Capacity building is an investment in the futures of nonprofits and, when successful, it strengthens their ability to fulfill their missions and make positive changes over a longer period of time. SVP Portland supports local nonprofits, and our Investor Partners are part of our secret sauce. We often get questions from newer Partners about the kinds of work that we do and how to get more involved with nonprofits directly. Many nonprofit face resource constraints, both in terms of skills and bandwidth, which limit organizational growth and health. This is where SVP as a capacity builder is positioned to collaborate with Community Partners to leverage the strengths within their organization, identify infrastructure and skill gaps, and pair resources to solve bigger challenges together.

Steve Maser joined SVP Portland’s staff as manager of the Encore Fellows Program, and then returned as a Partner so he could apply his professional expertise and remain intellectually engaged in retirement. He now leads the team with one of SVP’s newest Community Partners, the Alliance for Equity in Montessori Education (AEME). "SVP presents me with opportunities to learn, to grow, and to get to know other similarly motivated professionals. In that sense, SVP serves my interests in philanthropy, provides me with a sense of community, and gives me opportunities to do meaningful work." 

The Preschool for All victory is a story about partnership. SVP Portland helped build relationships between parents, preschool providers, and community leaders, and collaborated with cross-sector allies to design the policy and drive the campaign. The Preschool for All victory highlights thinking beyond the dogma of top-down philanthropy to build trust and credibility with the community. As SVP Portland Executive Director Lauren Johnson put it, “Our experiences can serve as a roadmap to other communities seeking to engage in community-based, participatory policy development.”

Elizabeth joined SVP Portland in August of 2021 after working at the University of Portland for the past three years where she developed and executed marketing strategies. As Communications & Project Coordinator, Elizabeth helps share the inspiring stories of impact and growth through various media channels, including the website, newsletter, and social media. She also engages with Partners and supports staff success. Elizabeth has a background in education, administration, and equity work.

"As many of you know, we have been exploring changes to our governance model since last February, convening a Board task team to rough out ideas, then seeking input from the full Board, and SVP Partners, and are in the process of gathering input from Community Partners. At the core, the changes orient around narrowing the scope and responsibilities of the Board to those essential elements required by Oregon State law, and creating dynamically configured teams to tackle elements like strategic planning and formation of our next Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG), while maintaining existing standing Committees/Teams."

A new report synthesizes extensive input from nearly 50 key participants in the effort, captured by the research firm Dialogues in Action. As you can see in the documents and videos below, the findings provide an example of public policy centered on racial equity, community voice, and grassroots coalition building -- an example poised for replication far beyond Multnomah County, and relevant to other issue areas. We invite you to read on to gain insights about this innovative - and effective - approach to policy making!

New research by The Oregon Early Learning Division (ELD) shows how severely COVID-19 impacted Oregon’s child care and education programs’ ability to remain open and serve families. “These are criti­cal losses, particularly from the standpoint of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The loss of these providers may mean that multilingual children and families will have even fewer opportunities to use child care in which staff reflect their cultural background and who speak the child’s language, deepening inequities.”

"I’ve been attending SVP Portland events with my dad since I was in high school and, since then, have looked up to the people in this organization and respect their dedication to impact in the community. By the time I moved back to Portland after college, my dad had moved out of the city, but he was still connected to SVP. I was unsure of the career path I wanted to pursue, and my dad encouraged me to join his partnership with SVP and dive into the community to make connections with smart people who shared my interest in working hard to make a difference."

For the first time in 17 months we held an in-person Partnership event, our 20th Anniversary Summer Social! A thirst for human contact -- and fabulous wines from Stoller Wine Group! -- was apparent with more than 40 attendees representing all facets of the SVP Portland community.The event was also an opportunity to present our first Sarah Cohen-Doherty Community Impact Award. The annual award recognizes a person within the SVP Portland community who epitomizes the characteristics that enabled Sarah to have such a positive impact at SVP, including warmth, compassion, & genuine care for others, a focus on developing strong, meaningful relationships, a personal commitment to equity & supporting SVP’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion commitments, and being a changemaker to ensure that all children thrive.

"SVP has provided a space to grow and to engage in the community. I am continuously learning and thinking about the historical role of philanthropy and how to leverage the good aspects while shifting power toward a community-driven approach to solving issues. I am a member of our Equity Team, and our equity work has challenged me to explore the different forms and significant impact of systemic racism and other pervasive inequities, in our town, in this country, and in the world of business and finance. There is a long way to go on my journey, but SVP has given me strong momentum and it helps that I get to work with really thoughtful and committed Partners and staff. Working with Community Partners has only further clarified for me the barriers faced by communities of color. The most satisfying aspect of my engagements has been seeing Community Partners strength and leadership as they work in their communities."

Our partnership with the Alliance for Equity in Montessori Education (AEME) will include a $15k general operating grant and Partner time. AEME appreciates SVP's general operating grant (rather than restricted) so that it can use the financial resources to invest in key aspects of running the organization well, such as DEI training, fundraising & grant writing, and staffing for community/parent engagement. Partners will work with AEME to achieve its vision by assisting with developing a strategy timeline, board governance, business model & financing, operational policies, and marketing.

Earlier this year, SVP International solicited “Stories of Change” from affiliates as an opportunity to celebrate the collective accomplishments of our global network and amplify SVP’s commitment to achieve greater equity and systemic change. SVPI chose to feature SVP Portland’s story about the changing role of philanthropy from transactional to transformational partnerships. Executive Director Lauren Johnson explained, “This is a time for philanthropy to really step up and be courageous about doing things differently - we need to think long term, shift power, address root issues, and co-create solutions with community.”

When Lee Rosenbaum retired from Intel, he decided to expand his volunteer work as a trail host for the Mount St. Helens Institute (MSHI) through the Encore Fellows Program. When he made the institute aware of the fellows program, he found that they were in need of an online image database so staff could find images for their work more readily.

"SVP has definitely changed me for the better. With SVP Portland's focus on early childhood education and closing the opportunity gap for priority populations*, I'm constantly getting educated on and learning how to advocate for our most vulnerable children and their basic right to access quality education."

At the May SVP Portland Board of Directors’ meeting, staff presented an opportunity to support the newly-formed Washington County Preschool for All effort. Given our early, deep, and long-time work to make Preschool for All a reality in Multnomah County, we were asked to join the Washington County effort. Just as in Multnomah County, all young children in Washington County deserve positive early learning experiences that help them develop cognitive and social-emotional skills and prepare them for kindergarten.

Recently, the Portfolio Management Team (PMT) considered how we can work to maximize opportunities to leverage our social capital in a way that is equitable in opportunity and can benefit all of our Community Partners. While we often focus our attention on contributions of Partner money and time, the Partnership has valuable yet underutilized social capital and influence that can have an equally profound impact when leveraged in support of our Community Partners.

Kaye joined the SVP Portland team as an Encore Fellow. Her fellowship is focused on helping us ensure we have a sustainable approach to providing Partners and Fellows the support they need as they collaborate across our broad range of Community Partners. Kaye will begin by taking a look at our current onboarding and training model, as well as historic approaches. Her goal is to help us make improvements to our approach for onboarding Partners to community impact work and supporting them throughout their volunteer projects.

We’re excited to report that the Child Care Shared Services Alliance (CCSSA) is preparing to recruit its first cohort of child care providers this summer, with Neighborhood House as its newly-selected backbone organization. Following completion of the incubation phase,  SVP will remain involved, serving as an advisor to the project in the pilot phase, alongside the Co-Design team and contracted facilitators.

”The most eye-popping effects the researchers find are on high school graduation and college enrollment rates. The kids who got accepted into preschool ended up having a high-school graduation rate of 70% — six percentage points higher than the kids who were denied preschool, who saw a graduation rate of only 64%. And 54% of the preschoolers ended up going to college after they graduated — eight percentage points higher than their counterparts who didn't go to preschool.“

SVP Partner Gerald (Jerry) Cohen was just honored as one of 16 Over 61, a collaboration between the Forward Jewish news and the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan’s Wechsler Center for Modern Aging, who states that "With these honors, we've aimed to spotlight the creativity, leadership and initiative of adults who exemplify our collective values." Jerry doesn't let age define or stop him, he shared, "The point is to embrace and celebrate age wherever one is on the chronological scale. We have been granted a gift of longevity, and we must use that gift."