Invest. Connect. Learn.

 

Invest

Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) provides Partners with one of the most highly leveraged investments in the social sector. Partners decide together how to allocate their expertise and funds. They ensure accountability by tracking the results of their investments through careful review of project milestones and outcomes.

Partners engage in venture philanthropy by investing financial, intellectual and human capital in nonprofit organizational capacity. They bring their own experience, unique skills and hands-on effort to foster positive change in organizations and the community. Partners whose time constraints prevent frequent participation can invest with confidence, knowing that their contributions have maximum impact through the leverage that the SV2 Partnership provides.

 

Connect

SV2 provides a vehicle for Partners to connect around issues that are meaningful to them. Partners—CEOs, professionals, entrepreneurs, teachers, philanthropists, full-time parents—forge strong bonds both with each other and with grantees. They build a philanthropic community through the discovery of a network of friends who share similar values and interests. SV2 provides opportunities for relationships to develop around philanthropy, and from there, other intellectual, social and professional connections are made.

Nearly all SV2 events include opportunities for Partners to meet and mingle; however, SV2 also holds events specifically designed for networking and building relationships within the group. These include our Annual Meeting at Stanford’s Cantor Center for the Arts, our annual holiday family volunteer opportunity with Family Giving Tree, and other events that allow Partners to get to know unfamiliar faces, catch up with old friends, and connect with others who share their passion for philanthropy.

        Partner Testimonials:

“We went in hoping to learn about grantmaking. The thing we didn’t expect that was a big plus for us was forming those relationships [with other Partners].”

- Derry Kabcenell

“It’s really rewarding to network with others who care about the same causes. Otherwise, you feel like you’re just doing it on your own.”

- Lisa Sonsini

“It’s important for our children to see that we aren’t just creating a life for ourselves. Taking our kids annually to the Family Giving Tree and seeing a million-square-foot warehouse filled with toys donated to children in this area who don’t routinely get toys for the holidays provides a really powerful message.”

- Gina Jorasch

 

Learn

With SV2, Partners explore key issues affecting Silicon Valley and beyond. Nationally recognized “keynote” speakers as well as local subject-matter experts are tapped to both provide a comprehensive view of SV2 focus areas and help identify specific levers that will affect change. Partners are exposed to grant applicants from around the Valley, and through site visits, learn first hand of their accomplishments and challenges. Partners who participate actively in SV2 grantmaking learn in detail how that process works as they engage in due diligence, grantee selection, and then monitor the achievement of mutually agreed-upon goals. SV2 Partners, if they were not already, become savvy philanthropists and thought leaders in the social sector.