Board Strategy Retreat 2016
board 6
Last week our Board met for their annual strategy retreat, reviewed our progress and current state of health, and approved the further development of two new initiatives that will advance our core strategic objectives and progress toward the Ready for Kindergarten goal. The two are an Impact Investing Task Force and a public-private partnership creating the conditions for all children to have access to high-quality preschool. In addition to the business of the day, Board members got to have lunch and PE with the kids of KairosPDX, our retreat host.
The day started with a welcome to four new members of the Board:
Carmen Rubio, Executive Director of Latino Network, an SVP Investee
Ken Harris, venture capitalist, entrepreneur and Encore Fellow
Paula Little, National Vice President of Development, Stand for Children
Kimberly Melton, Senior Policy Advisor to Multnomah Country Chair Deborah Kafoury
Board 4
The day continued with a review of our “reason to be” and some three-year goals presented by CEO Mark Holloway. Essentially, Mark shared that our community needs thriving kids for long-term prosperity in Portland. And kids need supportive families and strong educational opportunities. Thus, the focused areas of our investments in the Ready for Kindergarten goal going forward are Family Support and Empowerment and Early Care and Education. What SVP offers that those kids and families need is a venture philanthropy model that strengthens nonprofits, systems, and philanthropists in our community so all are more effective and impactful.
After a discussion about what it will take to achieve our aggressive near-term goals and a lunch break with the kids of KairosPDX, the Board considered and approved the further development of two important initiatives.
Preschool Success Project (PSP) is an emerging public-private partnership with SVP and Early Learning Multnomah to provide greater access to high-quality preschool for our priority population children in Multnomah County and beyond. This project will be a five-year effort that will include a fundraising campaign combined with a multi-faceted initiative focused on developing the infrastructure and financing necessary for providing access for all children. The Board specifically approved a seed investment of $200,000 to continue development of the initiative over the next 9-12 months. The invest will fund further development of the program areas, structures, and partnerships needed to launch the initiative.
Impact Investing Task Force. The Board decided to charter a task force to explore forming an SVP Impact Investing Fund and a pipeline of possible investment “deals” and possible investors. “Impact Investing” allows an organization or individuals to make investments for both social and financial return. A team of 12 Partners meeting this summer recommended to the Board initially forming a loan fund that would be wholly owned by SVP. Still, there is more exploring and due diligence to be done before a final proposal to form the fund and structure for receiving and making investments will be presented to the Board in January 2017. R
The Board wrapped up the day by reviewing their Board self-evaluation and developing priorities for the Board and the organization to become even more effective in the year ahead. Our staff will now parlay the priorities and initiatives into 2017 operations and budget priorities for the Board’s consideration at their October meeting.
Oh, and then they had happy hour drinks near the school!