Say Hello to New Partner, Scott Arnold!

By Lori Thiel

Scott Arnold, 50, is always on the go. Maybe it's a holdover from his days as a "GM brat" as he calls himself. He spent his early years growing up in and around Motor City, did a stint in New York, went back to Michigan where he earned a BA in accounting and an MBA in finance, and ultimately wound up in San Diego in the early 90s. He has been to 34 countries, and in May he takes a long-term project assignment in Austin, TX to help his company, Life Technologies headquartered in Carlsbad, turn around its operations there. Nevertheless, Scott gave us the opportunity to chat with him before he packed up to go to Texas:

What do you like best about SDSVP?
I like its people and purpose. Either one without the other doesn't interest me.

What is your favorite place in the world and why?
I've been all over the world, and have fond memories of everywhere I’ve been, but my answer is cliche: the beach area at Torrey Pines. I like being outdoors, running along the water. It's scenic and it just feels comfortable there.

Please tell us about your family.
I'm not married and have no kids, but I do have four brothers, six nieces and nephews, and a fish called Wanda ;-)

Who are your favorite pets, past or current?
I have no pets currently, but as a child we had a beagle named Penny. She was a great dog!

How do you spend your days off?
Tennis, cycling, exercise, skiing, catching up with friends....

Please tell us about a project or dream.
I’ve got a dream to buy or lead a small company. I like the feel of small…I’ve never been comfortable in a crowd….

What industry?
Maybe it'd be a software company.

What is your most prized possession and why?
I’m not much of a “possession” guy – maybe I’m most appreciative of my family. But my second answer is my silver corvette [laughter].

What is your most impressive useless talent?
I'm from Detroit and am a big car guy. As a child I could identify cars in the dark strictly by looking at their headlights and taillights.

No one in SDSVP knows that...
1. I've never had a cup of coffee in my life. [At this point interviewer gasps and pleads for an explanation.] Not a fan of hot bitter drinks…..
2. As a child I played violin and was invited to play Carnegie Hall but turned down the offer. [Again, interviewer gasps and requests more information.] It didn't seem cool in fourth or fifth grade.

San Diego 10 News - Equinox Center's Waste Report

Equinox Center's Ann Tartre discusses the amount of trash the average person in San Diego county disposes versus the amount an average Californian disposes. What neighborhood do you think has the most trash?


In 2007, SDSVP launched an innovative initiative to further increase our impact. With a focus on the environment, Partners completed a 900 person-hour research and analysis project, the largest in SDSVP history. Then in 2008 we established a new organization, Equinox Center to help ensure a healthy environment, strong economy, and vibrant communities for the people of San Diego.

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.

Kudos to Community Resource Center's Laurin Pause!

Community Resource Center’s Executive Director, Laurin Pause was recently selected by the County to receive their Public Health Champion Award for bringing collaborations and services to North County for the betterment of our community. Congrats, Laurin!

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.

San Diego Coastkeeper Update

Emeritus Investee, San Diego Coastkeeper has been working on collaborative advocacy including putting together coalitions to promote ocean-friendly practices.

Coastkeeper has expanded their fundraising to support some new high-quality hires. They recently hired an experienced water-pollution expert to expand their watershed monitoring efforts. In addition, they added a Staff Scientist to provide technical input to their water policy and enforcement efforts. They also were able to hire the marketing/communications expert who spearheaded development of the marketing plan on a pro bono basis…this was the last piece of SDSVP’s 3-year plan.

Coastkeeper now has a staff of 15 which is up from the staff of 7 at the end of 2004 right before the SDSVP engagement began. Well done, Coastkeeper!

Interview With Social Venture Partners: A Longtail Philanthropy Model

Social Venture Partners (SVP) is an innovative organization that combines contributions of many sizes from individual philanthropist partners into larger, venture-capital type gifts. Accompanying these gifts is strong capacity building expertise and volunteer efforts from the philanthropist partners themselves. This model of giving is ideal for philanthropists who want to be involved in community efforts, share their expertise with local nonprofits, and meet and socialize with other local philanthropists.

As part of our series on Longtail Philanthropy, I’m interviewing Stacy Caldwell of Dallas Social Venture Partners, and Ruth Jones of Social Venture Partners International.

Click here to read more.

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/.