2015 Year-End Message: Here's My Dream

Hi Partners. It’s the end of another year and I hope you are getting all of the thanks you deserve as philanthropic leaders in Portland.

While I offer endless thank yous as well, we take responsibility for results at SVP, so it’s equally important that I share where we still need to stretch.

• STRENGTHENING NONPROFITS. We have helped raise $2.54 million on top of the $400,000 we have invested directly in our current nonprofit community partners but… We have only just begun. We need to invest in strengthening more nonprofits, which will take doubling our investment dollars and our volunteer talent hours.

• SYSTEM INNOVATION. We have embarked upon broader-scale system changes that we are uniquely poised to move forward with the best research, experience, and information available but… We still need more time and money to stay the course developing a focused strategy on how to reach the Ready for Kindergarten (R4K) goal.

• OUR PARTNERSHIP. Our Core Partnership is up 15% this year alone, we have 21 outstanding new young professional Rising Leaders, and SVP Youth is on pace to raise $10k for the Children’s Book Bank but… we need to double our Partnership in order to double our investment pool and strengthen our voice in this community.

My dream is to “kick these buts!” I trust our Partnership has the vision, courage, and perseverance to reach our potential or I wouldn’t push us. I count on each of you now and in the new year to make the stretch that will change the lives of vulnerable kids who need us. Let me know if you have a potential Partner to introduce, talent hours to give, or extra fortune to share.

I leave you with the words of the great Jewish teacher, Hillel the Elder, that keep me powered to address our community challenges:

If not now, when?  If not you, who?

Thanks for all you do for SVP and our community.

Mark Holloway

SVP Executive Director