SVP Shines the Spotlights on Success

On May 23, nearly 100 Partners and guests gathered in Del Mar for SVP’s first ever Spotlights on Success. The auditorium at AMN Healthcare was transformed into an intimate, in-depth experience as guests discovered SVP’s real impact in the community.

Click here to read more.

Check out more event photos!

Outstanding Student Outcomes at TKF!

• In January, the Tariq Khamisa Foundation(TKF), a third-year investee, received results from a third party evaluation of their Safe School Model. The study from two independent sources reported that within the San Diego Unified School District and Escondido Union School District Safe Schools, TKF has significantly reduced behavior referrals for student misconduct by 63% in San Diego and 65% in Escondido. The full reports can be found in their Press Room.
• TKF’s Founder, Azim Khamisa, was named Spiritual Hero of the Year by Science of Mind Magazine and was on the cover of the January issue. Past recipients include Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Carter, Christopher Reeve, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Click here to hear an interview with Azim.
• Check out TKF’s brand-spanking-new website…just launched!

The Partner 4-1-1

Tony Broad is lending his financial expertise and passion for creating a safer environment and joined the Board of Investee,Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF) as its new Treasurer.

Lenore Hawkins recently received an invitation to become a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. In October, Lenore attended her first meeting in Sydney, Australia. Members include high-level government officials, Nobel Prize recipients, economic and financial experts, and legal scholars from all over the world who regularly come together to present the most current analysis of ideas, trends and events.

In April, Ray Ellis is slated to assume the President’s position of the San Diego Employees’ Retirement System’s (SDCERS) Board of Administration. Ray is one of 7 Mayoral Appointees serving with 6 other Trustees.

Investee, Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF) in the News!

Click on the link below to learn more about Investee, TKF's impact at a San Diego County School!

San Diego NBC 7/39 News: Breaking the Cycle

Annual Spring Fling: Home is Where the Heart Is

By Cathleen Wolf

Neither March winds nor pouring rain could prevent a hundred San Diego Social Venture Partners and friends from attending the Spring Party. This year’s quarterly party was held at the spacious home of Partners Ray and Gina Ellis. Delightful fare and lively conversations filled every room and warmed every heart.

At the height of the party, Azim Khamisa, founder of the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF), was invited to address the crowd. Just one year ago, the Partners chose TKF as one of two new Investees for a three-year grant cycle. TKF is now in its fifteenth year making a difference in the lives of millions of children, bringing principles of peace and nonviolence. Through a powerful story of forgiveness, TKF is successfully saving kids from killing kids.

Azim caught everyone’s attention with his opening statement: “Had he lived, on this very day, my boy Tariq would be 36 years old.”

He continued: “I’m honored to celebrate one year of our Foundation’s special relationship with San Diego Social Venture Partners. Let us also honor Tariq on his birthday today. At age 20, my son’s life was taken forever because a 14-year-old shot him with a single bullet in a senseless act of violence.”

“Tariq, like his sister Tasreen, would probably be married and have his own kids by now,” he continued. “He loved children, and they loved him. But that was not his destiny.” There would be another path that opened up, not just for Azim, but also for a world in need of peace and forgiveness.

Azim mentioned how that week everyone’s hearts were broken by the recent, violent death of Chelsea King. This beautiful 17-year-old life was taken from us all in a terrible act of violence. “When one child dies, we are all diminished,” he said.

“Every day in this country, 75 more children die due to violent acts,” he continued. “My son was the victim of a boy who was a victim of our society, and that involves all of us. We are all responsible in one way or another.”

It was a long, painful process, but ultimately Azim chose not to seek revenge over the loss of his son. Instead he chose forgiveness and peace. "I saw Tariq as a victim of the 14-year-old, and I saw the 14-year-old as a victim of society. Both were victims at opposite ends of a gun."

Azim continued: “Who would have thought fifteen years ago that TKF would grow to a staff of more than 50 employees, developing five unique school-based programs that could reach 8 million kids? Who could have thought in this first year of partnership with SDSVP, we would build an even more awesome staff and board of directors, completely transformed in many tangible ways? Azim especially thanked Partners Wendy Gibson, Joyce Ross, Sherri Neasham, Joanne Berg, Mark Fackler and others for their passionate contributions of time and expertise.

Azim said that one of his own hardest choices this year “was learning to free myself from too many roles as Founder, Chairman, CEO, board member, and,” he quipped, “some less prestigious jobs.” He complimented Joyce and others who convinced him to redo the bylaws as the most significant step in helping the Foundation expand and grow. “Thanks to Sherri and your Resource Team, we’ve also mapped out our long-term plans and found new ways to keep TKF at the leading edge. Now we can work even more passionately to meet our mandate of ending the cycle of youth violence.”

Azim concluded, “America is by far the most violent nation in the world. Through comprehensive school programs, our Violence Impact Forums and other good works, together we can save the lives of many young ones who will contribute to making this a better world. I know Tariq would have been a positive agent of change in our world. And so would all the other kids we lose on a daily basis, when everyone in the community is wounded and diminished.

By joining our hearts and hands together, SDSVP and TKF are saving children's lives from death, empowering non-violent choices and embracing the peacemaking path.

How fitting to end the evening with our All-Star Dessert Showcase including cake and special desserts prepared by our Partners, Gina Ellis, AmyK Hutchens, Emmy Sobieski, and Louarn Sorkin.

Thanks to Azim’s inspiring words, there was one more reason to celebrate . . . and get back to those heartfelt conversations.

Happy Birthday, Tariq!

Click on the links to see party pics and video montage.

SDSVP Investees on Facebook

Keep abreast of what our Investees are doing to make San Diego a better place. Add Investee fan pages to your Facebook account. 1) Click on a link below, 2) login to Facebook and 3) click on the “Become a Fan” button.

• TKF
• ARTS
• ElderHelp
• Corporation for Supportive Housing
• Community Resource Center

...And don't forget to become a fan of San Diego Social Venture Partners, too!

Meet SDSVP Investee, TKF Executive Director, Lisa Grogan!

By Paul Thiel

Although Lisa Grogan has no kids of her own, children have always been a deep passion for her. With that kind of passion, some become elementary school teachers, others may opt for a career in pediatrics. Grogan, the Executive Director of new SDSVP Investee Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF), headed to the other side of the tracks: she spent a dozen years as a probation administrator for juveniles.

“I like working with a vulnerable population -- I want to make a difference,” says Grogan. “And one of the attractions of coming to TKF was the opportunity to help kids before they enter the juvenile justice system.”

TKF, as the foundation is known, aims to stop the cycle of violence among kids. The foundation was started by Azim Khamisa shortly after his son Tariq, was shot and killed while delivering pizzas to earn money to pay his way through San Diego State University in 1995. Tariq’s assailant was 14-year-old gang recruit Tony Hicks, who became the first juvenile tried as an adult in California and is now serving 25-years-to-life sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2027, when he is 46.

Like the foundation itself, Grogan began her journey to end youth violence at SDSU, where she majored in criminal justice while taking a minor in social work. While in school she started in the Volunteers in Probation program, and loved the work.

In her former position Grogan oversaw about 3,000 probationers at a time, learning how, for many kids, violence begets violence. “It often starts with the family – often a violent offender comes from a family with a lot of violence. It really is a cycle of violence.”

In addition, Grogan says, she learned why kids join gangs. It’s a matter of protection from others, belonging to a group and being targeted to join. In fact, Hicks was ordered to shoot Tariq by an 18-year-old leader of a gang he was being recruited to after running away from home.

“We try to show that there are other ways to deal with your anger – the answer is not violence,” she says. In addition, “one of the things we teach is forgiveness. Kids think that if they are treated violently they need to respond violently.”

Since inception TKF has reached over 8 million students in 12,000 schools across the nation via a documentary created by Channel One News, more than 300,000 students via in-school presentations and more than 70,000 students in San Diego via a live program, teaching hope, personal responsibility and forgiveness.

One of the several programs run by TKF is the Violence Impact Forum, a unique and powerful school-based violence prevention education program for students in the 4th -12th grades. The assembly includes a high-impact video with powerful speakers and lively student audience participation, focusing on the personal story of Tariq Khamisa, Tony Hicks and the lifelong consequences of one deadly choice.

Grogan sees SDSVP’s support as critical to TKF’s national aspirations. “When I came here I took the philosophy of running a nonprofit as much like a business as possible, and the idea of SDSVP is to marry corporate business strategy to the heart of a nonprofit for success.”

Having helped nearly 20,000 kids so far this year just in San Diego, managing a budget of $1.8 million and a staff of 12 permanament full time and 38 AmeriCorps Mentors, Grogan is well-positioned to lead TKF to national prominence – but with the help of the experts at SDSVP. “There is a monetary component to SDSVP, but the biggest value to us is working with all these incredible people and gaining the expertise the Partners have to move us to the next level.”


Quick 5 with Lisa Grogan

What have you read lately? Good to Great by Jim Collins, Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell

What is on your iPod? Kings of Leon, Lucinda Williams, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Marley, Pink

What do you watch? The First 48, Gangland, Discovery Channel, History Channel

If you could live somewhere else for 2 years, where would it be and why? I would buy a RV, live in it and travel the country for 2 years. There are so many sights, sounds, smells, and people I would love to experience around our great country. It would be a blast!

What do you do for fun? Travel to Mexico, going to concerts and going camping and fishing.

SDSVP Sizzles at Summer Party and Annual Meeting

Thank you to Diane and David Zeiger for hosting the SDSVP Summer Party and Annual Meeting at their beautiful home at The Bridges! Partners and guests enjoyed beautiful weather, great conversation, a delicious fresh summer fare, and updates from SDSVP.

Highlights include:

• The Bingham Stone Award was presented to Partner, Joyce Ross to honor her outstanding leadership skills, commitment and “no BS” attitude.
• The 2009-10 SDSVP Advisory Board was introduced. Welcome new Board members, JoAnne Berg, Linda Bernstein, Peg Eddy, David Lynn, and Steve Ness.
• SDSVP announced its two new Investees serving youth and children, A Reason to Survive (ARTS) and Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF). Click here to view more party pictures.

SDSVP Selects New Investees!

SDSVP is thrilled to announce our two newest Investees, A Reason To Survive (ARTS) and the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF)!

The Investment Working Group (IWG) worked very diligently this year in selecting SDSVP’s two new Investees in the area of youth and children. The process was exciting and the Partners were passionate in looking for the perfect fit for us to lend our time, expertise and resources. The IWG divided into teams and reviewed 42 Letters of Intents, then regrouped and requested 16 organizations to submit proposals. After a thorough review, we requested 8 nonprofits to make a presentation, then we conducted 6 site visits and selected two incredible organizations. Hats off to Joyce Ross, Sherri Neasham and the entire IWG team for a job well done! Partners, your investment will go a long way with these two groups… let us tell you more about them.

ARTS focuses on empowering children facing life challenges to unleash their creative abilities and discover hidden talent to boost self-esteem and propel them to future success.

TKF envisions a world free from youth violence, using a powerful, personal story to motivate students in schools to realize that personal responsibility and respect are the foundation for building strong neighborhoods and strong communities.

In addition to a financial commitment over the next 3 years, each organization will benefit from gifts of Partners’ time and expertise to assist with strategic planning, financial review, technology implementation and publicity to insure their growth and sustainability.

SDSVP’s unique model for long-term success is especially crucial today, as the current economic downturn is requiring all organizations – especially non-profits – to do more with less.

Our passionate and dynamic Partners continue to make a difference for our Investees and San Diego by leveraging their decades of business and community leadership, cementing SDSVP’s position as a leader in the philanthropic community.

Thanks to Wendy Gibson, Lead Partner for TKF, and Scott Tritt, Lead Partner for ARTS. There are lots of opportunities to get involved this year, so please contact Wendy or Scott if you’re interested.