We are excited about our lineup of experiential grantmaking, impact investing, and learning sessions! Whether you are a brand new Partner, veteran philanthropist, a busy professional, or all of the above, we hope you feel inspired to join us this year. Our programming has been shaped in response to your feedback and is designed to invite all of our Partners into a year of learning together and practicing effective giving in pursuit of creating a more equitable Bay Area for all.
Impact Investing: Our 2017-18 programming year is already off to a strong start, with our Impact Investing Working Group (IIWG) beginning its regular monthly meetings. Our IIWG meetings are a great way to learn alongside other Partners interested in Impact Investing. The group regularly hears pitches from social venture teams and conducts a rigorous due diligence process on promising prospective investees. All Partners are welcome to attend IIWG meetings on a drop-in, audit or ongoing basis. This year’s Impact Investing Co-Leaders are Partners Aarti Chandna, Lisa Jones, and Sayuri Sharper.
Learning Year + Grant Round: In response to feedback and learnings from last year we are also pleased to announce a combined Learning Year and Grant Round: “Pathways to Opportunity.” The Learning Year will launch on September 19 with our “Pathways to Opportunity: Kickoff Learning Session,” the first of three learning sessions focused on proven pathways out of poverty. After the learning series, participants will then choose one pathway on which to focus the spring Grant Round. This combined Learning Year and Classic Grant Round will be co-led by Partners Alison Elliott and Linda Lazor.
Interest Circles: Concurrent with our Learning Year + Grant Round, we will be offering two interest circles, Family Philanthropy and Early Childhood Education. All Partners are welcome to attend either Partner-led group as time allows. Our Family Philanthropy group is an ongoing, Partner-led group providing a safe space to explore personal experiences, successes, and challenges in an ongoing, intimate setting. This group is a great fit for Partners who have a giving vehicle, whether it is a family foundation, a donor advised fund, family office, or some other structure. Our Early Childhood Education interest circle is ideal for Partners who want to share knowledge and engagement opportunities about early learning in the Bay Area.
Lightning Grant Rounds: We are also excited to be offering two Lightning Grant Rounds this year. The first Round will focus on Youth Empowerment and will be offered in November and again in January. The second Lightning Grant Round will center on Tech Nonprofits and will be offered twice in the spring of 2018 (likely March and May).
Advocacy Learning Series: In response to Partner interest, we are launching a first-ever Advocacy Learning series, which will begin in Spring 2018. This learning series is geared towards shedding light on advocacy; our hope is that Partners will gain a stronger understanding of how they may choose to utilize advocacy as one tool among others in their philanthropic “toolkits.” The series will be comprised of multiple sessions dedicated to defining advocacy, exploring existing advocacy efforts, and clarifying what advocacy in philanthropy can look like.
Family Philanthropy: And as always, we are pleased to be offering our ever-popular SV2 Kids and SV2 Teens programs. These programs are a great way for our Partners to engage the whole family with the SV2 community through fun and experiential events. SV2 Kids is ideal for children between ages 4-12 and brings families together to engage in local community service projects that broaden the perspectives of our younger children, connect families, and spark compassion for others and a love of giving in the next generation. The SV2 Teens Program is offered to the 7th-12th grade children of Partners and is an opportunity for youth to learn about effective philanthropy, engage in meaningful service learning, and participate in hands-on grantmaking.