My Journey as a Lead Partner

The Lead Partner plays a key role in Social Venture Partners’ venture philanthropy partnerships. The Lead is the primary liaison between an Investee and the SVP Partnership, and is pivotal to developing an effective, collaborative relationship and an impactful investment. This role requires regular attention to the relationships with Investee leaders and Partner volunteers, an eagerness to learn, good communication skills, and the ability to build a strong team.

How did you come across the opportunity to become a Lead Partner with SVP?

I retired in 2011 after a long career in finance at Intel. While at Intel, I worked with and became good friends with Larry Fox. In 2012 he was the Board President of Social Ventures Partners. He approached me with the opportunity to become a Lead Partner for an organization located in Forest Grove, Adelante Mujeres. The timing was perfect as after one year in retirement I was ready to get engaged in helping the community and to keep my mind sharp.

What steps did you take in making your decision?

After a discussion about the role of a Lead Partner, I agreed that I would meet with Adelante’s Executive Director (ED), Bridget Cooke. In that initial meeting I learned about the organization’s mission and the great work they did. I was very impressed with their model of combining the mother’s and child’s education to ensure that the impact of their program was maximized. I was also very impressed with Bridget’s passion for the work they did and I felt we would have a good working relationship going forward. I agreed to take on the role and was now a Lead Partner who knew absolutely nothing about the nonprofit world and wondered how I could make an impact.

What kind of support did you have from SVP?

My two SVP Strategic Advisors were extremely helpful in getting me educated on the world of nonprofits. They met with me numerous times and explained to me the differences between the big corporate world and small nonprofit organizations. They were great sounding boards and got me going in the right direction.

What are some tips you can give to ensure that as Lead Partner you are making the biggest impact in your role?

The Lead Partner is crucial to working with the organization grow its capabilities and thereby increase the positive impact it has in the community it serves. The formation of an open and honest working relationship with the ED and others in the organization is critical to making the most of the partnership. Attending Board of Director meetings is very beneficial in understanding how the leadership operates and in reaching an understanding of the organizational needs. It is also valuable to observe how the organization fulfills its mission by attending its programs (i.e. classroom observation, etc.). Finally, if you can attend Board and Staff retreats, you are able to more fully understand how the organization operates, its strengths and areas that need to improve, and most importantly, how passionate they are about fulfilling their mission.

Once you gain this understanding of the organization’s needs you have to develop the plan of how to help drive the necessary changes and improvements. You will have to be both patient and persistent to turn the plans into reality. You will need to be flexible and continually prioritize as the organization will most likely be very resource limited. Keep at it and you can make a major difference in the organization and more importantly, in the lives of those in need that they help.

To keep yourself energized and going forward, make sure you go see and feel what it is they are doing to fulfill their mission.