In this season of exciting developments, we are thrilled to welcome our newest team member, Justina Du, joining us as our Operations Manager. Prior to SV2, Justina worked as a strategy director at a global media agency and has extensive experience in delivering media strategies, streamlining processes, and project management. She holds a BA from University of California, Los Angeles. Please join us in warmly welcoming Justina to the SV2 community!
Thank you and Farewell to Carrie Boyle
After almost four years with SV2, our Director of Finance & Operations Carrie Boyle has moved on to her next adventure, pursuing her MBA at The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. We’re deeply thankful for all that Carrie has done in service of the SV2 staff and mission, and we’re thrilled to celebrate her and her gifts as she embarks on this exciting next step.
Carrie joined the team in August 2014, bringing her experience working with frontline nonprofit organizations and her passion for nonprofit operations. Since day one, she has worked diligently to support the SV2 partnership, from running smooth day-to-day operations to creating the systems and infrastructure that have positioned SV2 to scale. Throughout her time at SV2, Carrie has skillfully accomplished or supported nearly every aspect of life at SV2. Her “hats” have included handling all internal operations, event planning, managing SV2’s biweekly newsletter, office management, HR, budgeting and cost accounting, and recruitment support to grow the SV2 partnership. Through each new challenge, Carrie consistently displays humility, collaborative leadership, and truly lives with a growth mindset, always taking others’ needs and ideas into account throughout any decision-making process.
Throughout her time at SV2, Carrie has grown into her role as our Director of Finance & Operations, transitioning from overseeing smooth day-to-day operations to creating and directing all internal and external systems and communications. She has supported many key projects that have built SV2’s infrastructure and positioned SV2 for scale and success. In 2015, Carrie worked to migrate all of SV2’s data onto the Salesforce CRM, which smoothed the way for SV2’s newsletter rebranding, strengthened analytics tracking and robust data management. She also completed an in-depth cost analysis for SV2’s programming in 2016 that informed SV2’s 2017-2020 strategic planning process. To prepare for SV2’s 2018 Spring Gathering, Carrie also served as our interim Grantee liaison, demonstrating her adept flexibility and team player mindset. Recently, Carrie has partnered with the Board’s Partnership Growth Committee, bringing her expertise and systems thinking to carefully prepare for the growth and cultivation of SV2’s unique partnership and culture. Carrie is also a fierce advocate for advancing equity in the SV2 workplace and our operations, often bringing an equity lens to conversations.
Carrie truly brings her whole self to the office and each day is brighter for it. We have all benefited from Carrie’s posture of service as she is always a ready listener, a kind and attentive thought partner, and a passionate champion of our staff, Grantees, and Partners. On Mondays, she often has stories to share from her weekend adventures, usually spent with friends or traveling throughout the Bay Area. The question, “How was your weekend?” usually gets a response along the lines of a story about stumbling upon an international dog surfing championship or updates on the cross-country road trip she’s planning to take on her way to Michigan for grad school. Her joy for supporting others, for life’s unexpected adventures, and for creating lasting, compassionate friendships have made her an invaluable team member, incredible friend, and a cornerstone of the SV2 community. Anyone who has gotten to know Carrie appreciates that her whole self is a true delight and we’ve been honored to serve SV2 alongside her.
Please join us in thanking Carrie for her years of service to SV2. Carrie, you will always have a home in SV2, and we’re always cheering for your continued success.
Introducing Countable, our Newest Impact Investee
We’re pleased to introduce our newest Impact Investee, Countable! SV2 has made a $50,000 investment in Countable, based in Oakland, California. Countable joins our portfolio as our seventh Impact Investee since 2015.
Countable is a platform solution that empowers users to learn about the bills that national representatives are debating, and then instantly take action by emailing their representatives directly. Countable works to democratize civic engagement by making it easy for everyone to understand and respond to national debates.
Countable was founded in 2013 by Bart Myers, who previously founded SideReel, an online platform for discovering, tracking, and watching television shows. Bart’s passion is for democratizing today’s increasingly complex politics and enabling citizens to influence the local and national politics that impact their lives.
Countable’s website describes several engagement opportunities for its users, which include:
- Reading clear summaries of upcoming and active legislation
- Directly communicating how you think your lawmakers should vote using the ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ buttons
- The ability to follow up on how your officials voted on particular bills.
Each of these actions makes it easy for users to engage with seemingly complex policy issues and to hold their lawmakers accountable in upcoming election cycles. We are thrilled to support Countable in their work to make civic engagement more accessible to everyone.
Impact What?
If you’re new to impact investing, learn more about how it works at SV2 by checking out our helpful overview.
Learning Through Leading
Did you know that at any one time roughly one-quarter of the SV2 Partnership puts their hands up to serve as active volunteer leaders? Check out this year’s impressive leadership cohort here and let us know if you are interested in a leadership role next year.
Central to what makes SV2 work so well are the many Partners who “power” our special SV2 community through their leadership. Some of these volunteer roles include:
- Leading Classic and Lightning Grant Rounds
- Leading the Impact Investment Working Group
- Serving as Lead Partner liaisons to Grantees and Impact Investees
- Facilitating Partner-led Interest Groups and/or Events
- Facilitating educational programming and social events
- Supporting SV2 Partner recruiting and onboarding
- Serving on SV2’s Board of Directors and its various committees
Partner Leaders are supported in their volunteer leadership by the SV2 staff team.
If you are a new or veteran Partner interested in a volunteer leadership role at SV2, please contact SV2’s Chief Relationship Officer Lisa Van Dusen. In particular, if you are interested in leading a Grant Round next year, please contact SV2’s Director of Grantmaking Jody Chang.
Meet our two Pathways to Opportunity Grantees
SV2’s Pathways to Opportunity Year explored two overlapping sectors — Education and Workforce Development — both of which provide proven pathways out of poverty. After robust learning panels in the Fall and a rigorous process of hands-on learning and diligence this spring, Partners selected four outstanding organizations as finalists. All four Executive Directors made in-person presentations, and all four organizations hosted site visits. After a thorough final decision discussion, Partners selected Partnership for Children & Youth and Working Partnerships USA as Grantees. Each will receive a grant of $100,000, given over three years. In addition, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center and Teen Success Inc. were awarded finalist grants of $5,000 each.
The Partnership for Children & Youth (PCY) is an advocacy and capacity-building organization championing high-quality learning opportunities for underserved youth in California, with an emphasis on after school, summer learning, and community schools in under-resourced communities. Their groundbreaking work includes accessing funding for school nutrition programs, advocating at the statewide level for after-school programming and social-emotional learning, and training housing agencies to more effectively meet the needs of children and youth in affordable housing communities.
Working Partnerships USA tackles the root causes of inequality and poverty by leading collaborative campaigns for quality jobs, healthy communities, equitable growth and a vibrant democracy. Since their founding in 1995, they have been pioneering policy campaigns that are then adopted across the nation — from the groundbreaking Children’s Health Initiative to raising the minimum wage to the growing movement for a fair workweek.
SV2 Partners appreciated the focus on policy and advocacy efforts to change systems and meet the needs of low-income workers and students — as well as the ways that direct service work with their constituents informs both organizations’ policy work. Join us in welcoming these effective and impactful organizations to the SV2 Portfolio!
SV2 is hiring a Director of Partner Engagement
POSITION: Director of Partner Engagement
SV2 seeks a successful recruiting and business development professional with demonstrated experience in membership/partnership recruiting and relationship management, and experience creating partnerships to grow the SV2 community and revenue.
Partner recruiting and business development is one of the most critical priorities for SV2. In collaboration with the SV2 CEO and Chief Relationship Officer, the Director of Partner Engagement will cultivate and close new donors (called Partners), manage the retention process for existing Partners, and help develop new strategic relationships with Silicon Valley organizations.
The ideal candidate is a successful professional with demonstrated experience in sales, business development and partnerships that illustrates a strong track record in sourcing, cultivating and closing qualified leads, relationship building, and overall pipeline management.
About SV2- Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund
SV2 – Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund is a vibrant giving network of more than 200 Partners who come together to learn about effective giving and pool their money and talent to support promising social ventures throughout Silicon Valley and the world.
SV2’s donor “Partners” bring together their skills, energy, ideas, and capital to make a bigger, more meaningful difference than any one person could make alone. SV2’s Partners together decide which emerging, innovative nonprofits and social enterprises will receive SV2’s grants and impact investments. Our grants are intended to invest in the organization’s overall capacity, rather than to fund any specific program. Partners select Grantees and mission-aligned for-profit companies that have high-potential models and are at crucial inflection points in their development, where engagement with SV2 can have a transformative impact on their work.
Founded in 1998 by Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, SV2 embraces two main goals: 1) to build the organizational capacity of our Grantees so they can increase their effectiveness and impact; 2) to inspire and build the philanthropic skills of our Partners and their families. We pursue the first aspect of our mission by providing our Grantees multi-year funding to help them build infrastructure and scale their impact, along with pro bono advising and strategic support from individual Partners and Partner teams. We pursue our second aspect of our mission by offering: experiential grantmaking programs, and engaging learning and skill-building sessions; volunteer and service opportunities for adults, teenagers and younger children; and networking opportunities within our diverse, impact-oriented Partnership. SV2’s funding comes primarily from our Partner families and foundations. SV2’s office and community meeting space is located at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits – Redwood Shores.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:
The Director of Partner Engagement and will work collaboratively with SV2 staff colleagues and Board to grow the SV2 Partnership and diversity our revenue through strategic partnerships. Key responsibilities include:
Managing the recruitment process (50%)
The Director will be responsible for managing prospective Partners that come into the SV2 pipeline, cultivating them from first interest through close. The Director will work closely with the SV2 Chief Relationship Officer.
Managing the Partner retention process (30%)
The Director will be responsible for stewarding all current SV2 Partners, in service of strong Partner retention. This includes onboarding new Partners, facilitating New Partner Orientations and pairing new Partners with “buddies/mentors,” pairing renewing Partners with Board members for annual check-in conversations, working with the SV2 Operations Manager to track Partner participation metrics, identifying Partners who may be at risk for attrition and creating appropriate strategies.
Collaborating on new pipeline development initiatives (20%)
The Director will work closely with the Chief Relationship Officer and other staff to create new and cultivate existing programs and partnerships to generate leads and new channels for SV2 revenue in service of SV2’s vision and mission. Examples include exploring corporate partnership opportunities, ensuring our Partnership is demographically reflective of the Silicon Valley community, and expanding the number of working professional and/or NextGen Partners.
QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS:
- Deep passion for the vision, mission, core values and work of SV2.
- Innovative, entrepreneurial spirit; a self-starter. Someone who can see the big picture and also manage the details.
- Proven recruiting, business development, and/or membership/partnership experience with a successful track record of pipeline management. Experience in recruiting or development at a nonprofit and/or grantmaking organizations is a plus.
- Analytical skills and ability to solve problems as they arise.
- Demonstrated success working effectively in a highly collaborative, fast-paced environment where flexibility is required.
- Ability to work independently, take initiative, and participate as a highly effective team member.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with a wide range of people, including volunteers and Board members.
- Understanding of nonprofit organizations and the social sector.
- Highly organized and attentive to detail.
- Strong familiarity with LinkedIn and similar platforms/sites used in business development and recruitment.
- Experience with Salesforce highly preferred.
- Ability to work occasional evening and weekend events, with advance notice
PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The physical demands described in this job description are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This position requires the ability to periodically attend meetings with prospective Partners and community members outside the office. It requires out-of-town travel roughly one-two times per year with advance notice for conferences and key meetings.
COMPENSATION:
- Salary for this full-time exempt position is commensurate with qualifications and experience.
- Benefits:
- PPO health insurance plan, vision and dental plan
- 403(b) retirement plan with employer match up to 3% of annual salary
- Paid holidays (seven days with five additional flex days) and Paid Time Off (15 days/year in first three years)
- Professional development stipend of approximately $1,000 per year.
- Training and connecting with other Social Venture Partners International network staff is available electronically throughout the year and occasionally in out-of-town locations.
APPLICATION – Deadline: June 10, 2018
To apply, please send a cover letter and your resume (in one PDF) with the subject line in the following format — YOUR NAME, DIRECTOR OF PARTNER ENGAGEMENT — to opportunity@sv2.org no later than June 10, 2018. We will be reviewing applications and qualifying top candidates on a rolling basis. Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to hearing from you!