New Community Partners to Engage with SVP!
To grow the scale of our impact, SVP Portland is accelerating community partnerships and expanding our portfolio. We considered eleven potential Community Partners, and then Investor Partner Ginny Grey conducted a group assessment of those who met our initial criteria, which proved faster and allowed for better comparisons between organizations. Ginny presented her findings to the Portfolio Management Team (PMT), which identified six new Community Partners best aligned with SVP’s mission, goal and values, as well as desire to engage in a capacity building partnership.
Here are the new Community Partners and their focus areas:
- Amanancer Academy: A Spanish immersion program in Washington County that has gained traction since 2018. It shares goals with our current Community Partner, Escuela Viva. We are fostering collaboration between Lead Partners to tackle common challenges and share solutions.
- Path Home: Founded in 1994 as a shelter and a non-profit since 2007, Path Home supports families facing houselessness and housing instability in Multnomah and Washington counties. They plan a housing development with wrap-around services, including vendor-provided preschool, by 2025, and SVP aims to assist with business planning and vendor selection.
- Future Generations Collaborative: This organization serves the urban Native community in greater Portland, offering wrap-around services, including plans for preschool in Barbie’s Village, a tiny home community for houseless families. They require strategic planning and operational support for launching this preschool service.
- KairosPDX: Providing Reggio-inspired preschool programs for underserved communities in Multnomah and Washington counties, KairosPDX is re-engaging with SVP to enhance its operational capacity and scale specific programs. They are known for advocating racially just education policies in Oregon.
- The Iraqi Arabic School: A volunteer-run, free learning space for Iraqi and Arabic immigrants and refugees, the Iraqi Arabic School aims to expand its STEM offerings in a new building. They seek strategic support for developing a full-time preschool program.
- Community Education Network: Focused on supporting multilingual STEM education in Multnomah and Washington counties, CEN currently assists early learning hubs and parent/teacher education. They envision establishing a free community preschool for children living near poverty and need help with strategic planning, operations, marketing, and fundraising.
We are planning to group our support for Path Home & Future Generations, as well as the Iraqi Arabic School and CEN, both as a way to maximize resources, and to share challenges and solutions. As we finalize partnership agreements, we will be looking to engage SVP Partners in various roles, including Lead Partners, operations, marketing, finance, and real estate. If you’re interested in contributing, please contact Carolina Castaneda del Rio or Ursula Garcia. We need our community’s engagement to maximize our impact!
