San Diego Social Venture Partners collects community donations for Japan earthquake relief.

SAN DIEGO (March 14, 2011) – On the heels of Friday's mammoth 8.9 magnitude earthquake off Japan's northeastern coast, a local nonprofit, San Diego Social Venture Partners, is partnering with its team in Tokyo to collect and distribute relief funds. "San Diegans are no strangers to the devastating power of earthquakes," says Peggy Kidd, Executive Director of San Diego Social Venture Partners "so it's natural they'd want to do their part to help in this time of need. The challenge is knowing the best way to give."

San Diego Social Venture Partners (SDSVP) is a chapter of Social Venture Partners International, a network of engaged philanthropists who give of their time and business expertise to build more effective nonprofit organizations throughout North America and Tokyo.

SDSVP will collaborate with its Tokyo affiliate to ensure donations collected here are distributed to organizations taking a lead role in helping Japan's people and towns rebuild.

Weekend reports say the death toll from Japan's massive earthquake and the resulting tsunami could top 1,800 and entire cities have been destroyed.

There is also growing concern about potential danger from a damaged nuclear plant.

The Social Venture Partners team on the ground in Tokyo reports that the public railway system is rapidly recovering, though the full impact in the area closest to the quake is still unclear.

People are helping each other, though there is concern over the impact of repeated exposure to video of the devastation, especially on children. Efforts to calm the situation, involving many non-government/non-profit organizations, are underway.

Social Venture Partners unique leveraged model of giving time and expertise alongside money means donations sent through San Diego Social Venture Partners to Tokyo have the potential to be worth many times the dollar amount contributed.

In San Diego last year, donations made through San Diego Social Venture Partners were valued at a leverage of 11 to 1.

Peggy Kidd continues "One of the concerns people have when donating overseas is their ability to monitor the effectiveness of the organizations they give to.

Our Partners in Tokyo know the community, and will make sure monies are used where they're most needed."

To donate to Tokyo earthquake relief through San Diego Social Venture Partners or to learn more about the organization, visit http://www.sdsvp.org/.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO SOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS (SDSVP)
Established in 2001, San Diego Social Venture Partners is a nonprofit organization of professionals who invest time and money in innovative nonprofits in San Diego County while becoming more educated and involved givers. Recent Investees include A Reason to Survive, Audeo Charter School, ElderHelp of San Diego, Reality Changers and the Tariq Khamisa Foundation. To learn more about SDSVP, call (858) 724-6065 or visit http://www.sdsvp.org/.

SDSVP’s College Volunteer Visits SVP Tokyo

For those who I haven't gotten a chance to introduce myself to yet, I am Lindsay Ujiie. I have been volunteering with SDSVP since last September and it has definitely been a great and inspiring experience. I am a senior at UC San Diego and study political science. I grew up in Japan until I turned 18 and came to the States for college.

I took a trip back to Japan this winter for job hunting and also had an opportunity to visit SVP Tokyo. Although I was not able to make it to their Network Meeting, I attended the dinner party held afterward and met a lot of their Partners and prospects. I was very surprised to see that the people there were mostly in their 20's and 30's and there weren't as many retired ones. Since the concept of "philanthropy" is still very new in Japan compared to the States, it seems that it’s attracting younger people. (The term "volunteer" was first introduced in Japan when San Francisco Earthquake happened in 1989. A group of 38 students came to help and it was the very first time Japanese people made a physical move instead of just writing a check in the interest of helping others.) Also, the gate to SVP seems to be more open to younger people there because their annual donation is lower. The biggest difference I saw is that SVP Tokyo has to put more effort in defining what philanthropy really is when recruiting new Partners, while SDSVP starts with why it is needed. However, according to their executive director, Junko Kishigami, they do share some common goals to pursue such as increasing the percentage of engaged Partners and broader recognition of SVP.

Although it was just a two hour dinner party, it was great to meet the people from an international SVP office and I was able to learn a lot more about how each office could be run differently. I hope this amazing SVP network will continue to grow both nationally and internationally, and someday become a Partner myself after I gain more business experiences and money to invest!