The SVP Model
How It Works
Social Venture Partners combines grant making, volunteerism, nonprofit capacity building and philanthropic education. We call our unique model venture philanthropy.
Partners Pool Resources to Support Investees and SVP Boulder County
SVP Partners (donors) join SVP by making an annual contribution of $5,000 or more. Funds are pooled and used to provide grants to Investees (non-profits) and support SVP’s programs and operations. Partners also contribute professional expertise, in-kind donations, and networks which are leveraged for greater impact on our community.
Identifying & Investing in Promising Non-profits
Successful Investees demonstrate the capacity and desire to leverage SVP in fulfilling their mission and are selected by a vote of the full partnership through the efforts of a committee of Partners. Investment awards include both unrestricted cash grants and skilled volunteer consulting expertise. These investments are multi-year relationships focused around achieving a next-stage vision for the organization and a lasting positive impact for the community.
Support Through Engaged Philanthropy
Our approach is based on a venture capital investment model. It requires a high level of involvement (collaboration) from both parties — the philanthropist and the non-profit – over the course of several years. We assess the organization to determine where help is most needed and surround them with the resources to strengthen their management practices, strategies, and systems. With access to skilled consulting volunteers and educational opportunities, Investees find improvement in areas such as: strategy & planning, board development & governance, management leadership, program design & evaluation, financial management, fund development, information technology, marketing & public relations, and human resources. At the end of each multi-year investment, both our Partners and our Investees have been transformed.
Support for Engaged Philanthropists
This type of investment is made more valuable with a strong and educated network of philanthropists. Many of us are new to philanthropy, and for those of us who are only familiar with writing checks, learning to make thoughtful investments in the community takes more work. SVP creates numerous provocative educational and engagement opportunities for Partners and prospective Partners, including biannual business meetings, partner education sessions, social activities, and volunteer opportunities.
The Results
As a result of involvement with SVP, Partners increase their giving and find that they are giving more strategically by writing fewer, larger, more targeted checks. Most importantly, members feel their volunteering really makes a difference. Read more about how effective we are in helping donors give more strategically in our latest philanthropy outcomes report. Learn more about how we impact nonprofits in our latest capacity building report.
