We build leaders.We make connections.We develop relationships.We partner with the community.We catalyze opportunities.We create impact.We redefine giving.We provide new purpose.We work collaboratively.We invest our expertise.We influence policy.We listen.We share knowledge.We enable social justice.2024 ANNUAL REPORTWe are SVP Portland.We change lives. Message
The SVP Portland StoryCommunity Impact through Engaged PhilanthropySocial Venture Partners Portland (SVP), a venture philanthropy group foundedin 2000, believes that with resources, expertise, and compassion, we candrive meaningful and lasting community outcomes.Our unique modelOur donors, called Investor Partners, contribute expertise alongside dollars,and work directly with community organizations to create change. By acting ascoaches in areas like finance, operations, and strategic planning, our membersfoster deep partnerships and share knowledge to enable organization growth.Through collaboration, we achieve more and build relationships that deliverlong-term benefits. Our members also share their connections, providingaccess to broader resources, and magnifying impact. We excel at unitingcross-sector players to advance community goals. This model and approachsets SVP apart and is what makes SVP so valuable to the Portland community.Focusing on equity in educationIn 2013, we focused our efforts on addressing inequities in preschooleducation, aiming to create a brighter future for Portland. Research revealedthat tens of thousands of children in Multnomah and Washington County—primarily from communities of color, immigrant families, and those in poverty—lack access to quality pre-K education. Our goal is for all children to haveaccess to high-quality learning.Real impact Over the past five years, we’ve supported 9,000 preschool children throughour partnerships, coached leaders from 33 community organizations, andincubated early education programs reaching 30,000 children annually. Ourefforts have also driven systemic changes to preschool policies statewide,benefiting children across Oregon.
Table of Contents2Letter from the Executive Director4 2024 Highlights6Community Partner Overview8 Community Partner Spotlight14 Ready to Grow Program16 Investor Partner Overview18 Investor Partner Spotlight24 Financial & Governance Information26 Getting Involved with SVP Portland2024 Annual Report1
Reflecting on 2024 fills me with inspiration. It was a period ofsignificant progress for SVP Portland as well as many of ourCommunity Partners. While we continued to witness pernicious social challenges andinequalities, we also saw the impact we can achieve when we cometogether with a shared vision of creating a more compassionate andequitable world. The dedication of SVP Partners and communityleaders working collaboratively to ensure the health and vitality ofpreschool providers gives me hope. Our focus remains on ensuring that all children have access to high-quality, culturally-relevant early learning experiences, regardless oftheir background. Highlights for the year included growing ourportfolio from 12 to 20 Community Partners, and developing aninnovative way to broaden our reach, moving beyond our traditionalone-on-one coaching model to support multiple preschool providerssimultaneously through a cohort program, Ready to Grow. The growth of many of our Community Partners exemplifies theimpact of collaborative action. By uniting as a network of skilledprofessionals and philanthropists, we leveraged our collectiveexpertise, resources, and influence to achieve better outcomes thanany single individual could accomplish.With heartfelt gratitude,LaurenLetter from the Executive Director2
“SVP’s communityimpact continuesto grow. And with so muchmomentum, weexpect that toincrease significantly.”Lauren JohnsonExecutive DirectorSVP Portland3
2024 Key Stats and Highlights20Communityorganizations supported1,909Children served by ourportfolio (19% ESL, 64%below poverty level)$90,000SVP direct financialinvestment4
89Investor Partners3,794Skilled volunteer hours36:1Return onInvestment$2,400,000Leveraged funds5
Our Community Partners are the reason we do what we do. Theseorganizations are working all day, every day, to serve the children inmarginalized communities and beyond. SVP’s ability to identify theseinnovative groups early and help them reach their growth goals isunmatched in the Portland area. We are proud to be able to provide a wide range of services andbenefits including: Consulting and coaching services from our Investor Partners Establishing cohorts to facilitate best practice sharing Co-creating of business, financial and facilities plans Direct donations of general operating funds.SVP Portland’s deep relationship with each of our Community Partnersenables us to invest based on what will help each partner acceleratetheir growth. With our focus on long-term engagements, SVP hasserved 33 partners over the past 10 years, and worked with 20 in 2024. The Community Partners in our portfolio have provided early childhoodservice for almost 2000 children in 2024, while all of SVP efforts haveindirectly reached 30K children.Partnering with the Community6
Threads of Justice Collective2024 Community PartnersCenter for African Immigrants andRefugees OrganizationCommunity EducationNetwork Washington CountyWashington CountyPreschool for All7
Community Partner SpotlightCenter for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization It started with a plea in 2014 from immigrant parents– their children werefailing in math and reading, and something needed to be done. Today, theCenter for African Immigrants and Refugees (CAIRO) has nine preschoolclassrooms serving 180 students of all backgrounds.SVP’s support has played a major role in CAIRO’s expansion, providing skillsand resources. SVP Investor Partners have offered expertise in humanresources, finance, and operations, enabling CAIRO to develop essentialsystems for growth. Abdisalan Muse, Deputy Executive Director of CAIRO,expresses gratitude for SVP’s support, highlighting our crucial role in capacity-building. This support has enabled CAIRO to easily achieve the requirementsfor annual audits. For nearly a decade, SVP has partnered with CAIRO. In the organization’searly days, CAIRO shared its aspirations, and SVP assisted in crafting astrategic plan. Most recently, SVP helped with the purchase of a building toaccommodate five additional classrooms by connecting CAIRO with donorsand contributing directly. How do parents feel about these changes? In a recent study conducted by aprofessor at Lewis and Clark University, 99% of the parents whose childrenattended CAIRO’s preschool reported improvements in their children’s social,emotional, speaking, and motor skills, as well as advancements in math andreading.8
“Embrace SVPand get readyfor growth!”Abdisalan MuseDeputy Executive DirectorCenter for AfricanImmigrants and RefugeesOrganization9
Community Partner SpotlightEscuela VivaAngie Garcia’s dream of making a difference in a child’s life turned intoa preschool powerhouse named Escuela Viva– growing from 4 childrenin a basement classroom to over 180. And she’s not stopping. Her nextgoal is to help other preschool owners eliminate a barrier to growth–obtainable cost effective insurance. One of her keys to success: SVPsupport. Angie began working with SVP in 2022 to create a business plan andwebsite that would help her business continue to grow. Her mostrecent project with SVP is creating a Professional EmployerOrganization (PEO) for preschool providers, enabling multiple preschoolowners to band together and purchase insurance at much cheaperrates than they could get individually. With Angie’s SVP Investor Partnermentorship and allyship, Angie moves closer everyday to making apreschool PEO a reality. Over the past 2 years, SVP has helped Angie beyond the creation of abusiness plan. By asking probing and insightful questions and havingdeep knowledge of Angie’s goals, SVP’s partnership has enabledAngie to act faster and more efficiently–leading to better outcomes.Angie credits SVP for helping her maintain business momentum byalways providing encouragement and support. “SVP developed arelationship with me and is always offering assistance. They are good atasking questions but also truly listening,” says Angie. 10
“SVPdeveloped arelationshipwith me and isalways offeringassistance.They are goodat asking questions butalso trulylistening.”Angie GarciaOwner/FounderEscuela Viva11
Community Partner SpotlightAlliance for Equity in Montessori EducationThere is nothing more satisfying than seeing a child learn or discoversomething new. And providing parents a tuition free quality preschool tofacilitate that has been the driving force behind Liora Berry, leader of theAlliance for Equity in Montessori Education (AEME) preschool. Herdedication to creating equity—spanning financial, linguistic, and racialaccess—drives her ambition to triple the amount of students AEMEsupports over the next five years. But to reach her goal Liora must contendwith some of the hardest expansion issues: regulations, licensing, fundingsources and complexity of timelines.Liora is thankful for SVP’s help with these issues over the past 4 years. SVPhas prepared a site manual that she uses as a reference for requirements,licensing and funding requests. SVP also helped prepare a professionaldevelopment module to track training of staff to meet Oregon state rules.Recently, SVP and AEME created a model projecting pathways for potentialexpansion. By determining cash flow and ROI of a project, this tool looks atvariables such as physical site preparation, funding sources and number ofchildren served, and has become an invaluable part of the evaluationprocess.As Liora continues the expansion journey of AEME, she looks forward tocontinuing her partnership with SVP and having our friendly ear. Thatjourney will certainly be a satisfying one for both the children and parentsin the Portland community AEME serves.12
“SVP’s Investor Partners have so muchto share. They are here for the long haul.”Liora BerryExecutive DirectorAlliance for Equity in Montessori Education13
Community Program SpotlightSVP Ready to Grow CohortAs a core part of our strategic growth plan, SVP created the Readyto Grow Program (R2G) for preschool leaders who are ready toexpand their business. R2G provides the business skills neededfor organization expansion, delivered in a cohort setting facilitatedby Investor Partners and community experts over several months. Our inaugural program in 2024 had 6 preschool providersparticipating.The program was founded on delivering 3 C’s–content, communityand confidence.Participants receive coaching and gain practical knowledge in 10content areas including leadership and management, finance, HRand real estate. While early childhood professionals may beexperts in education, they may not be in all aspects of running andexpanding a business–R2G bridges that gap. The Ready To Grow cohort fosters a strong sense of community.Participants connect with fellow preschool providers, build asupportive network and learn from each other. Ready To Grow empowers participants to become confidentleaders in their field. They develop the skills and strategies tomanage their programs for expansion, build high-performingteams, and advocate for early childhood education in theircommunities.14
“[R2G] speakerswere veryenriching. Itwas great to besurrounded bypeoplethat wanted to see mesucceed.”Dominique GarciaDirector, Solid Foundation Child Care& Ready to Grow Participant15
SVP Investor PartnersIf SVP’s Community Partners are the heart of what we do, SVP’s InvestorPartners are the soul. These dedicated people donate their time, moneyand expertise to support the early learning community. In addition, theyprovide our Community Partners with valuable connections that enableeven greater support.We call our donors Investor Partners, because they are just that–investors in the success of SVP Portland and our community, andpartners because of our unique approach to philanthropy–one that callsfor establishing trust-based, multi-year relationships with theorganizations we serve.While our Investor Partners give so much of themselves, they alsoreceive benefits from the community. They experience personal growthand find new purpose through learning about these organizations andthe challenges faced by the underserved communities. They also get asense of belonging by developing new relationships with the otherInvestor Partners. SVP Portland is proud to currently have 89 Investor Partners from allwalks and stages of life.16
$466,795Investor Partners89Dollars invested3,794Skilled volunteer hours investedSkills andexperience of SVP InvestorPartnersMARKETING, ORG DEV,FINANCE, FUNDRAISING,LEADERSHIP COACHING,OPERATIONS, STRATEGICPLANNING, REAL ESTATE,PROJECT MANAGEMENTAND MORE17
As a lifelong learner, educator, and financial management professional,Nicole Thibodeau gets to share her passion for making numbers talk,dance and sing with financial and non-financial leaders and managersacross many for-profit and non-profit industries. As an SVP InvestorPartner, Nicole gets to support and share her knowledge to buildstronger organizations and participate in their scaling of impact—andalso learn at the same time.Over the last several years, Nicole has been working side by side withSVP staff as well as leaders of community partners such as CEI, CAIRO,Latino Network and AEME. Through this work Nicole has found a path tounderstanding the history and challenges diverse groups face inPortland.Her ability to affect change for these groups with SVP has been one ofthe most rewarding experiences in her life. Beyond the rewards andenrichment Nicole gains from collaborating with local leaders, she hasalso deepened her understanding of the social fabric within diversecommunities. She has also found that SVP has connected her with other like-mindedInvestor Partners and staff with whom she remains connected.Altogether, they bring Nicole purpose and a sense of belonging. Nicolestates, “I’m more than a volunteer–I’m part of the organization, a largercommunity.”Investor Partner SpotlightNicole Thibodeau18
“I’m alearner,partner,analystandtrustedadvisor.”Nicole Thibodeau6 yearSVP Investor Partner19
Investor Partner SpotlightRoxanne SeatonAs one of SVP Portland's youngest and newest Investor Partners,creative technologist Roxanne Seaton brings an essential skill fortoday's digital age: leveraging technology to build a more efficientorganization. Her ability to work with Community Partners and SVPstaff, understand their challenges, and design technology solutions is awelcome addition to the vast array of resources SVP provides. One ofher current projects is developing a technology stack (or set ofsoftware solutions) for non-profits and organizations that will enablethem to better serve their faculty, staff and students. Roxanne finds that her experience with SVP has been rewarding inmany ways. Watching Community Partners, such as Hacienda, providemuch needed services to their community and tackle challenges day inand day out in order to affect change makes “her soul sing.” She hasfound that SVP has provided her the opportunity to learn from theother Investor Partners. For example, Roxanne’s been able to developproject and team management skills, as well as how to be a valuedcoach through her interactions with her peers.Roxanne recommends that other younger people consider SVP,stating, “SVP delivers personal and professional growth as well as theability to directly impact our community. Where else can you get that?”20
“SVPexpandedmy worldand mademy timewith themmatter.”Roxanne Seaton1 YearSVP Investor Partner21
Investor Partner SpotlightSudarshan Bala Cadambi Observing his children thrive in a Montessori program and the remarkableimpact it had on their lives, Bala Cadambi wondered “why isn’t preschoolaccessible for all children?” And so started his decades long inquiry intoearly childhood education. When he became aware of SVP, he knew hehad to join, as it enabled him to contribute not only to enable public earlychildhood education but also his other passion–social justice and racialequity. Now a 6-year Investor Partner at SVP, Bala has been involved withcommunity organizations and public policy efforts, and serves as an SVPboard member. Bala's experience with SVP has given him access and insight intounderserved communities and collaborative avenues to affect change.Additionally, Bala has gained an appreciation and understanding for manydiverse populations –and that each has their own specific needs, needsthat those outside the community may not recognize or realize.Bala's work with SVP Community Partner Threads of Justice Collective(TOJC) enabled him to share his strategic planning skills to help TOJCexamine their options for scaling. TOJC also taught Bala how to apply thelens of anti-bias and justice to childhood development. Bala notes that theopportunity to learn and grow as a person is one of the unique values ofbecoming a member of SVP. “SVP is leading the transformation ofphilanthropy from a giver/receiver model to one that values bidirectionallearning while contributing to community resources,” he states.22
“As an SVPInvestorPartner, youwill get morethan you give-a trulyremarkablebenefit for aphilanthropy.”Sudarshan BalaCadambi 6 YearSVP Investor Partner &Current Board Member23
Bob Tate, PresidentLarry Fox, TreasurerMelinda Gross, SecretaryAssetsCash$1,535,685Accounts Receivable$9,365Restricted Current Assets$0Other Current Assets$10,482Long Term Assets$1,995Total Assets$1,557,527LiabilitiesAccounts Payable$63,002Other Current Liabilities$296,786Long Term Liabilities$0Total Liabilities$359,789Financial & Governance InformationSudarshan (Bala) Cadambi, DirectorCharlie Gilkey, DirectorEva Maribona, DirectorErin Stevanus, Director2024 Board of DirectorsStatement of Financial Position, YE 2024EquityUnrestricted Assets$1,361,491Temporarily Restricted Assets$0Permanently Restricted Assets$62,898Net Revenue-$226,650Total Net Assets$1,197,73824
Sources of Income, $Partner Contributions$466,795Foundation Grants$90,360Encore Fellows Program$106,800Other Income$41,800Areas of Expenditures, $Grants$94,600Development & Stewardship$242,190Community Impact$258,903Encore Fellows Program$40,016Support$112,561Other Expenses$58,28161%13%15%6%Sources of Income, %30%32%5%14%7%12%Areas of Expenditures, %25
Get Involved with SVP PortlandPassionate about making our community better and want to make a realdifference? Join us! Here are the ways to get involved with SVP:Become an Investor Partner: Our generous members share theirphilanthropic donations, and - if they choose - time, expertise andconnections. If you’re interested in engaging in our work as well asdonating, we will match you with project opportunities that meet yourskills, interests, and time availability. Investor Partners typically work inteams, so you will get to interact with both community organizations andother SVP members. We also provide social and developmentopportunities. To learn more about joining us, visit svpportland.org oremail us at development@svpportland.org.Become a Community Partner: Organizations that provide earlylearning or preschool opportunities in the Portland area, and are readyto expand or build capacity, are encouraged to contact us. We will walkyou through the process of applying to become an official SVP PortlandCommunity Partner, making your organization eligible for InvestorPartner support, operating grants, community connect, and more!Contact us at: impact@svpportland.org.We look forward to hearing from you!26
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