Blog
Preschool for All: SVP Partners' Perspectives
Our network has been deeply engaged since the Preschool for All Task Force and Work Groups kicked off last year. And, like all our investments, Investor Partners have a bilateral relationship with the Community Partner, learning as much as they give. Read on to learn about our Partners’ experiences with this engagement!
2018 Partner of the Year: Linda Hassan Anderson
At the Annual Partner’s Gathering, Board Chair Kerry McClenahan had the great pleasure of announcing the 2018 Partner of the Year award recipient. This year’s award went to a Partner in her fourth year with SVP Portland who has been an amazing force in our Partnership since day one—Linda Hassan Anderson.
Partner of the Month: Alex Nelson
A regular feature in SVP Portland’s communications, Partner of the Month recognizes Investor and Business Partners for their outstanding contribution to our impact. Partners are nominated by their peers.Change would not be possible without the dedication of Partners engaged in the community and, for this, SVP thanks you!
Please Welcome Our New Director of Community Impact
As venture philanthropists, capacity building is the core of what we do. With Lauren Johnson, our former Senior Vice President for Community Impact, stepping into the role of Executive Director, we needed a strong leader to guide the strategic direction and oversight of the capacity building we do with our Community Partners as we continue work on our “Preschool for All” goal. After a thorough search process, which included SVP staff, the Board, Investor Partners, and Community Partners, we are thrilled to announce that Rose Rezai is our new Director of Community Impact!
A Partnership with Metropolitan Family Service
“Dreaming about bolder impact, the transformative power of relationship, and remaining nimble through the unexpected” are three themes that SVP Lead Partner Dani Kerrigan believe sum up SVP’s two-year business planning partnership with Metropolitan Family Service (MFS).
Building Community Capacity: SVP Influences Early Childhood Systems Change
Last week the Early Childhood Coalition (ECC) and Children’s Institute convened Early Childhood Lobby Day at our capitol in Salem, and SVP showed up in support of the cross-sector effort. Dressed in blue, Partners joined 142 early childhood advocates from across Oregon and met with 63 legislators to ask them to make significant, high impact investments in early childhood.
Meet SVP's Newest Business Partner: Stoller Wine Group
We are pleased to welcome Stoller Wine Group as SVP’s newest Business Partner! Stoller’s own James Falvey will be representing Stoller Wine Group as an SVP Partner. James was born and raised in SE Portland, where he currently still resides.
Scaling for Impact: Juntos Aprendemos affiliate pilot project
Six years after our original investment, Latino Network has built its capacity to scale Juntos and is launching an affiliate pilot with two schools in Central Oregon. Director of Children, Family & Community Service Division, Sadie Feibel Holmes, shares her gratitude to SVP, with a note to the team of twelve SVP Partners and staff who worked closely with the Juntos team over the past several years.
SVP Portland Year of Impact 2018
At SVP Portland, we are committed to continuous learning and improvement in order to successfully build community capacity for solving problems together. We mobilize human, social, and financial capital for investment in nonprofits, collaborations, and initiatives to ensure that all children—regardless of ethnicity, wealth, religion, gender, or zip code—have access to quality, culturally-relevant early learning experiences*. To this end, we collect qualitative and quantitative data to understand the impact of our investments, and ensure we continuously improve.
Long-time Partner Kerry McClenahan Resumes as Board Chair
We are excited to announce that at the last Board meeting, Kerry was reelected to the Board, and as Chair, by a unanimous vote. Kerry is dedicated to helping SVP pursue not the easiest path, but the one with greatest potential, as we navigate inevitable challenges and evaluate opportunities for leveraging our resources towards securing “Preschool for All” and ensuring the long-term wellbeing of SVP Portland.
Please Welcome Our New Director of Investor Partnerships
In order to secure the resources to drive progress toward our early childhood goal, we know we must provide excellent stewardship of our Investor Partners, as well as strengthen recruitment of new Partners. After a thorough search process, and a unanimous decision, the hiring team was thrilled to name their choice of Matt Little!
Partner of the Month: Diane McCartney
February’s Partner of the Month, Diane McCartney, is no stranger to the SVP world. While she has only been in Portland for a little more than a year, Diane has been an SVP Partner for more than a decade—first in Dallas and then as a founding member of SVP Austin.
Partnership with the Center for Equity & Inclusion
Working with Hanif Fazal, CEO of CEI, we are forming a new partnership with CEI. SVP will invest as we would with any Community Partner, providing human capital in areas of expertise that can help CEI achieve its social mission. In turn, CEI will engage with SVP as they would one of their clients, investing in our equity journey through trainings, consulting, and tools for implementation.
SVP Board Appoints New Executive Director
I am proud to announce the Board’s unanimous decision to appoint Lauren Johnson as SVP Portland’s new Executive Director, effective immediately. As our Senior Vice President of Community Impact for the past seven years, charged with providing strategic direction and oversight of SVP’s capacity building investments, Lauren has proven that she can deliver on our mission and commitments to the Portland community.
Investing in Systems Change
A critical aspect of SVP’s strategy for impact is leveraging the investments with our Community Partners by securing the resources they need to scale up successful early childhood programs. Before doing that, we work collaboratively to ensure clarity of organizational vision and strategy as well as measurement of their desired community impact. Once these are clear and compelling, they need the resources!
Partner of the Month: Clare Wilkinson
We are thrilled to welcome in 2019 by recognizing Clare Wilkinson as SVP’s Partner of the Month! A regular feature in SVP Portland’s communications, Partner of the Month recognizes donors and volunteers for their outstanding contribution to our impact. Partners are nominated by their peers.
A Tribute to Les Soltesz
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news with you that a friend, former Board Chair, and Partner, Les Soltesz, has died at the age of 71. Funeral services will be held on Friday, December 21, 10:30am at Congregation Beth Israel, in NW Portland.
End of Year Gratitude
As 2018 comes to an end and we celebrate the accomplishments of the year, we want to thank you for your deep commitment and service to Social Venture Partners Portland. Because of you, SVP Portland has expanded both the breadth and depth of our impact by investing more deeply in our current Community Partners as well as growing our portfolio to 14 investments—the largest ever!
Partner of The Month: Stephanie Feeney
The end of 2018 is nearly upon us! After a year of leveraging research and community input in order to refine our early childhood investment priorities, it’s quite appropriate to recognize Stephanie Feeney as December’s Partner of the Month!