that while climate change may still seem like a remote problem to our leaders, the fact is that it's already impacting real people every day, through the Network's Faces of Climate Change campaign.
American writer and activist, Henry David Thoreau, is considered one of America's first environmental novelists. Disillusioned with contemporary life, he set out to live alone in a small house near the shore of Walden Pond in Massachusetts in 1845 for two years; his observations of the world around him were recorded in his novel Walden.
The first Earth Day, which took place on April 22nd, 1970, were full of students in bell-bottoms and gas masks.
20 million Americans took part in the first Earth Day. Today, almost one billion people from over 192 countries will help to celebrate.
SVP Environmental Investees celebrate Earth Day in a variety of ways: The Washington Environmental Council is holding a lecture on the rise of US environmental health to mark the occasion, and Mountains to Sound Greenway will receive $1 for each carwash at Brown Bear Carwash locations.
Today, Seattle celebrates Earth Day with the Grand Opening of the Bullitt Center in Capitol Hill - the greenest commercial building in the world. Check out more pictures from the Bullitt Center Grand Opening!

Summer Search Proven to Increase College Readiness for Low-Income Students

Liz Hurst — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:55:00 -0700

SVP Investee, Summer Search recently announced a study that proves its character-based education program is putting low-income youth on track for college.

The study found that 89 percent of Seattle public school students who enrolled in Summer Search for one year were ready for college, compared to 64 percent of their peers in control groups. Summer Search students also achieved significantly higher grades and were enrolled in more challenging high school courses.

Noting that Summer Search Seattle students face many risks of not making it to college, lead investigator Barbara Grant said, “By any measure these are remarkable results as these students were not necessarily on a college bound track.”

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the study was conducted by Seattle-based MGS Consulting Group, Inc. to better understand the positive impact that community organizations can have on academic achievement. Summer Search was one of six organizations selected for the study due to its track record for building the character, confidence and life skills needed for low-income youth to complete high school and succeed in college and life.

“We are excited that this study has provided new data about how community organizations like Summer Search are helping low income students reach college despite facing tremendous obstacles,” said Ken Thompson, program officer, Pacific Northwest Initiative at the Gates Foundation. “We hope that the findings of this study will encourage district and community leaders to identify best practices and support more students to succeed.”

The study validates Summer Search’s focus on building character skills and supporting academic performance for low-income youth through a five-year program that includes mentoring from dedicated staff members, summer enrichment experiences and focused college counseling.

“We are inspired every day by the perseverance of our students to become the first in their family to go to college,” said Summer Search Seattle Executive Director Deidre McCormack martin. “We are very grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for inviting Summer Search to participate in this study.”

About Summer Search Seattle

Summer Search Seattle serves 275 (students in King County, 100 percent of whom are low income and over 50 percent are African American or Latino. Over 90 percent of the students enrolled in Summer Search Seattle are the first person in their family to go to college. To learn more, visit Summer Search Seattle online.

SVP has supported Summer Search since 2009. Learn more about SVP's work with Summer Search.

About Summer Search

Summer Search is a national non-profit organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by helping low-income youth build the character and life skills needed to complete college and become leaders in their communities. Summer Search has served 4,300 students across Seattle, the SF Bay Area, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. To learn more, visit Summer Search national online.

Welcome New SVP Investee Futurewise!

Sally Gillis — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:40:00 -0700

SVP’s Environment Collective Action Team is pleased to welcome Futurewise as their first Investee!

With a grant of $40,000 and capacity building volunteer support, SVP will assist Futurewise to deepen their engagement and leadership in collective action. Specifically, they will focus on Futurewise’s work with Growing Transit Communities, an initiative that engages public and private funders, city and regional government, as well as nonprofits.

Futurewise is an ideal partner for the Enviro CAT’s campaign: “On track and all aboard: using transit to build a healthy, livable, equitable and prosperous community for all.” Futurewise understands the vital roles equity and the economy play in championing change in our environment, and have done exemplary work in building transit-oriented communities.

Members of the Enviro CAT are excited to begin their partnership with Futurewise.

“At SVP, we are in a unique position to say to nonprofits like Futurewise: ‘What are your biggest dreams... and how do we help you get there,’” shares CAT member, Meg Enderby.

In their relationship with Futurewise, CAT members hope to leverage SVP’s expertise in connecting philanthropists and nonprofits – exchanging skills and knowledge that strengthens both parties, allowing them to make a greater impact together. With increased excitement in building transit-oriented cities, SVP has the opportunity to help build Futurewise’s capacity to take on a larger role in community wide efforts as well as support and learn how to deepen SVP’s role in collective action.

This grant is made in coordination with the Puget Sound Funders Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a funders collaborative focused on the environment, equity and the economy, working to build a stronger Seattle where everyone is able to live, lead and thrive. SVP serves as co-chair of the collaborative.

More About Futurewise

Futurewise is a statewide public interest group working to promote healthy communities and cities while protecting farmland, forests and shorelines today and for future generations.

They are the only statewide group in Washington working to ensure that local governments manage growth responsibly. Founded in 1990, Futurewise has established an impressive track record on growth management issues as the state's primary advocate for smart growth policies.
Futurewise's organizing and advocacy work, public education and legal program, and the technical support that they provide local groups have become the foundation of good growth management in Washington.

Join Us to Welcome Futurewise!

Please join the Collective Action Team and members of the SVP Board as we welcome Futurewise to the SVP family at a reception on May 7^th at Stephanie Solien’s house.

If you want to learn more about SVP’s Collective Action work, please contact Sally Gillis (sallyg@svpseattle.org ) and stay tuned for volunteer opportunities with Futurewise!