I am pleased to share that SVP’s Capacity Investment Team--the group of Partners in charge of overseeing SVP's community investments--has approved the reinvestment proposal co-developed this summer by the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and the SVP Reinvestment Team. Our investment includes an additional two years of Partner time and expertise and a $50,000 general operating grant ($25,000 each year, contingent upon strong partnership progress).

Adelante Mujeres is excited to announce that our Early Childhood Education (ECE) program is gearing up to serve more children. Our new partnership with the Oregon Child Development Coalition’s (OCDC) Head Start program will allow us to more than double the number of children we serve and expand the services we provide.

One of the key kindergarten readiness strategies that emerged from the Ready for Kindergarten (R4K) Collaborative was Transition to Kindergarten. This strategy has focused on creating an effective transition for children entering kindergarten (particularly those who have received little or no prior formalized childcare or preschool) and to help prepare families and schools for kindergartners.

Kali Ladd is Executive Director of KairosPDX, an education focused non-profit attacking Portland’s persistent achievement gap through innovative pedagogy, community collaboration and family partnership. She recently attended the New Schools Venture Fund 2015 Summit, an annual gathering for education innovation thought leaders. Brené Brown, research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work was the keynote speaker and she has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness and shame. Below are Kali’s reflections.

Support for the project burst forth from the community in the form of phone calls, e-mails and social media posts. PPS Board candidates Amy Kohnstamm, Julie Esparza Brown, and Jose Gonzales held a rally, along with Color PAC, in support of the project. Many SVP Partners contacted school Board members and Portland City Commissioners to express disappointment in the decision and to demand immediate action to overturn the resolutions necessary to move Generations forward. A week after the initial decision, the PPS Board voted unanimously to move the project ahead.

I attended the Portland Public School Board meeting tonight and couldn’t believe the hypocrisy, ill preparedness and lack of responsibility of two Board members, Bobbie Regan and Tom Koehler. To be clear, they opposed the resolution I was there to support. It was, however, their pandering, weak logic and bad faith in partnering that really left me chapped.

SVP’s Capacity Investment Team approved an additional one-year $25,000 general operating grant, as well as the time and expertise of SVP Partners, to support Latino Network in developing a plan to scale its early childhood program, Juntos Aprendemos. Juntos prepares low‐income Spanish‐speaking children for success in kindergarten through classes that promote their cognitive, social, emotional and physical development, while in parent classes their mothers and fathers learn effective ways to support their children’s learning.

A nonprofit startup was a big risk for our young organization but during SVP's investment period (2005-2011), CASH increased its operating budget by 500%, vastly improving its capacity and community reach. Today, CASH has a stable funding base, a professional staff, and free tax preparation offered statewide.