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!

From Neighborhood Tough Guy to Academic Mentor

From The San Diego Union-Tribune
February 18, 2012
By Karla Peterson

A lot of people thought Eduardo Corona would be dead by now. And if not dead, certainly in jail. And if not in jail yet, surely on his way.

For a while, one of those people was Eduardo Corona. But on a day that started with classes at San Diego State University and ended with another evening of helping kids make their college dreams come true, this confident young man in a dress shirt and tie is proud to say that the doom-and-gloom crowd was wrong about him. And he is particularly thrilled that he was so very wrong about himself.

Click here to read more.

Mid Year Updates: Year-2 Investees

Audeo Charter School

• Audeo has a more defined and focused approach to their market as a result of their newly developed business plan and outcome and marketing planning with SVP.
• Students served have grown from 150 to 700 in seven years and anticipate 1,000 by the end of 2012.

Reality Changers

• Launched College Apps Academy, a fee-for-service program committed to helping high school seniors gain admission to the top colleges and universities.
• Last year, 130 students graduated from the program as compared to 51 in the previous year

San Diego Giving Stories: Making College A Reality

By San Diego Grantmakers

Reality Changers is a current Investee of San Diego Social Venture Partners

Wasn't Considering College
In junior high, Robert Silva was an average student with no college aspirations. His mother worked at a convenience store and his father repaired gas stations. They couldn’t afford college savings and were unfamiliar with college preparation. Naturally, Robert “didn’t know anything about college.” So when he was approached by a substitute teacher to participate in a program to get kids college bound, he was skeptical: “I had zero interest.”

Access to Education Leads to Healthy, Safe Communities
The California Wellness Foundation’s (TCWF) mission is to improve the health of people in California. In 2008, TCWF awarded a $225,000 grant to Reality Changers, a San Diego program to help build healthy communities by developing first-generation college students. Chris Yanov - Robert's subsitute teacher - was Reality Changers' founder and president.

“Reality Changers is in the business of changing lives,” said Julio Marcial, program director at TCWF. “The RC model has become a nationally recognized program utilizing its experience to help high-risk kids become the first in their families to attend college.”

Providing Meaningful Support
Robert eventually agreed to participate in the Reality Changers program. But school was still a struggle. He avoided expulsion as a sophomore thanks in part to a personal plea from Chris to school officials. Then Robert’s mother was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer at the same time she found out she was pregnant. His parents were considering divorce, and a fight between he and his father resulted in Robert moving into his grandparents’ garage.

During this difficult time, a Reality Changers staffer named Grace Chaidez became both a mentor and friend to Robert. The Reality Changers team encouraged his community service and attended a breast cancer walk in honor of his mother. They helped him with college applications and paid for him to live in the dorms and take a summer course at the University of California, San Diego. This support fueled Robert’s own drive and helped him ultimately complete his senior year with a 4.2 grade point average. Today, Robert is a sophomore at Cal State Los Angeles.

How TCWF Helped
“After the recession hit, I don’t know what we would have done without the grant from TCWF,” said Chris. The support helped them attract additional funding to operate in new areas and offer expanded services. Reality Changers has created nearly 200 first-generation college students since it began in 2001, and it promotes the concept of philanthropy by motivating students, families and tutors to volunteer.These accomplishments have prompted two visits in 2010 by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

What Does This Mean About Philanthropy?
Grants for core operating support from foundations can help promising nonprofit programs - like Reality Changers - enhance services to realize their full potential. And during times of reduced individual contributions and government funding, such grants may be what keep a nonprofit going. For foundations, the benefits are mutual: they learn from their investments in successful programs and can apply that knowledge toward projects addressing similar problems in other areas throughout California.

Q&A with Reality Changers

“We believe that SDSVP's where the power of business meets the passion of giving also defines the students of Reality Changers. These students, despite being low income, inner-city students, mean business and share your passion for giving, despite their humble circumstances and disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Christopher Yanov, Founder and Executive Director, Reality Changers

At First Friday in September, SDSVP Investee, Reality Changers spoke to Partners and guests about their great work in the community and new partnership with SDSVP. Christopher Yanov, Founder and Executive Director of Reality Changers shared how his organization is radically changing the lives of at-risk, inner city high schoolers into first generation college students:

First there's Jesse, a Reality Changers graduate whose family’s annual income was $7,000/year; upon high school graduation, he earned a $215,000 full ride scholarship to Harvard University where he is now starting his second year. We also learned about Arlene who sold flowers on the side of the road until the day she left for Chicago on a $200,000 scholarship to Northwestern University. And then there’s Ashley who grew up in one of San Diego's most dangerous neighborhoods where there has been 10 gang related homicides in the last 5 years; she got a $203,000 scholarship to Duke University. Impressive, right?

Last month, Reality Changers was in the news for a new agreement with San Diego State University - any student who meets the program requirements and makes good grades is guaranteed admission to SDSU. Their next goal...UCSD.

As you can see, Reality Changers is about results…ultimately changing the reality of teenagers in San Diego.

As a follow up to First Friday, we asked Chris some additional questions about working with Social Venture Partners:

How did you hear about SDSVP?

Reality Changers first heard about SDSVP through its success with past investees such as Second Chance and Junior Achievement.

Why did your organization want to work with SDSVP?

Reality Changers is one of the nation's leaders when it comes to running programs for first generation college students. However, as our programs grow, we must learn how to run a multi-million dollar organization takes much different skill sets - and that's why partnering with SDSVP will be so beneficial.

Has the experience so far met your expectations?

SDSVP warned us that we would be overwhelmed with planning meetings, but they have already challenged us to look at our clients and our markets in new ways and we are looking forward to the results that partnering with SDSVP will soon produce.

What areas are we assisting you in and how have we helped you?

SDSVP is not giving us the answers to big-picture and small-picture questions; in fact, they are helping us figure out just what those questions should be. More specifically, SDSVP is helping Reality Changers create a 3-year and 5-year plan that can be functional for the organization on an everyday basis.

What are your expectations for future years of partnership with SDSVP?

Reality Changers hopes that SDSVP will teach us how to reach more markets - from inner-city students to program partners to program funders who want to see more low-income youth become first generation college.

SDSVP & Reality Changers Featured on XETV San Diego 6 in the Morning

San Diego Social Venture Partners recently chose to invest in two San Diego nonprofits in the education sector Reality Changers and Audeo Charter School for funding and support up to three years. On Wed, March 31, XETV San Diego 6 Morning News interviewed SDSVP Partner, Ray Ellis, Reality Changers Founder, Chris Yanov and graduating senior, Michael Gaulden.

Social Venture Partners Turn Focus to Education

From San Diego Business Journal
Monday, April 5, 2010

By Brad Graves

San Diego Social Venture Partners said on March 25 that it made investments in two nonprofit organizations dedicated to education: Reality Changers and Audeo Charter School.

San Diego Social Venture Partners will offer $25,000 per year to the programs over three years. In addition, the group offers nonmonetary support, in the form of expertise and skills, to the organizations they fund. The total value of the support is $600,000 per organization, said Peggy Kidd, the charitable group’s executive director.

Reality Changers is an after-school mentoring program that helps disadvantaged youth in San Diego County become first-generation college students. Audeo Charter School offers an advanced and self-motivating alternative to traditional education for students in grades six through 12.

San Diego Social Venture Partners Selects Innovative Nonprofits for Funding in Education

SAN DIEGO (March 25, 2010) – During economic times when educational funding is drastically reduced, San Diego Social Venture Partners chose to invest in two San Diego nonprofits in the education sector – Reality Changers and Audeo Charter School – for funding and support up to three years. SDSVP support will strengthen each organization’s infrastructure and capacity building in areas such as board development, strategic planning, operations and financial systems, outcome measurement and marketing communication.

San Diego Social Venture Partners are community minded professionals who contribute time, money and business expertise to help innovative nonprofits chosen through a rigorous selection process. The organizations selected for investment – called Investees – have a clear vision, strong leadership, a commitment to measuring successful outcomes and a desire to collaborate with high-level volunteers.

SDSVP’s mission is to accelerate social change by developing the organizational capacity and sustainability of each nonprofit they support, empowering them to serve the community more effectively and efficiently. Its Partners are diverse in their interests, but all are united in their commitment to strengthening San Diego County, helping its people achieve long-term social change.

REALITY CHANGERS - Building First-generation College Students

Founded in 2001 by a former teacher, Executive Director Christopher Yanov, Reality Changers is a powerful after-school mentoring program that helps disadvantaged youth in San Diego County become first-generation college students. Through tutoring, academic support and financial assistance, low-income students from 38 middle and high schools have turned their lives around to become college-bound leaders in our community. The program supports 120 students who otherwise might be expelled from school or involved with gangs and drugs.

Reality Changers is California’s leading tutoring program for scholarships where students have earned $5 million in financial aid from all sources. Of the 87 students who completed the program, 83 have gone on to college, including Ivy League schools. The Reality Changers program is seen as a model for other cities and is highly praised by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Yet there are more students on Reality Changers’ waiting list of 150 than those currently served. This is an ideal fit for expanded services and capacity building through the involvement of SDSVP volunteers. For more information, visit http://www.realitychangers.org/.

Audeo Charter School – Nurturing Student Achievement

Founded in 2001 by Board President Mary Searcy Bixby, Audeo Charter School is part of the Altus Institute – a network of charter schools for students in grades six through twelve who seek an advanced and self-motivating alternative to traditional education. Audeo provides a successful model of collaborative learning, high-level curriculum, self-paced lessons and year-round enrollment.


Audeo teachers have designed a curriculum that meets the learning needs of each student and is aligned with California State Course Requirements. Located in classrooms in neighborhoods and malls throughout San Diego County, Audeo’s independent study model provides skills development, career exploration, high-level thinking and enrichment of the core curriculum.


Students master learning skills including the ability to read, write, compute, solve problems and work independently and in teams. Students must also be proficient in the use of technology, effective time management, performance accountability, wellness and relating to others. SDSVP sees involvement with Audeo Charter School as an exciting way to support successful educational alternatives. For more information, visit http://www.audeocharterschool.net/.


ABOUT SAN DIEGO SOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS Established in 2001, San Diego Social Venture Partners (SDSVP) is a nonprofit organization of engaged professionals who invest time and money in innovative nonprofits in San Diego County while becoming more educated and involved givers. Other Investees include A Reason to Survive, Tariq Khamisa Foundation, Community Resource Center, Corporation for Supportive Housing and ElderHelp of San Diego.


SDSVP is an affiliate of SVP International (SVPI), a network of more than 1,900 Partners who support a shared mission of philanthropy in 26 cities and 3 countries and have given more than $32.2 million in cash and six times that amount through in-kind contributions to more than 335 nonprofit organizations. To learn more about SDSVP or become involved as a Partner, visit http://sandiegosvp.ning.com/.