Shining a Light On A World-Wide Network Of Philanthropists Making A Difference
By Terry St. Marie, SVP Portland Partner and Board Member
Recently I attended the SVP 2016 Global Conference in Los Angeles, from October 20-22.
It was three days of fellowship, great learning, inspiration, and a lot of fun too.
As humans we have an internal compass that yearns to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, so for me, the conference fed that yearning in a wonderful and impressive way.
The attendees, presenters and panelists all shared their visions of what venture philanthropy meant to them, and their respective communities all across the globe.
And we felt truly connected by these visions, because no matter the ultimate beneficiary of our money, time, and expertise, the ultimate goals were the same: to make a difference in the communities in which we live, and be good citizens of the planet.
To have that many people in a room, together, expressing this desire and presenting their successes (as well as failures we could learn from) was truly inspiring. In particular I was proud to watch the contributions of the SVP Portland group, both as active participants and moderators in various sessions (I never tire of hearing Larry Fox’s passion for the cause of SVP), and as the leader of a specific breakout session that highlighted our “BHAG” goal of getting all kids in the Portland community ready for kindergarten.
A special thanks goes to our presenters Kaeti Namba, Ryan Dangaran, and Georgia Sinimbu for a job very well done – I was proud of them, and how well they presented our story.
The most affecting moment for me came during the opening plenary session, when guest speaker Dr. Scott Sherman was talking about the most effective ways that people succeed in their attempts to change the world.His enthusiasm for the topic, and his positive view on change even though he had suffered through personal hardships that in many cases would have made speaking out difficult, was an awesome way to start the conference, and that spirit was evident throughout the next two days.
He asked us find the courage to “shine a light” to expose injustice, break the silence, and speak the truth to power to get others involved. As he so aptly noted, “sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
Lastly, it was gratifying to see the efforts of our SVP Network Office in Seattle, led by our new CEO Tim Schottman, to take positive steps to strengthen our world-wide connections, share useful information and ideas, and to increase the marketing efforts behind the global SVP brand.
Yes, my fellow PDX partners, by being part of the SVP family we get a fantastic “two-fer” when it comes to being a part of something bigger than ourselves – we get to make a difference not only in Portland, but across the globe.
I hope you will get a chance to attend one of these get-togethers soon – it is a fantastic way to understand our necessary and expanding place in the Portland and global philanthropic ecosystem.