From Our Executive Director - Jean Hart

(From the March 2005 Newsletter)

Partner participation over the past six months has been strong. All of our new members are engaged in a variety of interesting projects and we continue to deepen our understanding of children's needs in the four county area. Four of our partners participated in the Principal for a Day program organized yearly by the Portland Schools Foundation. It was very enlightening and a highly worthwhile experience. Interested partners are encouraged to participate next year.

At our March 9 quarterly meeting, we announced our newest project, the Venture Scholars, which will provide scholarships to students in two Portland high schools. Dr. Preston Pulliams, President of Portland Community College, was the keynote speaker for the meeting. Dr. Pulliams addressed the importance of career-focused educational programs and their role in the community's economic development. He stressed the importance of partnerships between PCC and organizations such as SVPP. Dr. Pulliams speech was both informative and entertaining.

The Investment Committee has been meeting since early October to identify the investment direction for 2005. The group has made excellent progress and has identified two areas for focus: greater parental engagement in elementary schools and increased collection of tax credits for qualifying families. Our expectation is that both of these programs will have a direct and positive impact on children.

Social Venture Partners has had strong national and local media coverage in the past six months. Several of our affiliates were recently highlighted in a two-page spread in the March 7, 2005 issue of Business Week. The topic was "giving circles" and SVP was used as a successful example. The Portland Business Journal, who broke the news on Venture Scholars, gave us good coverage in the Portland Metro area.

We continue to work closely with Social Venture Partners International to tap into best practices across the SVP network, develop tools to share knowledge, establish policies and procedures and expand the scope of the network. New affiliates are planned for Asia, Europe and Latin America over the next year.

We look forward to seeing you at the Annual Partner Meeting on May 26 at the Wieden + Kennedy facility. More information about that event will be published soon. Mark your calendar now and save the date.

Please stop by the SVPP office at any time to discuss whatever is on your mind. I welcome your inputs.