Partnership

 •    How do I become a Partner?
Once you decide that SVP is right for your philanthropic pursuits, you make a commitment to give at least $5,000 or $2,500 annually for three years, depending on whether you want to become a full Partner or associate Partner.  After the first three years, Partners make yearly decisions about remaining involved with SVP.  The New Partner Agreement can be sent with payment to the Executive Director or the donation can be made in person.  Once we have received your Agreement and first year’s donation, we provide you with an Orientation.

•    Is my partnership tax deductible?
Yes, your dues contribution to SVP is tax deductible. We will send you a letter for your tax records.

•    What happens after I join?

After joining you will be contacted by Jennie Arbogash, Executive Director, to set up an orientation session and complete a Partner profile.  SVP will then assess your areas of expertise, your interest, and your time availability. You will also learn about our Investment Portfolio and the agencies that we serve.  Jennie will help facilitate introductions to other Partners and provide you will a calendar of meetings and events.  Together, we will select the right engagement opportunity for you.

 •    What if I do not have time to get engaged?
Not all SVP Partners choose to get engaged.  SVP understands that demands and distractions are a part of everyday life.  We exist, in part, to help your own philanthropic pursuits become more strategic and meaningful.  At SVP we strive to match our Investees’ needs with our Partner’s resources and capacity.  And, when appropriate, to involve Partners in the successful growth of our own organization.  There are many individuals involved in the success and outcomes of our efforts – this allows us to work with the time and resources you have to give.

•    What is “engagement”?
At SVP, our Partners engage with our Investees by working on projects that help build capacity and strengthen the agencies we support. Our Partners have worked on strategic plans; assisted with board realignment and training; helped Investees launch social enterprise ventures; facilitated outcomes measurement; counseled on program alignment; suggested alternative funding sources; and much, much more.  Some projects require a long engagement, lasting months or more.  Other projects require a one-time commitment for a few hours.
Partners may also chose to engage within SVP by socializing with other Partners, participating in educational opportunities, and assisting in leading SVP.

•    Who joins the partnership?
SVP represents a mix of professionals, entrepreneurs, and community-minded individuals who want to make a difference in our community. Our Partners value the idea of getting involved and learning how to tackle community problems together. We continue to reach out to emerging leaders, successful local businesses, and new professional groups throughout Boulder County.

Investment

•    Are you looking for a certain size of agency to support?
Our portfolio represents a blend of agencies in size and maturity.  The common denominator among investees is that these organizations are in a stage of growth, a catalytic tipping point for their future.

•    Does SVP only support Boulder County non-profits?
Due to the nature of “engaged philanthropy” the Investees SVP supports are located within Boulder County. 

•    Does SVP support operational expenses of those agencies?
Yes! SVP believes in the importance of strengthening leadership and infrastructure to improve the capacity for a mission to be effective and successful. Most of our grants are specified as operating dollars.

•    How do you make your investment decisions?
SVP has a team of Partners who serve on our Portfolio Grants Committee (PGC) every spring to research and make investment recommendations to the full partnership. The PGC reviews Letters of Inquiry and finalists’ proposals, conducts site visits with finalists, makes a recommendation to the full partnership, and then all Partners vote to make a decision on what groups we will support with contributions of cash and consulting in the coming year. Decisions are typically made in May and grants are disbursed in the second half of the year.

•    How much and how long do you invest in an agency?
SVP makes initial single-year financial awards with the intent of establishing longer-term partnerships with Investees (typically lasting 3 years). At the end of each year of support, the program and organizational outcomes as well as the relationship potential with each Investee are reevaluated by our Portfolio Grants Committee for further support. Reinvestment for up to three years is likely, but not automatic.  On average, investees receive between $15,000 and $25,000 per year.

•    What are the focus areas in which SVP invests?

• SVP currently invests in five areas:
• Aging & Seniors
• Early Child Care & Development
• Health Care Access
• Housing & Homelessness
• Social Enterprise

•    How are investment focus areas determined?
Every-other-year SVP Partners research the significant needs and challenges facing Boulder County and then vote on focus areas for investment.

•    What are you looking for in your investments?
After a mission alignment between our focus areas and the mission/programs of the non-profit, we are interested in compatibility and receptiveness of an agency to engagement.  We look for those agencies who can envision how they will utilize the human and financial capital we have to offer. Our Partners want to have a strategic impact with both dollars and business skills.

•    Who serves on the Portfolio Grants Committee?
Any Partner current in their annual partnership contribution is invited to participate in the Portfolio Grants Committee. Partners who wish to participate must commit to attend at least 80% of the meetings and at a minimum, one site visit.

•    Why do you call your grant making “investing”?
We consider our grant making as investments in our community.  Our success will be measured by ultimate impact in the community. When we select a non-profit for investment and engagement we expect to make a multi-year commitment. We will work throughout our relationship to track the social return on our investment.

General

•    How is SVP connected to The Community Foundation?
Andrew Currie and Amy Batchelor created SVP as a donor-advised fund of The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County.  Over the years, The Community Foundation has supported SVP through shared programming, outreach, and in-kind support.  SVP offices are housed in The Community Foundation.

•    What is a Partner?
Individuals, businesses, or foundations who join SVP are called Partners.  Each “Partner Unit” includes one individual, family or business and receives one vote within the partnership.  A partner unit may be comprised of an individual, up to two family members, or up to two employees of a business.

•    What is the Fellowship program and who can apply?

SVP created a Fellows Program, with the support of The Argosy Foundation and several local supporters, for community-minded individuals working and/or living in Boulder County. The intent is to open SVP's doors to people that could not otherwise make the required financial commitment to become a Partner and who will add value to and get personal value from the work and conversations within SVP. The Fellows Program is another way of widening and strengthening our connection to the community. Fellows are chosen on a competitive basis and openings are announced as they become available.  If you would like to learn more about a Fellowship, please visit The Fellow Experience.

•    What is an Investment Portfolio?
An Investment Portfolio is the non-profit agencies that we have invested in over the life of SVP.  We currently maintain four to five actively funded investments as well as Alumni status investments who have graduated from funding but continue to be represented within our portfolio.

 •    What is an Investee?
The non-profit agencies we select for investment of time and money.

•    What is Social Venture Partners Boulder County?
SVP is a membership-based organization whose Partners combine their charitable dollars and business acumen to strengthen Boulder County nonprofit agencies.  We also inform ourselves and our community about philanthropic engagement through philanthropy education. This leads to more strategic, impactful philanthropists and sustainable non-profits.

•    What is Philanthropy Education?
SVP is intentional about offering opportunities for our Partners and the community to advance their understanding about the non-profit sector, community issues and philanthropic trends.  Our Philanthropy Education efforts are a highly valued aspect of what SVP does both within the partnership and within the community.

Engagement

•    How do I know the best place for my time and interests?
Partners complete a Partner profile which asks about time availability, Partner expertise, and interest. During the new Partner orientation the Executive Director reviews the Partner profile with new Partners and helps them to determine the right type of engagement.

•    What is a Lead Partner?
The Lead Partner is the liaison between the Investee and SVP.  Lead Partners meet with the Executive Director of their Investee on a regular basis to discuss Investee needs and potential engagement projects.  These needs and projects are then used to determine which Partners should be matched with the available engagement project.  Lead Partners also serve as motivators and sounding boards for the Investee’s Executive Director.

•    How do Lead Partners get selected?
Lead Partners are usually Partners who have been involved with SVP for more than a year and have served on the Portfolio Grants Committee. There is one Lead Partner for each Investee and often times a more seasoned Lead Partner serves as a mentor for a new one.

•    How much time does it take to be a Lead Partner?
The Lead Partner time commitment varies with each investee.  Usually, they meet on a monthly basis in person to update one another and discuss opportunities and needs.  Additionally, during the refunding season, Lead Partners assist with the refunding process.  On average, Lead Partners contribute between 4 and 12 hours per month.

•    How much time does it take?
The time required for engagement projects will vary and depend on our Partner’s availability and Investee’s need. Projects can be a one-time contribution (a few hours doing a specific task or participating in a special event), a longer term assignment (several hours of time over several weeks or months such as conducting a training or writing a brochure) or an on-going periodic or regular commitment (quarterly or monthly meeting, or serving on a board or being a mentor).

•    What does it mean to be engaged?
At SVP, our Partners engage with our Investees by working on projects that help build capacity and strengthen the agencies we support.

•    What if I get engaged and something changes in my schedule or my life?
Schedules and life can change and we at SVP know that there are times when our Partners can be very engaged and times when they have to scale back.  We appreciate all of the time that Partners contribute to our Investees and work with individual schedules so that both the Investee and the Partner benefit from their SVP experience.