Month: January 2018

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Refer a friend!

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Know someone who wants to learn more about philanthropy, connect with other changemakers, and make an impact in their community? Invite them to explore joining SV2 as a Partner!

As someone who has experienced the magic of the SV2 community firsthand, you are a powerful ambassador for SV2. If you have a friend or colleague for whom you think SV2 might be a good fit, we hope you’ll share this community with them. Please feel free to send them our “Become a Partner” web page, invite them to explore an event, or connect them with our Chief Relationship Officer, Lisa Van Dusen.

As our community of Partners grows, so does the depth of our positive impact in Silicon Valley and beyond. Thank you for being a part of our growing community.

Ready to Launch: SV2’s Tech Nonprofits Lightning Grant Round

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We are excited to announce our next Lightning Grant Round, which will be focused on tech nonprofits and led by SV2 Partner Dan Barritt and staff member Ashley Clark. We’ll learn about a strong slate of nonprofit organizations that are leveraging technology to address complex social challenges in our community and our nation. The organizations we’ll review are building platforms or programs that:

  • help community members more efficiently access social services
  • enable sexual assault victims to easily document and report their assault
  • teach young students from underrepresented backgrounds how to code while helping them develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills
  • and more…

What is a Lightning Grant Round?

Lightning Grant Rounds are a shortened grantmaking experience, taking place over four to six weeks with only two in-person meetings. For the Lightning Rounds, SV2 collaborates with funder allies who nominate organizations from their own portfolios and share their diligence materials with us. Working with funder allies relieves the burden for nonprofit applicants and allows SV2 Partners to learn how our funder allies approach their work. For this Round, we’re delighted to work with Google.org and Fast Forward, a tech nonprofit accelerator.

During Lightning Rounds, participating Partners have the opportunity to research six organizations in the sector, learn from funder allies about these organizations, hear presentations from the leaders of three finalist organizations, and collectively select a single Grantee. Lightning Round Grantees receive a one-year general operating support grant of up to $30,000, and participating Partners get to engage in a fantastic hands-on learning experience.

This sounds amazing! Tell me how to sign up…

In-person meetings for this spring’s Tech Nonprofits Lightning Grant Round will be in the evenings on Thursday, March 15 and Thursday, March 29 from 6:30 – 9:00pm at SV2. The Round will kick-off in late February, before the first meeting, with diligence pre-work, which includes reading and optional conference calls with our funder allies.

What’s the deadline?

Because of the pre-work, we ask that you RSVP for this Round as soon as possible but no later than Friday, February 23 by emailing Ashley Clark.

Pathways to Opportunity: High Energy Discussion takes Grant Round to the Next Stage

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We had a full house for the official kickoff of the Pathways to Opportunity Grant Round on January 18. Over 30 Partners and prospective Partners contributed to a high-energy discussion of 26 organizations working to establish pathways to economic opportunity for people in the Bay Area. Last fall, Partners heard from three expert panels about the systemic issues underlying wealth inequality in the Bay Area, and evidence-based interventions to address poverty. From this learning, we developed a systems-level, strategic framework for the Grant Round, which SV2 Partners can review here.

In November and December, Partners worked to identify a group of organizations whose work aligns with the interventions our panelists introduced. We invited 30 of those organizations to submit a Letter of Interest (LOI). Our 97% return rate on that LOI survey indicates both the strong interest nonprofit organizations have in engaging with SV2’s grantmaking process, and the deep need for funding in these sectors.

Most recently, on January 18, Partners reviewed the submitted group of LOIs and evaluated them using criteria  from the SV2 nonprofit assessment rubric. After a high-energy discussion, the group selected 12 organizations to move forward to the next stage of the Grant Round. Starting mid-January, Partner Leaders and staff will be conducting 30-minute phone interviews with the Executive Directors of those 12 organizations to dig deeper and collect new information. Following the phone interviews, we will hold a meeting on Tuesday, February 13 at 11:15am for Partners to discuss new insights and select 8-10 organizations to submit full applications (RSVP here).

There are still plenty of opportunities ahead for Partners to engage in the Grant Round including a review of applications, in-person presentations from Executive Directors in April, site visits, and a grant decision. We welcome interested SV2 Partners to attend all these meetings for the full experience, or to drop in on any meeting that suits your schedule and interests. The full Grant Round schedule is here, and Partners can RSVP for the next two meetings here (February 13 and March 27).

Advocacy Series Explores the ‘Do’s and Don’ts’

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Summary of Deep Dive Workshop #1

SV2 kicked off a brand new three-part Deep Dive Workshop series,”Advocacy is Everywhere” in early February with a lively and informative session facilitated by Christine Sherry, of Sherry Consulting and featuring guests Amanda Stanley, Executive Director of COMPASS Science Communications, and Rebekah Saul Butler, Co-Executive Director of The Grove Foundation. Sherry blew up the notion that advocacy is just about partisan politics, illuminating how it is directly relevant to achieving SV2’s vision of a more equitable and sustainable Bay Area community and world where everyone thrives. A wide range of Partners and other members of the broader SV2 community joined us for this big picture look at what advocacy is and isn’t, national trends regarding advocacy and philanthropy, and a closer look at how advocacy can inform, infuse, and be a key part of the work of nonprofit and grantmaking organizations.

Join us for Deep Dive Workshop #2

We are now pleased to announce the details of the second session in our three-part series, “Advocacy as a Tool.” The session will be held on Wednesday, March 28 at 9:00am at SV2 (RSVP here). During this second session, we’ll dig in to learn the do’s and don’ts for social impact organizations and explore what advocacy could look like in action. We’ll also learn how advocacy can be a powerful philanthropic tool.

The session will be facilitated by Sara Matlin, of Bolder Advocacy, an initiative of the Alliance for Justice. We’ll start by outlining the legal tax related rules and regulations for non-profits. Then, through a series of case studies and practical examples, we will see how funders and organizations can come together to maximize dollars and undertake advocacy efforts that drive systems-level change. We will also examine individual action vs. collaborative action, funding the right experts, and how to determine what to do when. This will be a fast-paced and practical session – and we promise even the tax code will be engaging stuff.

Stay Tuned for More

In the the third and final session (date and time coming soon) we will focus on advocacy in our own backyard, Silicon Valley, and SV2’s specific areas of interest. By the end of the series, we hope SV2 Partners, Grantees & Impact Investees, and the broader SV2 community will be better able to evaluate whether, when, and how they want to incorporate advocacy as a social change tool in their philanthropy and work.

Join us in boosting our collective “advocacy literacy,” as we learn and explore how advocacy is at work throughout the social change ecosystem. We look forward to having you join us for one, two or all three sessions in the series. Note that all sessions will be videotaped and available to SV2 Partners, Grantees and Impact Investees via my.sv2.

Philanthropy for the Whole Family

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SV2’s family philanthropy offers programming for family members of all ages. Read on to learn about how your family may benefit from SV2 Kids, SV2 Teens, and our adult Family Philanthropy Interest Circle.

SV2 Teens & SV2 Kids

SV2’s family philanthropy offers programming for family members of all ages, from kids to teens to adults. While the specific experience varies by age, the principles of engaged giving hold true across generations. SV2 is about empowering givers (of all ages) to be more informed, strategic, and effective in their giving. Engaged philanthropy starts early, by helping young people grow in awareness both of needs in the community and of organizations working to meet those needs.

The SV2 Kids program offers 4-5 service-learning opportunities each year to Partners and their children (ages 6-12), and is facilitated by SV2 Partner Anne Maloney. Anne comes to the SV2 Kids program with tremendous enthusiasm for helping young people tap into their compassion, connect with the community through service, and share their gifts and talents with the world.

Now in its tenth year, SV2 Teens provides a robust curriculum (over 8 meetings) on philanthropy, due diligence, site visits, and allocation of grant funds. The Teens program is facilitated by youth philanthropy consultants Elizabeth Newton and Karin Scott of Allow Good, who bring deep skill and experience in engaging young people in philanthropy.

Family Philanthropy Interest Circle

Our Family Philanthropy Interest Circle is led by Partners Susan Hanson and Jody Chang. It meets quarterly and offers a safe and confidential space for Partners to discuss learnings, questions, and best practices in their family giving. This group is open to any Partner who takes a structured approach to their family giving–whether a family foundation, DAF, family office, or other vehicle–and who would benefit from a peer exchange and support setting.

Benefits of Practicing Philanthropy as a Family

When a young person is invited to consider what it would be like to start school without shoes that fit properly (My New Red Shoes), or to imagine how it would feel to be in the hospital as a patient or a family member (Ronald McDonald House Charities), empathy grows as a building block for giving and community involvement. When a teen conducts a site visit and learns what questions will best help the group understand the work and impact of a nonprofit organization, strategic thoughtfulness grows as a building block for informed giving. And when adult Partners gather to discuss the challenges and joys of structured family giving, encouragement and insight grow as building blocks for sustained giving over a lifetime.

If you have questions about SV2’s family philanthropy, or would like to get involved, please contact Jody Chang – we’d love to have you anytime!

There are many ways to get involved. See how.