Paul Shoemaker, Executive Connector

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!

Game On

Paul Shoemaker — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:55:00 -0700

Every once in a while, someone will criticize SVP or me for not having a little more fun or taking the time to celebrate along the way. They are right, and if you were there Saturday night, are you satisfied for a while now?! :-)

We celebrated our 15^th anniversary. It was a lot of fun and overwhelming to have over 1,000 people RSVP; we filled MOHAI. Two things stood out for me – first, in the last few weeks leading up to March 23^rd, the rate of RSVPs almost accelerated, even after we quit promoting.

That isn’t self-laudatory; I think it says something about this movement, engaged philanthropy, the belief that our community’s problems have to get solved by working more and more together, rather than on our own. We’ve never had that many people (from Seattle to Beijing!) sign up for an SVP event and never with that kind of momentum. Citizens and philanthropists wanted to be in a space where they were with like-minded people that collectively believed we could make real change happen. (You can see a bunch of them below.)

Social Venture Partners 15th Anniversary 2013 - Images by Karen Ducey

Second, after I threw out the idea that we were just getting started or “tipping off” our work for our kids, youth, and the environment, there was a universal feeling about that idea – many people told me that was how they felt as well, and that we were now ready to really sign up for positive, meaningful change in a way that we haven’t before.

Can we be a part of helping every child, not 2 out of 3, start the first day of kindergarten ready to learn with equal chance to succeed? Believing everyone can live in a healthy, clean environment? And that every young person, not 7 out of 10, will graduate from high school with a very real opportunity to succeed in life? The answer NEEDS to be yes. And we've even got a start on how to do that thanks to those of you who visited "Terminal 30."

Anne Jess' graphic recording of 15 Year Anniversary participant ideas for SVP's future. See full size >>

I’m not sure we’ll be ready to do THAT big of a get-together again for another 15 years :-), but it was exhilarating, inspiring, and energizing to do it Saturday night and to reaffirm that the work we are engaged in matters … to and for each of us and for the community and world we are a part of. Game on!

P.S. If you didn't get a chance to sign our "Next 15 Years" b-ball last night, come on by the office and sign it ... and sign up for our potential, your potential.

Calling Corporate America to a Higher Purpose

Paul Shoemaker — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:23:43 -0800

In a lot of ways, we know what needs to be done to create large-scale impact. In America, we already have funding that can be put towards social change. However, we are still lacking in many ways - the right human capital and the ability to scale impact, to name a few. At this year's TEDxBGI (which took place in our new building!), Paul Shoemaker shares why big ol' Corporate America - that private sector Boogieman that we have all come to view with doubt and negativity - can go beyond volunteering, CSR, and corporate giving to make up the missing piece of this puzzle.

At this year's TEDxBGI, a diverse and accomplished line up of speakers explored the topic of "purpose" in terms of business responsibility, ethics, branding, social justice, long-term strategy, and success - all from diverse perspectives including the likes of Fortune 100 CEOs, first nation tribes in British Columbia, and women in Afghanistan.

A pretty cool moment ... 2 months ago

Paul Shoemaker — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 07:00:00 -0800

I got back from the SVP International conference in Portland almost two months ago. (Next one is in Palo Alto, CA, October 17-19, 2013 – Be there!!!) I’ve been meaning to jot down some thoughts, but the last 7-8 weeks of the year were a blur of SVP activity.

We call the international conference, affectionately, “drinking the Kool-Aid.” Anyone that comes to this conference of hundreds of Partners and dozens of staff from across the network has such a great opportunity to really get it, really get the value and the reach of the SVP movement. This one had all the stuff I’ve come to value and love over the years – seeing old friends, learning new ideas, being inspired by work going on in other cities, and sensing that like-minded spirit and ethos that cuts across the whole network, no matter where you are from.

But there was an extra, unique moment for me this year, on Friday night. I had dinner with 3 or 4 SVPI Board members, Ruth Jones, and key leaders from our formative SVP efforts in India and China. India isn’t just formative – www.svpbangalore.org – and we will have an SVP in China too in 2nd half, 2013. This is all coming together in India because of the vision of a handful of SVP Partners – Will Poole, Janet Levinger, Dave Richards. And in China because of that same kind of vision from SVPI Board members – Nancy Cannon, Lance Fors, Ruth Jones.

At dinner that night, we sat and listened to the aspirations and dreams of the founders in India and China-to-be. It was stimulating, very exciting, and … just a little bit overwhelming. Towards the end of their informal “presentations,” I sort of glazed over for a few minutes. I was remembering back to late 1997 to the founding event at The Ruins with Paul Brainerd, Scott Oki, Maggie Walker, Ida Cole, Bill Neukom and a hundred-plus squeezed into the room; especially to the founding vision of Paul Brainerd.

I texted Paul B a pic and short note to try to share that dinner with him. If you’d have heard the key leaders from India and China you’d think they were sort of channeling that evening in 1997; they really “get it,” even though they are halfway around the world, living in cultures and countries very different from North America. How is it possible that an idea could be so powerful and strong that it could spread ALL the way around the world in 15 years? (If you don’t believe me, come to Palo Alto next October.)

I know the founders weren’t thinking about other parts of the world, or even the USA, when they created SVP, but in a way, that speaks even more powerfully to how compelling their vision was – they put it out there and people from around the world have “found it.” There were two times during the conference when the new ED of SVP Bangalore, Arathi Laxman, was introduced, once at Staff Day and once at a plenary session. The cheer both times was spontaneous, boisterous, totally energizing. When she stood up, everyone in the room could feel they were a part of something bigger … now much bigger … than themselves.

Still makes my eyes glaze over a bit.

Grand Opening - So Much More Than a Building

Paul Shoemaker — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 03:35:00 -0700

Well, I have no idea why I didn’t take a pic, from the stage, of the HUNDREDS of people in the room when we officially opened the new space! If you were there, you already know this and if you weren’t, I just want everyone to know how ELECTRIC Friday evening’s grand opening was. No hyperbole, it was one of the most unique, exhilarating evenings in my career. There were Partners, BGI students, HUB members, community leaders, local businesses, lots of new and old friends, etc, etc, etc walking all 4 floors for several hours; over 1,000 RSVP’s. The positive energy was beyond palpable (is that enough extreme statements yet?!). It was surely day one with so much potential still to be worked on and realized, but it was one heck of a beginning in a space we hope will take SVP into the future in a whole new way for the next 15 years.

In my brief remarks, I offered up the ideas that this is not so much a place with an address, but a space with an aspiration for positive change; it isn’t just a building, but a shared belief in the power of collaboration; and we are not just co-tenants with The HUB and BGI, we are all connectors bringing together the people and ideas to make our community a better place. At least I sure hope so!

One other note – over the last few weeks in meetings with people in the area and grandly reinforced on Friday night, SVP + BGI + HUB can play a very positive role in the whole Pioneer Square area and its revitalization. Our presence, along with new housing, the transit hub, a new arena someday??, etc. just might finally help catalyze that area of town. That’s not a new goal of SVP’s per se, but it certainly lends to a feeling of being a part of something (unexpected) bigger than ourselves.

The potential of our new space is there for us to unleash AND will take a lot of work ahead to realize. If you weren’t there Friday night, come on by sometime soon and say hi to us on the 3rd floor. For anyone and everyone that had anything to do with Friday night – being there, sending good vibes, helping fund it, cleaning the carpet – THANK YOU!!

P.S. If any of you happen to be an FB friend of mine, yes I did go up on the roof with some folks around midnight and smoke a cigar. I think it was the 2nd or 3rd one of my life, but if there was ever the right time for one … :)

The Annual Camping Trip

Paul Shoemaker — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 03:45:49 -0700

Each summer, I take a weekend camping trip with one (or more) of my sons. Just so you know, it’s classic open-the-back-of-the-SUV camping, but it’s still a great experience to get out in the wild and open air with my guys. Last year, I used a reflection from that to draw an analogy to our approach to capacity building with non-profits. Something different stuck with me this year – as we were sitting around at night and after breakfast in the morning, my little guy (Sam, 11 years old) just loves, and I mean loves, playing around in the fire. I would imagine I’m not alone in that keen insight. What fascinated him most was letting it die down and then figuring out how he could get the fire roaring again, without using any “unnatural” aids. He figured out the best times and ways to blow on the fire, when the right kinds of sticks would make the most difference, how different kinds of wood worked better than others. It was really fun to watch.

The next week I was at a meeting and someone led it off with a poem, “Fire,” by Judy Brown. This isn’t the whole poem, but some parts that resonated with me and reminded me of watching Sam play with the campfire -

What makes a fire burn

is space between the logs,

a breathing space.

Too much of a good thing,

too many logs

packed in too tight

can douse the flames…

… We only need to lay a log

lightly from time to time.

A fire

grows

simply because the space is there,

with openings

in which the flame

that knows just how it wants to burn

can find its way.

That idea of “breathing space” and that the fire “can find its way” kindled (bad pun intended) thoughts about our work with non-profits in the community again. Sometimes, the most valuable part of our relationship can be in the “breathing spaces,” in that relationship between an ED and a Lead Partner, when volunteers go the extra mile and do more than they were asked to do, when an investee can call us during a crisis and we can help because we’ve been through it before. None of those are “more logs” moments, they are the in-between, unscripted moments that make the fire burn the brightest in our work with non-profits.

And the idea of a fire finding its own way … we just have to remember that all the time with our investees. They are the “flame” in the community and we are there to help it burn brighter and longer, but they can find their way. Just a simple thought. I learn a lot from my kids and being outdoors … maybe I should go camping more often.

White House

Paul Shoemaker — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:40:00 -0700

I got invited to the White House Forum on Philanthropy Innovation last week. Pretty cool opportunity. Just thought I’d share a couple reflections – It reaffirms that there are people all over this country (and world) giving their lives and everything they’ve got to help making the world a better place for everyone. Corny comment, but true.

The biggest theme of this particular get-together was innovative approaches to change, esp. financial. SVP is so focused on the human and social capital (as well as financial) part of the equation that I don’t think about financial innovation as much. But it’s incredibly relevant, for two really big reasons, at least as I listened that day –

The pool of financial capital available for social change from institutions and the public sector is really constrained for the foreseeable future. We all know the story on the debts and cutbacks at local, state, and federal levels and some of the biggest foundations in the world can’t count on the markets to grow their endowments, like they did in the last century. *

I’ve said this more than once – I truly believe that we know how to solve a lot of the world’s problems. We’ve seen it in a neighborhood, a school, a local NGO we work with, but it doesn’t happen broadly enough across communities. It isn’t because we don’t know how and often times the biggest barrier is not financial; it’s leadership, sustained commitment, community consensus, etc.

Given those two points (not everyone would agree with me), it means we have to be more innovative with the dollars we do have. So that looks like –

The Heron Foundation deciding to invest all of its endowment assets towards socially responsible / mission-related investments. Think about it – a foundation like Heron makes $5-10 million annually in grants, but what happens to the “other” $100 million+ sitting there in its corpus. Many foundations are taking steps down this path

The idea of social impact bonds being piloted in Massachusetts and potentially other states. Who knows if it can succeed, but it is a creative, new way to use exiting capital.

Cities and foundations discussing co-mingling funds towards community issues. Think about both of those entities using their capital in the way that they are each most effective and then seeing that combined 1+1=3 effect, rather than each of them operating independently. New York City and Mayor Bloomberg have been at the forefront and cities, in general, are at the level where it seems the public sector has more flexibility, creativity.

Lots more I could say, but just wanted to share a few thoughts. If anyone has more questions or ideas, I’d love to hear ‘em.

P.S. One criticism of the day was that it was closed to the press. I’m not sure why they did and perhaps they had a very good reason, but at face value, I wasn’t sure why it was closed either.

Asterisk symbol = there is great potential, though, from significant personal / individual / family wealth transfer that will happen over the next 50-100 years. If a lot of that financial capital can be invested in the right ways, then we will look less and less to institutions and govt entities for long-term solutions and more towards individuals and families.

Moving

Paul Shoemaker — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 07:30:00 -0700

For the next two weeks, the SVP staff is “homeless” while we wait to move into our new digs with BGI and the HUB. The potential is awesome, but right now … oh boy. More than once I’ve asked myself the question – so whose great idea was this in the first place?? (Don’t answer that.) I need to remind myself WHY we are moving and hope like heck we get it right. If I didn’t believe we would, we wouldn’t be doing this. But just in case anyone is wondering why the move, I’m sitting here writing a note to myself reminding me why, because I need to do so for these next two weeks. :)

We will be co-locating with BGI and the HUB. If we just co-locate, then we will have missed the boat. We are there to create so much more Co-llaboration and Co-nnection with BGI, the HUB, and all of the students, tenants, visitors, non-profits, community leaders, etc. that will walk in and out of that building. If you do the math on how many more potential connections will happen, it’s mind-boggling. And we know out of connections come ideas, new relationships, solutions where they didn’t exist before, new allies. OK, that helped me a little …

The HUB hosts dozens of events, discussions, events, etc. annually. BGI has classes going on all the time, students going in and out. SVP, of course, has Partners and investees flowing through; we do lots of seminars and workshops. The opportunity to leverage each other, provide opportunities to each of our constituencies that we couldn’t do otherwise OR to create things now that we couldn’t have before because we are all there together. 1+1+1 = a lot more than 3. How much more depends on how much leverage we create together. OK, OK, this is getting better.

After 15 years in an awesome home, sometimes it’s good to shake things up. We would never have even considered the move without the points above, but as an add-on, the new opportunities and creativity that a new working space creates could be the sleeper here. And frankly, it’s taken me (and the staff and organization) out of our comfort zone. Again, that isn’t a reason by itself, but every once in a while it’s good to take a risk, stick your neck out, make a bet on something that you’re not 100% sure will work. All right, let’s go, let’s get to October 15 and move in!!!

It’d be fun to know what someone else thinks, from the outside looking in. Good idea? What were we thinking? What else do you see that we don’t? See you at the open house on the 26th!! The more of you that come down, the better I’ll feel each time a new person walks through the door. :)

And by the way, and this is no blah blah, there is no way this could have happened without a staff – SVP Seattle AND SVP Intl – that is resilient, resourceful, and beyond committed. THANK YOU, Team.

A Story about "Rich" People

Paul Shoemaker — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:45:00 -0700

"That blew my mind. I had no idea that rich people actually cared about poor people, about their community. I had no idea that something like SVP existed.”

There is so much in that statement that you can wrap your brain, and heart, around for hours. I still do. Those words came from Irving Severino, a student at Year Up Puget Sound, when he was riding home after our June 5 Spring Meeting (right) with SVP Partners Lisa Chin, Year Up’s ED, and Ali Friedman, their Director of Development.

Lisa, my former Board Chair, brings a few students to many of our semi-annual meetings. Ali relayed Irving’s comments to me the next day and I couldn’t get it out of my head. A few days later I just decided I had to go have a cup of coffee with Irving at Street Bean and try to understand a lot of questions.

What does it mean to be “rich” or “poor” in this country? Why did a smart young man think “rich” people didn’t care? And who is Irving? He told me he grew up believing “you either get it or you get thrown out on the street.” People looked down on him his whole life. So that starts to answer one of my questions … He went to Stadium High in Tacoma and was a “terrible student” (his words). He went on to technical school and barely missed getting his diploma and then spent the next three months playing video games.

Where does a young man go from there? Eventually he decided to try Bellevue College and it “expanded his mind and woke him up.” He began to believe he really wanted to get somewhere, which is about the time Year Up came along and really helped him begin to get somewhere. And a whole lot further someday, if I don’t miss my guess. Year Up began to help him crush that “depressing delusion that people in power don’t care.” At this point in our conversation over coffee, I sort of got out of Irving’s way …

… He went on to explain that he wants to be a part of social change now. He wishes people would have reached out to him sooner and now he wants to be the one to reach out to “poor” people. In his mind, up through high school, you don’t get much critical thinking, just what’s in the lesson plan; he sees an educational system that is flawed where, in fact, things are supposed to balance out, but it messes up everyone’s potential. (one student’s experience)

Where does he want to go from here? He sees himself an innovator, less of a worker. He is interested in nanotechnology and silicon photonics (yes, you can look that one up, I didn’t know what it meant either). He also wants to get involved in his community, maybe in politics someday, and doesn’t want to wait until he is old (that hurt!) to do it.

If in some small way, our Spring Meeting served to help change the worldview of a young man, even a little bit, that is powerful. And everyone there that night played a small part in what he saw and felt. We talk a lot about connections at SVP, but this was a whole new kind of connection I hadn‘t even thought of. Thanks for attending, Irving.

Paul S

==========

I wrote everything above with Irving’s input, edits and full approval. When he sent back the last draft, Irving wondered what I’d think about adding these words, directly from him ---

“Members of an organization such as SVP are citizens actively finding ways to better our society for good. To me, the United States as it is today is one giant social experiment, and an opportunity to challenge and grow from the mistakes of our ancestors. We have the most diversified population of people on the globe, which has brought multiculturalism to its peak, which in turn, allows our society to be a role model of peace and sustainability for the rest of the world. People who fight for the good of others are most fortunate because that karma will follow their family for generations to come. Continue to serve your society for the better, and through your actions, you will teach and inspire others to do the same. I believe that your actions contribute to the foundation of humanism that our country so desperately needs.”

Guess Who Hit the Top 50 Again?!

Willow Saranna Russell — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:15:00 -0700

Each year The NonProfit Times (which is sort of like the Wall Street Journal of the nonprofit sector) releases its “Power & Influence Top 50.” The list includes people like Bill Gates, Marion Wright Edelman, Jeff Skoll, the CEO of YMCA and other key players in our nonprofit sector.

For the second year in a row, SVP's Executive Connector, Paul Shoemaker is among those players!

While Paul may be best known for connecting people who are out to change the world, he is also recognized by the NPT as someone willing to swim upstream against philanthropic conventions that aren't serving our community.

Check out the NonProfit Times Article >>

New Digs for the NEXT 15 Years!

Paul Shoemaker — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:05:00 -0700

It's not just a new place to work (dates and details below). It’s a new energy and center for connectivity and positive change in our community! SVP is moving down 2^nd Ave to co-locate with The HUB Seattle and the Bainbridge Graduate Institute in the historic Masin’s furniture building in Pioneer Square.

Between the three entities, we work for impact, innovation, and sustainability and the combination will be a powerful opportunity, not just for SVP and our two new neighbors, but for nonprofits and social entrepreneurs across the region. We hope it becomes a vital place for people to convene who want to unleash their potential, together, for positive change.

As you can imagine, it is not easy leaving 1601 2^nd Ave – it’s been our home for 15 years. It’s been SO good to us. Thank you to Paul Brainerd, SVP’s founder and visionary, who gave us our first home. And to Ann Krumboltz and the whole staff of the Brainerd Foundation for being the best floor-mates anyone could ever ask for.

This was not an easy decision and not taken lightly for a moment. There is a risk, but a far greater opportunity to take our potential and impact to a whole new level. We believe this Center for Impact and Innovation will provide a new vitality, greater opportunities for collaboration, and help propel SVP Seattle into the future in an exhilarating way.

To learn more check out the details below, Geekwire’s recent story, and join us for our Grand Opening on October 26!

Important Dates & Details

September 27, 2012: Our last day at 1601 2^nd Ave.
September 28-October 24, 2012: SVP staff will work remotely as our new office is being completed.
October 19, 2012: SVP’s server and Intranet will be offline and staff will not have access to email for about 24 hours starting at 8 AM on September 28. Thanks in advance for your patience and flexibility!
October 24: SVP staff moves into our new office!
October 26: Grand Opening! Stop by and check out our new digs.

Our New Address

220 2^nd Avenue South, 3rd Floor
Seattle, WA 98104

View Larger Map

Transportation & Parking

SVP’s new office easily accessible by multiple bus lines (see Metro Transit or Google maps to find your route), bike, or car. It is also conveniently located near the King Street Amtrak Station.

For those who are driving, street parking is available all around Pioneer Square with a 2-hour maximum. Street parking is free after 6pm unless otherwise noted. There are also a number of parking lots nearby:

North lot of Century Link field – a 3 minute walk away
Occidental Square – across the street
Butler and Sinking Ship – 2 blocks north at 114 James Street
Merrill Place – at 411 1st Avenue
Central Park – at 721 1st Avenue

If you’d like to compare rates you can use Seattle Best Parking and simply enter our new address.

Impact to the 3rd Power

Paul Shoemaker — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:10:00 -0700

In our March newsletter we profiled an Investee, Explorations in Math, with whom we are in our 5^th year. That story prompted a long-time Partner and super-volunteer, John Fine, to write back –

Paul, the visit to EIM in the newsletter reminded me that I am proud to have hooked EIM up with a database colleague of mine, Joey Gray, who has become a part-time EIM employee, helping them improve their business processes and Salesforce database. In fact, Joey and I have teamed up to create an SF database for an education nonprofit in Portland - chalkboardproject.org - who we were hooked up with by Mark Holloway (the ED of www.svpportland.org).

There is nothing complicated about this story, but that does nothing to minimize the powerful message in it. It’s about the multiplier effect at SVP – in this case John Fine, to the 3rd (maybe more) power! :) John takes on an SVP project with EIM – that’s impact to the first power. This is where the story goes “off the page” and I don’t know any of this until John writes back. John goes and gets a friend who becomes a part-time staff at an Investee – impact to the second power. Then John and Joel connect with our SVP Portland ED to take their skill and experience set to another significant non-profit in Oregon – impact to the third power.

Just think about that – it happens time and time again around SVP, not just within a city but across cities that are part of the SVP Intentional network. We are just getting started, folks. There are hundreds more John + Joel stories out there to be written and impact to be created for our communities. That was fun just writing about this again, a few months after John’s original note :)

Paul Shoe

Circling Back

Paul Shoemaker — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:55:00 -0700

Someone on staff had the “audacity” to suggest that maybe we should circle back on some of the blog posts over the last few years that have addressed topics like …

… and talk about where SVP is today. These were separate posts, with some good comments and dialogue if you didn’t see it originally, but there is an underlying theme – a move towards more, deeper collaboration in the social sector. The simple answer from SVP is that we are pretty much all-in… or, I should say we’re getting there.

We haven’t changed working with and strengthening individual non-profits, that’s still core; strong, effective non-profits are still the foundation. But what is clear to us, and the community, is that the individual parts aren’t adding up to a greater whole. Not a new concept, but it takes on increased urgency every day as we see many social problems – poverty, educational attainment, health, etc. – get harder and harder. It’s also urgent because there has been some progress on other social problems – teen pregnancy and violent crime, to name two. There is a long long way to go on both of those, but the fact that there has been progress should make us all that, well, we CAN DO THIS!

For SVP, we have two Collective Action Teams – Education and the Environment – looking at holistic, systemic solutions. We are getting ready to make deeper investments in both. If you’d like to be on one of those committees, now is a great time! We have been a part of a Statewide Capacity Collaborative for the last two years with Gates, Allen, Seattle, Medina, Empire Health, Campion, and Murdock Foundations to help strengthen the capacity building resources for the whole sector. Just as important as any of those are more Partners stepping into significant social sector roles like Lisa Chin at Year Up, Todd Dunnington at Skills Inc, Tim Schottman at SightLife, and MANY more.

I could go on and the “answers” to those blogs from the last year or so are still very much in progress, but they are undeniably headed in one direction – all-in for this community!

Paul Shoemaker

For more information about SVP's Collective Impact Teams, please contact Sally Gillis.

A Bang-Bang Experience

Paul Shoemaker — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:30:00 -0700

Well, I was going to write one particular story about connections made at SVP this morning, but I’ll save it for another day (my “database” of connection stories is robust). I woke up this morning to an email from Chuck Holland at 5:07AM … who the heck is Chuck Holland, right?! Well, here is his inspiring note. Be sure to click on the half-hour interview with Kelly Ramirez, the ED of SVP Rhode Island.

From: Chuck Holland; Subject: SVP on TV

Hi Paul: Amazing things happening in RI. Social Enterprise is the new frontline: http://www2.turnto10.com/news/10_news_conference/.

You didn’t know we had an SVP in Rhode island, did you?! After you watch that story, you’ll know what a force for good they are becoming in that state, just like lots of other SVP’s across the U.S., Canada, Japan, SVPI, and soon, India!! …. But I get off track, back to Chuck. I first met Chuck in Pittsburgh at the first ever SVP International conference about 10 years ago; it was the last evening, a beautiful warm evening along the river in downtown Pittsburgh. It was a local music festival and there was this little-known, aspiring artist on stage, I think her name was something like Alanis Morissette. :) Chuck lived in Rhode Island and was a founding member of SVP Boston, but he was passionate about this thing called social enterprise (again, see the news clip above to learn more). Chuck is a quiet, unassuming guy, but his eyes light up when he talks about social enterprise. Great evening, great chat with Chuck. That’s where it ends, right?

A few years later, I hear that someone wants to help start an SVP in, of all places, Rhode Island! Wait, I wonder who that might be … yep, Chuck. He teamed up with people like Lorne Adrain to get SVP RI off the ground and they are both now “Change Accelerator Mentors,” like dozens of other Partners. Of course, we have some Seattle partners, like Janet Levinger and Will Poole, that are Brown graduates so they have visited SVP RI twice now and brought back some of their ideas to help create Seattle’s first SIFP. I hadn’t heard from Chuck for a LONG time and then he showed up at our International conference in Long Beach a few years ago … or was it Dallas? Anyway, I don’t hear from Chuck very often but when I do, it’s a bang-bang experience! So this morning, at 5:07AM, is the very latest!

What it makes me realize is how many hundreds and hundreds of partners do SO much every day, every week in their communities. Every once in a great while, I get a quick snapshot from someone and it’s awesome. And then I think, wow, that is one and there are hundreds more that happened this week that I know nothing about. The impact, passion, and energy of this SVP International network is on fire, even if you don’t feel the heat every day. If you are ever in need of an “SVP Connection Story fix,” just let me know, I have them a-plenty. And will keep sharing them with you in the weeks and months and years ahead. Easiest job anyone could ever have.

-- Paul Shoe

What is YOUR Stretch?

Willow Saranna Russell — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

"At SVP we see one thing. Potential."

Paul Shoemaker, our Executive Connector, challenged us to think about our own potential, how me might stretch to unlock that potential, and who might be touched by the ripples we create.

How can you stretch to have the greatest possible impact on the world?