SVPI Holds Fifth Consecutive International Conference in Denver

(From the December 2006 Newsletter)

Six SVPP partners attended Social Venture Partners International's annual conference on October 20 and 21 held this year in Denver, Colorado. Feedback from our partners which included Dave Smith, Jean Hart, Rance Gregory, Drew Smith, Megan Leftwich and Ed Mueller, indicated that this was the best conference to date.

Bill Drayton, named by U.S. News and World Report as one of the 25 Best Leaders in America, was the keynote speaker for the conference. Mr. Drayton coined the term "social entrepreneur" which is often used to describe people who combine results-oriented methods of business with the goals of social reformers. This, in a word, is the mission of SVPP. Mr. Drayton, also the founder of the global nonprofit Ashoka, described the "Fellows" program whereby selected individuals are funded to focus full-time on implementing their vision and new ideas. Examples include providing cheap electricity to Brazilian farmers, helping kick-start the fair-trade coffee practice, and giving micro-loans to Bangladeshis.

Conference attendees also participated in two days of educational sessions ranging from tax policy, politics and philanthropy to participation in a poverty simulation where partners learned first-hand the dynamics of living in poverty. Partners also had opportunities for informal and unstructured get-togethers with peers, always the most beneficial part of any conference gathering.

Participants also welcomed three new affiliates to the network: Central Iowa, Tucson, Arizona, and Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese affiliate was represented by four of their nearly thirty new partners! The total number of world-wide affiliates is now 24 and a global partnership of more than 1,200.