Connecting Nonprofits and SVPs
Each year, Social Venture Partners (SVPs) invest their deep expertise in up to three Mission Capital Nonprofit Members. SVPs, nonprofit leaders, and Mission Capital staff gathered last month to hear from current SVP/nonprofit partner teams about their experience working together. Asked to sum up the experience, they shared reflections such as “inspiring,” “strategic,” “transformational.”
“We had a will and the SVP team helped us find a way.”– Sarah Ramirez, Catholic Charities of Central Texas
John Nehme, CEO of Allies Against Slavery, has the daunting goal of protecting freedom and dignity for survivors of human trafficking. He recalls coming in with a sense of urgency as his team wanted to implement identification software to increase the number of identified survivors connected to resources. He reports now that their impact has increased by 50% since working with SVPs.
“The partners are not only guides pointing us up the path, but they’ve actually picked up packs with us, they’ve helped us set up camp, and cared for us along the way. It’s been an incredible journey.”– John Nehme, Allies Against Slavery
Others shared that these partnerships enabled them to take a leap of faith, sometimes completely reorienting the way they operate because of support from their SVP team. Kelli Kelley, CEO of Hand to Hold, notes that her organization has shifted from a reactive growth to a strategic, managed growth that allows them to maintain a national expansion while focusing on their specific product offering of bedside support for NICU parents. The shift in understanding the various products offered, and the opportunity here in Texas, has led to incredible results. The organization started a contract with a new maternity hospital, has another lined up in San Antonio for next year, and is working with multiple potential partners in Dallas.
“This experience was transformational both personally and professionally. I didn’t think of myself as an entrepreneur, but SVPs helped me understand what we’d built from scratch and how important that was.”– Kelli Kelley, Hand to Hold
SVP teams will once again be selecting nonprofits to partner with for 2019. If you’re a nonprofit that would like to participate, we encourage you to apply for the Impact Academy – applications are due by November 30. If you’re an SVP who wants to join a team, please contact us at svp@missioncapital.org.