Executive Director Reflections on 2022
Dear SVP Community,
2022 was an exciting year at SVP Portland: it was one of innovation, transitions, and remarkable progress in uncovering root issues and co-creating viable solutions.
As I reflect upon the year, I am filled with gratitude for the:
Resilience and tenacity of our nonprofit leaders
Ambition, collaboration, and agility of SVP staff
SVP leaders championing our work to be more equitable, diverse, and inclusive
130 Partners who generously invest their dollars, skills, networks and influence
When combined with the ingenuity of community-driven solutions, these resources achieve a multiplicative impact. Ultimately, this translates to more children receiving high-quality, culturally-relevant preschool, which we know is critical for the educational, social, and economic well-being of our next generation.
We have much more work ahead, but I want to pause as we begin a new year, and highlight key areas of progress.
As an organization, we celebrate:
A refreshed and more relevant mission, vision, purpose, and goal
An updated Strategic Framework that articulates our priorities
An adapted partnership model that is more inclusive, and positions us to grow the skills and diversity we need to be most effective
An innovative governance model that decentralizes our decision-making and shifts power to include those most impacted by systemic injustices
However, our work as a philanthropic leader in advancing social and racial justice is not done!
As a capacity building partner, we celebrate the persistent resourcefulness of Community Partners, like:
Latino Network making unbelievable progress toward their ambitious capital campaign ($18M!) to build La Plaza Esperanza
Threads of Justice Collective’s next-gen leadership team, website launch, and new revenue model
The Childcare Facilities Initiative’s progress toward shifting our early childhood education facilities market to more efficiently and effectively connect supply and demand
However, our work catalyzing innovation and capacity building is not done!
As a philanthropic leader in social justice, we celebrate the meaningful investment of a diverse group of Partners, staff, and community leaders coming together to serve on our first Dynamic Team, which successfully defined advocacy and influence priorities for SVP Portland moving forward. However, our systems change work is not done!
As a nonprofit committed to high performance, we celebrate our new team members, Dylan, Carolina, and L.B.. Building upon the dedication of former staff, these remarkable individuals bring incredible passion, intellect, and complementary skills to our Partnership. However, we continue to learn and improve as a team, so our work to be more efficient and effective is not done!
Collectively, we are making progress toward the goal of every child experiencing high-quality, joyful, culturally-relevant preschool. This is not easy nor short-term work. And this is why I’m incredibly grateful for YOUR continued dedication to helping realize this vision.
With gratitude, hope, and enthusiasm about where we are headed in 2023,
Lauren
