The Network

So I walk into a local Starbucks at about 9am this morning, a little early for a 9:30am meeting with a past Partner. Another former Partner walks in shortly thereafter and she tells me all she is up to – working on a new national org called www.standwithus.com and other significant work. And she tells me how SVP really helped get her going. Her meeting (the pronouns will eventually get too confusing, but that’s the point) is with the mother of a current Partner, whose son is on an upcoming grant committee, and also who gives me a quick update on her daughter who is now a national program director for a non-profit out east that SVP has collaborated with.

When the past Partner gets there at 9:30, I get to listen in on another awesome conversation with someone that is ready to step up to leadership roles and to play at a more systemic, advocacy role. Part of what she talked about is how significant her early SVP experiences were in forming her philanthropy and in helping her realize where she could be most effective (she has since co-founded a local non-profit group too). She likes the K-12 Advocacy / Policy group, might like the Environment grant committee, etc. She and her husband re-joined (of course). Within the next five minutes, another current Partner walks in to meet with that former Partner I mentioned above about a joint community project they are both spearheading. One more current Partner walked in a few seconds later because she was also a part of the meeting.

Get it?!

Paul S