I wanted to say a huge THANKS to SDSVP for forwarding my name to SDSU’s Entrepreneurial Management Center. WOW, has Bernie and his team done an impressive job at very thoughtfully updating our website. Down to the little details, they really have done a complete overhaul so that it is far more helpful in allowing us to achieve our two critical goals that all other needs fall under at La Cuna--- finding parents and funding. His multidisciplinary team was totally on the ball and had very professional skills. We hustled, and we got the whole project done in 6 weeks, which took a lot of work, including some weekend work. They took the project incredibly seriously and came to the table with a lot of talent.
Any nonprofit that is chosen to work with them is incredibly fortunate.
Again, thank you!!!
Rachel Humphreys
Founder/Executive Director, La Cuna Inc.
http://www.lacuna.org/
January 30, 2009
Angels Recruiting Through Website
By Monica Schrader - Executive Director, Angels Foster Family Network
When San Diego Social Venture Partners notified Angels Foster Family Network of their three-year grant award, founder Cathy Richman knew exactly how to put that funding to good use. Angels immediately hired a web designer to overhaul their web site with a fresh new look and feel as well as improved flow. The primary goal for the website was to recruit new foster families.
Angel’s mission is to rescue abused, abandoned and neglected babies by matching them with a select group of foster parents to ensure maximum emotional, social and intellectual development of each child. With such a powerful mission and newly revised website, the campaign was launched to reach more children than ever by recruiting more foster families. The new website was also listed on multiple search engines to ensure Angels name was predominate when individuals were tooling around the internet looking for fostering options.
The launch was a success with Angels going from 25 placements in 2006 to 54 placements in 2007 and nearly at goal for placing 60 children to date in 2008. The Angels website has become the primary source to recruit families to become foster families. Check it out at http://www.angelsfoster.com/. Thank you SDSVP!
When San Diego Social Venture Partners notified Angels Foster Family Network of their three-year grant award, founder Cathy Richman knew exactly how to put that funding to good use. Angels immediately hired a web designer to overhaul their web site with a fresh new look and feel as well as improved flow. The primary goal for the website was to recruit new foster families.
Angel’s mission is to rescue abused, abandoned and neglected babies by matching them with a select group of foster parents to ensure maximum emotional, social and intellectual development of each child. With such a powerful mission and newly revised website, the campaign was launched to reach more children than ever by recruiting more foster families. The new website was also listed on multiple search engines to ensure Angels name was predominate when individuals were tooling around the internet looking for fostering options.
The launch was a success with Angels going from 25 placements in 2006 to 54 placements in 2007 and nearly at goal for placing 60 children to date in 2008. The Angels website has become the primary source to recruit families to become foster families. Check it out at http://www.angelsfoster.com/. Thank you SDSVP!
Elder Law & Advocacy’s Senior Shield
Elder Law & Advocacy (EL&A), 2008 SDSVP Investee, has been working on behalf of low-income seniors for thirty years, providing basic pro-bono legal services while at the same time responding to specific needs when they are identified. For example, increasing abuse and neglect of seniors in nursing homes led to the Nursing Home Rights Enforcement Project. Now EL&A hopes to respond to current threats to the well-being of unsuspecting seniors – scams and Medicare fraud – through an ambitious education and prevention initiative, Senior Shield…thanks to co-funding generated through the help of SDSVP!
Senior Shield addresses a critical need for information that alerts seniors, families and caregivers about scams and the potential for Medicare fraud. Seniors are lured into situations that jeopardize their health and financial well-being – sometimes forcing them out of their homes or negatively impacting their health – because they are either too trusting or simply unaware.
The result of scams and fraud victimizing seniors can be devastating. Senior Shield has three primary goals. The first is to increase public awareness about financial scams and Medicare fraud, with a focus on reaching seniors and the people who care for them. The second is to advocate for seniors by educating lawmakers about predatory schemes and trends in San Diego and Imperial Counties and throughout California. As a result of this work, EL&A will help seniors preserve their assets, decreasing the risk of displacement from their homes and helping them to maintain their health and achieve the best quality of life possible.
Senior Shield addresses a critical need for information that alerts seniors, families and caregivers about scams and the potential for Medicare fraud. Seniors are lured into situations that jeopardize their health and financial well-being – sometimes forcing them out of their homes or negatively impacting their health – because they are either too trusting or simply unaware.
The result of scams and fraud victimizing seniors can be devastating. Senior Shield has three primary goals. The first is to increase public awareness about financial scams and Medicare fraud, with a focus on reaching seniors and the people who care for them. The second is to advocate for seniors by educating lawmakers about predatory schemes and trends in San Diego and Imperial Counties and throughout California. As a result of this work, EL&A will help seniors preserve their assets, decreasing the risk of displacement from their homes and helping them to maintain their health and achieve the best quality of life possible.
No-sweat Boot Camp for SDSVP Partners & Guests
By Cathy Yarbrough
No one had to perform pushups, drill or stand in formation at SDSVP’s first Boot Camp.
Instead the Partners and guests, including several San Diego nonprofit agency leaders, underwent eight hours of training in strategic and annual outcome planning, fund and revenue development, finance, legal affairs, information technology, marketing and public relations, and board development and governance.
The goal: to maximize Partners’ efforts to help SDSVP’s Investees and other San Diego nonprofits to become more effective and sustainable.
Partners who missed the inaugural Boot Camp can register for the repeat sessions on Saturday, Feb 7, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and Thursday, Feb 12, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., at AMN Healthcare, 12400 High Bluff Dr. To register, please contact Mandy Sherlock at mandy@sdsvp.org or (760) 269-3836.
Boot Camp instructors were Partners skilled in applying the commercial sector’s performance standards, metrics and practices to SDSVP’s outcomes-based venture philanthropy.
At the inaugural Boot Camp, Duane Trombly reminded attendees that “SDSVP is leading the way” in applying strategic outcomes-based investment to nonprofit agencies. Philanthropic giving, Trombly pointed out, is shifting from giving based solely on the worthiness of a cause, to giving that holds nonprofits accountable for achieving long-lasting, measurable social change.
Outcome planning begins with the end in mind and defines success measurably and quantifiably through pre-defined performance targets and milestones.
In the commercial sector, success is measured by market share, revenue and profits, Trombly said. In the nonprofit world, it’s measured by impact: “what we boldly aspire to occur”.
Sherri Neasham emphasized the importance of “keeping what you’re measuring very simple” and adopting easy-to-use tools, whether they be Excel or Salesforce.com to track outcomes. “Milestones are clearly defined steps to achieve outcomes. They are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-driven,” she pointed out.
Neasham used Volunteer San Diego as a case study in developing a strategic plan with bold initiatives and measures that will enable the agency’s board to monitor its success.
Ray Ellis and Joyce Ross spoke about nonprofit boards. Members of these boards must “educate, motivate, be part of the sales team,” said Ellis. Ross reviewed the 10 key enablers for board performance, with number one being, “Board clearly understands its roles and responsibilities and acts upon them.
”Unfortunately, “most board chairs don’t know what their responsibilities are, and most board members don’t know either,” said Ross. Many attendees agreed.
A good board must have timely and accurate financial reporting. “In the quickly changing economic times we live in, it is critical to evaluate current information,” said JoAnne Berg, who spoke about the basic concepts, skills and assessment tools of accounting and financial management.
For attendees who might view information technology as a foreign language, David Lynn introduced the grammar and punctuation of his career. He emphasized the importance of IT support and security, and backups and disaster recovery to “business continuity,” the ability of the nonprofit – or the for-profit -- to maintain its momentum.
Based on the post-event evaluations, the Boot Camp helps Partners and other volunteers to firm up their volunteer muscles. The workshop, attendees said, provided "concentrated instructions in key nonprofit areas" along with a "good overview of subjects with good insights from experienced people in their field."
No one had to perform pushups, drill or stand in formation at SDSVP’s first Boot Camp.
Instead the Partners and guests, including several San Diego nonprofit agency leaders, underwent eight hours of training in strategic and annual outcome planning, fund and revenue development, finance, legal affairs, information technology, marketing and public relations, and board development and governance.
The goal: to maximize Partners’ efforts to help SDSVP’s Investees and other San Diego nonprofits to become more effective and sustainable.
Partners who missed the inaugural Boot Camp can register for the repeat sessions on Saturday, Feb 7, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and Thursday, Feb 12, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., at AMN Healthcare, 12400 High Bluff Dr. To register, please contact Mandy Sherlock at mandy@sdsvp.org or (760) 269-3836.
Boot Camp instructors were Partners skilled in applying the commercial sector’s performance standards, metrics and practices to SDSVP’s outcomes-based venture philanthropy.
At the inaugural Boot Camp, Duane Trombly reminded attendees that “SDSVP is leading the way” in applying strategic outcomes-based investment to nonprofit agencies. Philanthropic giving, Trombly pointed out, is shifting from giving based solely on the worthiness of a cause, to giving that holds nonprofits accountable for achieving long-lasting, measurable social change.
Outcome planning begins with the end in mind and defines success measurably and quantifiably through pre-defined performance targets and milestones.
In the commercial sector, success is measured by market share, revenue and profits, Trombly said. In the nonprofit world, it’s measured by impact: “what we boldly aspire to occur”.
Sherri Neasham emphasized the importance of “keeping what you’re measuring very simple” and adopting easy-to-use tools, whether they be Excel or Salesforce.com to track outcomes. “Milestones are clearly defined steps to achieve outcomes. They are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-driven,” she pointed out.
Neasham used Volunteer San Diego as a case study in developing a strategic plan with bold initiatives and measures that will enable the agency’s board to monitor its success.
Ray Ellis and Joyce Ross spoke about nonprofit boards. Members of these boards must “educate, motivate, be part of the sales team,” said Ellis. Ross reviewed the 10 key enablers for board performance, with number one being, “Board clearly understands its roles and responsibilities and acts upon them.
”Unfortunately, “most board chairs don’t know what their responsibilities are, and most board members don’t know either,” said Ross. Many attendees agreed.
A good board must have timely and accurate financial reporting. “In the quickly changing economic times we live in, it is critical to evaluate current information,” said JoAnne Berg, who spoke about the basic concepts, skills and assessment tools of accounting and financial management.
For attendees who might view information technology as a foreign language, David Lynn introduced the grammar and punctuation of his career. He emphasized the importance of IT support and security, and backups and disaster recovery to “business continuity,” the ability of the nonprofit – or the for-profit -- to maintain its momentum.
Based on the post-event evaluations, the Boot Camp helps Partners and other volunteers to firm up their volunteer muscles. The workshop, attendees said, provided "concentrated instructions in key nonprofit areas" along with a "good overview of subjects with good insights from experienced people in their field."
Meet Eva Parsons!
Eva J. Parsons has coached executives of Fortune 500 companies nationally and internationally for more than a decade. She views executive coaching as a means of providing customized learning to highly successful professionals. Eva specializes in leadership development for senior executives. In that capacity, she frequently consults with executive teams in order to develop, align, and integrate the organization’s vision and values. Eva also consults with executives of regional companies and not-for-profit organizations, primarily on a pro bono basis.
Eva works with clients in the areas of leadership development, executive performance, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills and communication, influencing skills, and people development. She has led clients through organizational change that encompasses leadership transition, restructuring, and succession planning. Eva facilitates executive level, senior management board retreats and teambuilding sessions.
Eva has been affiliated with Executive Coaching Network (EXCN), a global executive coaching firm serving Fortune 500 companies, for 12 years. Prior to that, she served as Director of People Development for AT&T Wireless Services in Portland and Seattle. Eva is the past Executive Director of the Business Youth Exchange in Oregon. She served as Human Resources Manager for one of the largest law firms in the Northwest, Stoel Rives, Attorneys at Law. In addition, Eva’s career includes ten years as a communications consultant, college instructor, and psychotherapist.
Eva has held numerous community leadership positions throughout her career. She chaired the Portland, Oregon, Mayor’s Business Roundtable Workforce Development Task Force. Eva has been involved in numerous think tank projects for the City of Portland and the State of Oregon. Additional activities in the Northwest included Chairperson, City Club Education Committee; Vice-Chairperson, Business Youth Exchange; and member, Regional Strategies Board. Since moving to California Eva has provided pro bono services to the Business Volunteers for the Arts of the San Diego Performing Arts League, and consulted with Nonprofit Management Solutions.
Eva holds an MA degree in education and counseling from Portland State University and a BA degree, cum laude, in German literature from the University of Maryland. She was born in Prague and raised in Munich, where she attended American schools. She is bilingual in English and German and speaks French and Czech. Eva has lived and worked in the United States for more than 30 years.
Eva and her husband, Jim, enjoy traveling. They often visit their loft in Portland and spend time with their kids and 6 grandkids, all of whom live nearby. Eva is an avid hiker who loves being outdoors. She’s a current events “junkie”, and she and Jim love the arts.
Eva has been doing pro bono work with local arts organizations, and when she learned about SDSVP from her friend and Partner, Linda Bernstein, she was immediately interested. “It makes so much sense to be able to leverage my interests and abilities with other professionals to make a real difference in the non-profit world,” Eva says. Linda thought SDSVP was a good fit for Eva because “she has a great deal of consulting experience with non-profits, especially those in the arts, and is extremely passionate about these commitments. She is a clear thinker and a wonderful, compassionate listener.”
Thank you, Linda, for recommending SDSVP to Eva; and thank you to Eva to joining our team!
Eva works with clients in the areas of leadership development, executive performance, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills and communication, influencing skills, and people development. She has led clients through organizational change that encompasses leadership transition, restructuring, and succession planning. Eva facilitates executive level, senior management board retreats and teambuilding sessions.
Eva has been affiliated with Executive Coaching Network (EXCN), a global executive coaching firm serving Fortune 500 companies, for 12 years. Prior to that, she served as Director of People Development for AT&T Wireless Services in Portland and Seattle. Eva is the past Executive Director of the Business Youth Exchange in Oregon. She served as Human Resources Manager for one of the largest law firms in the Northwest, Stoel Rives, Attorneys at Law. In addition, Eva’s career includes ten years as a communications consultant, college instructor, and psychotherapist.
Eva has held numerous community leadership positions throughout her career. She chaired the Portland, Oregon, Mayor’s Business Roundtable Workforce Development Task Force. Eva has been involved in numerous think tank projects for the City of Portland and the State of Oregon. Additional activities in the Northwest included Chairperson, City Club Education Committee; Vice-Chairperson, Business Youth Exchange; and member, Regional Strategies Board. Since moving to California Eva has provided pro bono services to the Business Volunteers for the Arts of the San Diego Performing Arts League, and consulted with Nonprofit Management Solutions.
Eva holds an MA degree in education and counseling from Portland State University and a BA degree, cum laude, in German literature from the University of Maryland. She was born in Prague and raised in Munich, where she attended American schools. She is bilingual in English and German and speaks French and Czech. Eva has lived and worked in the United States for more than 30 years.
Eva and her husband, Jim, enjoy traveling. They often visit their loft in Portland and spend time with their kids and 6 grandkids, all of whom live nearby. Eva is an avid hiker who loves being outdoors. She’s a current events “junkie”, and she and Jim love the arts.
Eva has been doing pro bono work with local arts organizations, and when she learned about SDSVP from her friend and Partner, Linda Bernstein, she was immediately interested. “It makes so much sense to be able to leverage my interests and abilities with other professionals to make a real difference in the non-profit world,” Eva says. Linda thought SDSVP was a good fit for Eva because “she has a great deal of consulting experience with non-profits, especially those in the arts, and is extremely passionate about these commitments. She is a clear thinker and a wonderful, compassionate listener.”
Thank you, Linda, for recommending SDSVP to Eva; and thank you to Eva to joining our team!
January 28, 2009
Investment Working Group Update - January 2009
Four of the final eight agencies made presentations. At the end of the meeting, we discussed whether to schedule the agencies for a site visit. However, no official decisions have been made. The other four agencies will be presenting to the IWG on Feb. 17. Afterward, the committee will make final decisions on site visits.
January 27, 2009
Philanthropy and the Economy – Part III
SDSVP is continuing to compile articles and resources showing how philanthropy can lead the way in helping nonprofits during these hard economic times. Click on the links below for the articles, then share your thoughts by commenting on the SDSVP blog.
Being Nonprofit When No Profits Are Being Made
By Nancy Jamison
Local San Diego philanthropy in the economic crisis
A Giving Recession?
From Economist.com
The downturn poses new challenges for philanthropy
Being Nonprofit When No Profits Are Being Made
By Nancy Jamison
Local San Diego philanthropy in the economic crisis
A Giving Recession?
From Economist.com
The downturn poses new challenges for philanthropy
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