What’s New in 2012?

A Third Grant Committee 

Exciting news!  SVP’s resources have grown with our Partnership (92 new Partners in 2011), and we have more interest in our Grant Committees than we have seats.  So…SVP has decided to give an additional grant this year! 

The grant will be focused on youth development and targeted at organizations that are providing out of school programing for kids ages 5-18. 

Learn more about the Out of School Time Grant Committee and applying for a grant >>

Tomorrow’s Conservation Philanthropy Leaders

As the Brainerd Foundation approaches its sunset in 2020, it is committed to generating more philanthropists who will continue the dedication, ethos, and drive for measurable change that Paul Brainerd has brought to the field of conservation philanthropy. 

Their goals are very much aligned with SVP’s mission to connect and develop individuals, taking them to the next level in their philanthropy.  Thus, the Brainerd Foundation has awarded SVP a grant to assess the opportunity to develop individuals with a passion for the environment and deepen their influence as philanthropists. 

Over the next several months SVP will be:

• Interviewing leading conservation philanthropists to discover what we should look for in characteristics and motivations of new conservation philanthropists.
• Interviewing individuals with potential to be influential conservation philanthropists to get their ideas on what it would take to trigger a full commitment on their part to the cause of conservation philanthropy.
• Based on the results of the assessment, develop and validate a program design that would support finding and developing new conservation philanthropists.

If you’d like to learn more about this project, please contact Sofia Michelakis.

Diversity and Cultural Competency Group Reconvened 

SVP is reconvening our Diversity & Cultural Competency Group.  Co-chaired by SVP Partners Todd Vogel and Bernadette Merikle, this group will refine our work so that SVP staff and Partners walk into every new funding relationship and nonprofit capacity building project open and ready to adapt to each organization’s unique culture.   

The Diversity and Cultural Competency Group will meet monthly. Their findings and recommendations will be integrated into SVP’s day-to-day practices and our upcoming strategic planning process. 

If you are interested in participating, please contact Paul Shoemaker. 

Diving into Collective Action

Since 1997, SVP has strived to make a positive community impact in two ways: (1) connecting and engaging philanthropists, and (2) strengthening nonprofits. Today, we are exploring a third approach: collective action. 

As a network, we know that SVP is in a unique position to bring people together for greater impact, but what is the best way to invest our time and resources?  What does our community need?  What role should we play? 

That’s what our Education and Environment Collective Action Teams (CATs) are working to figure out.  Drawing upon what they learned through our former Advocacy and Policy Committees, these two groups are developing plans that play to SVP’s strengths, provide high engagement opportunities for Partners and Investees, reflect lessons learned by those in the field and, most importantly, address the needs of King County. 

Specifically, the Environment Collective Action Team is placing sustainability at the core of their work.  They are looking for linkages to equity and economic prosperity and working towards a systems approach for addressing environmental issues. The Enviro CAT is currently exploring a partnership with the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Growing Sustainable Transit Communities program and the funders that support it. They are excited about the program’s system-wide approach, their momentum, the level of collaboration among stakeholders, as well as the scale of the effort. 

The Education Collective Action Team is spending the winter meeting with relevant funders, collective action consultants, non-profit organizations and community stakeholders engaged in “cradle to career” projects in the Puget Sound region.  Casting their net wide, members hope to identify the best way for SVP to engage in collective action efforts aimed at improving early learning and K-12 education. 

If you are interested in joining the Environment or Education Collective Action Team, please contact Sally Gillis.

Photo by an untrained eye on Flickr