Wine and cheese aren’t the only reason SVP is drawing a crowd at this summer’s Discovery Team. The group is passionate about the task of researching how to help kids and their communities see value and connection to school.
Click here to read more.
Hope you can join us for the next meeting! RSVP through Evite or email mandy@sdsvp.org.
Discovery Team Meeting
Wednesday, Aug 10
Location: AMN Healthcare
12400 High Bluff Drive
San Diego 92130
4:00-6:00 PM
August 11, 2011
August 10, 2011
First Year Investee: REBOOT™: San Diego’s Military Reintegration Program
REBOOT™ is a three-week workshop, provided by the National Veterans Transition Services, Inc., that helps veterans ease back into civilian life after military service. Recently, the not-for-profit has partnered with Social Venture Partners.
Launched by Retired Rear Admiral Ronne Froman and Retired Master Chief Petty Officer Maurice Wilson in July 2010, REBOOT was created after its founders became aware of the increasing number of former service members not adjusting to the “real world.” The concept is that if you have to go through boot camp to be acculturated for the military, there should be a similar program when you leave the service as well.
To date, nearly 300 San Diego service men and women have benefited from this program just within its first year of testing. REBOOT’s regional plan is to re-train about 2,500 veterans in 18 months.
Statistics show that ex-military suffer from high jobless rates, as well as higher rates of homelessness, substance abuse and many other reintegration challenges. REBOOT gives San Diego’s veterans the tools to combat these challenges and to succeed. REBOOT is the only reintegration program of its kind that helps veterans’ re-adaption to a life of independence post service.
Due to a generous contribution from the Gary and Mary West Foundation and others, REBOOT has been able to run one workshop per month with 18 students. REBOOT would like to increase the number of workshops available to four each month and eventually, operate at 12 workshops each month. Each workshop is $2,500 per student. REBOOT workshops are available free of charge for employed veterans and active duty personnel of all wars, as well as their spouses.
With the conflict in Iraq winding down and the military poised to leave Afghanistan, the numbers leaving the military service will only increase. Please consider donating to REBOOT to help San Diego’s veterans rejoin our community as successfully as possible.
August 9, 2011
Paul Shoemaker named to the Top 50 Power and Influence List
Paul Shoemaker, Founding President of Social Venture Partners International, and Executive Connector of SVP Seattle, was named to NonProfit Times’ Top 50 Power and Influence List for the blending of philanthropy development and capacity building.Congrats, Paul!
August 5, 2011
After the Tsunami: Progress from SVP Tokyo
“It’s clear that the Japanese people are still shocked,” says Bob Ness, SVP Seattle partner, about the daunting task ahead for Japan’s disaster recovery. Bob and his wife Maryann recently visited Japan and did not find many Japanese willing to talk deeply about the tsunami disaster.SVP Tokyo founder and Chair, Hide Inoue and his wife, Yuki visited the Fukushima area not long before they met with Bob and Maryann. Hide said that they were completely unprepared for the level of devastation, and their own emotional response to the losses that people experienced there.
Click here to read more.
August 4, 2011
Unleashing Potential…One SVP at a Time
Austin, Houston, Raleigh, Chicago and Atlanta, wouldn’t you like to see an SVP there? As a collective of SVPs, we number 25 currently with 2,100+ Partners. Together we’ve contributed close to $41M to over 500 nonprofits. That’s something to feel good about. Is that enough? What would it take to double those numbers? Just how many struggling kids, vulnerable families and environmental solutions could we reach with a bigger net? We see the potential, we have the tools, and there is no better time than right now to ramp up our efforts.Click here to read more.
July 14, 2011
Conquering the Fear of Asking
By Mark Fackler
In my mid-twenties, I developed a motto for my life that was "face your fear.” Over the years, after much self-reflection and many conversations with my wife, I changed this motto to "identify your fears and break through them." This motto seems more appropriate, for facing your fear is great, but moving past your fear is even better.
Last year, I decided to tackle a fear of mine, the fear of asking for charitable donations. After three decades of supporting charities, I felt it was time to break through this fear. For me, this irrational fear was based on the following:
1) Being rejected.
2) Annoying the potential donor.
3) Sounding like a stereotypical used car salesman with high pressure tactics. I do apologize to great used car sales people.
4) Asking someone who could not afford a donation and embarrassing them.
5) Friends avoiding me because I am always asking for donations.
6) Setting up a quid pro quo expectation to give to their meaningful charity.
In full disclosure, I have read books and attended seminars on sales for both for profit and non-profit companies. I have worked with and even mentored great salespeople in both sectors. With all of this experience, my fear still prevented me from actually doing the work to become a successful fundraiser. Even stranger, I have a few friends who are excellent at asking for donations for their favorite charities. I have a ton of respect for them and would be proud to be like them. Yet, my fear still ruled me.
The Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF) is one of my favorite non-profit organizations. I have proudly worked with TKF for over ten years. Their vision is to create “a world free of youth violence.” The founder's 20-year-old son was murdered by a 14-year-old boy. The founder realized that “there were victims at both ends of the gun” and created TKF as a solution to end youth violence. This organization does important and impactful work, so I was motivated to conquer my fear and help TKF and the kids we serve at the same time.
TKF created an email campaign that was based on a request for one dollar. The idea was to inspire one million people to each donate one dollar to TKF. However, a few months after the campaign started, TKF had less than one hundred donations, though one donation was for $25,000. That donation said a lot about what could happen when you ask someone for a dollar.
On the day I started my campaign, I had 1,117 contacts in my email list. I crafted a generic email with the help of a TKF board member who was the best at marketing. She and I drafted an email containing both a logical and emotional reason to give. I decided to personalize each email with a few sentences that made it clear to the recipient that I was speaking directly to them. The thought of personalization made my fear grow because the fear of reject would be more real for me. However, but I believe that the path that produces the most fear is often the best path to take, so I continued with my effort.
I started with the A's in my contact list and disaster struck immediately. My first contact was a fellow partner in San Diego Social Venture Partners (SDSVP) and there is an unwritten rule that partners are not supposed to ask each other for donations to their specific causes. I labored over this dilemma for literally days. I began rationalizing that fundraising was not for me and this was a sign from God that I was not supposed to do this work. As I looked through my contact list, there were hundreds of contacts that I had some rationale as to why I would not ask them for money. Clearly, this task was too difficult for me.
However, the quiet and persistent voice in the back of my head told me to press on. So, I looked at my contact list with a different perspective. I looked for contacts who I would feel comfortable asking for a donation. Much to my surprise, the majority of the people on the list were perfect for my ask. I was only asking for a dollar and that would probably not anger them. I skipped the second name on my list as I was courting her for SDSVP and did not want to court her for two charities. I went for the brass ring on the third name. I wrote her a nice couple of personal connection sentences, pasted in the generic ask and sent the email off. I was exhausted by the process, so I quit for the day.
Miracle of all miracles, this absolutely wonderful lady responded five days later with a $25 donation! I was beyond excited. I sent off a grateful thank you note and a few more requests for the one dollar donation. More money came in and, lo and behold, not a single person sent me a nasty email as my unrealistic fear had predicted. In fact, I received some incredibly nice responses about TKF and my efforts. I was actually getting energized by my work. Honestly, I was still mentally exhausted from my fear, but I was really excited every time I checked my email for donation notifications.
Over the course of a year, I asked 671 out of my 1,117 original contacts for a dollar. I decided to not ask 446 contacts for a few reasons. As I said before, anyone associated with SDSVP was a no ask. Some contacts I did not know well enough to personalize an email, and others I felt would be inappropriate due to my close relationship with them. On my best days, I made ten asks. At times, I went weeks in between asks and even took a break from November to January in order to not compete with year-end asks from other charities.
There were many highlights from my involvement in this campaign effort. I reconnected with old friends and they were as grateful as I was. One man gave me money even though I had only seen him twice a few years back. A few donations came in from friends who were unemployed. They were grateful to contribute even though money was tight. One person donated five months after receiving my email. He was a salesperson in a slump, but he donated when things brightened up for him. One donation came from a former coach of mine who I had not had contact with for eight years.
All in all, a third of the emails I sent resulted in a donation. Twenty-two donations came from friends of my contacts and the average gift size was $71.52. I raised just over $16,000 for TKF. Twelve donations were for a dollar and five donations were for $500. One of the $500 donations came from someone I did not even know. All of the donations were exciting to receive and they inspired me to send out more requests.
Interestingly after getting through 80% of my contact list, my views of asking changed from feeling bad to feeling obliged. I started to realize that the recipient is an adult and has the right to choose. Without my ask, I would have denied people the opportunity to decide for themselves due to my fearful assumptions. I was always kind and sincere in my ask, so why should I feel bad? When I get asked and the ask is sincere and not too frequent, I appreciate it. I am capable of saying yes or no to an ask, so I now assume the people I ask are also capable.
Overall, I am grateful for all of the donations that were generated for TKF and opportunity to break through my fear. The fear is not gone, but it no longer rules me. TKF’s email campaign was a great first step and there are more steps for me to take, specifically with asking for donations face-to-face and over the phone. TKF needs my help and there are other great charities out there that need your help. Are you ready to take a step to break through your fears?
Mark Fackler
Blog: www.facklerfamily.org
Cell: (619)316-7723
In my mid-twenties, I developed a motto for my life that was "face your fear.” Over the years, after much self-reflection and many conversations with my wife, I changed this motto to "identify your fears and break through them." This motto seems more appropriate, for facing your fear is great, but moving past your fear is even better.
Last year, I decided to tackle a fear of mine, the fear of asking for charitable donations. After three decades of supporting charities, I felt it was time to break through this fear. For me, this irrational fear was based on the following:
1) Being rejected.
2) Annoying the potential donor.
3) Sounding like a stereotypical used car salesman with high pressure tactics. I do apologize to great used car sales people.
4) Asking someone who could not afford a donation and embarrassing them.
5) Friends avoiding me because I am always asking for donations.
6) Setting up a quid pro quo expectation to give to their meaningful charity.
In full disclosure, I have read books and attended seminars on sales for both for profit and non-profit companies. I have worked with and even mentored great salespeople in both sectors. With all of this experience, my fear still prevented me from actually doing the work to become a successful fundraiser. Even stranger, I have a few friends who are excellent at asking for donations for their favorite charities. I have a ton of respect for them and would be proud to be like them. Yet, my fear still ruled me.
The Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF) is one of my favorite non-profit organizations. I have proudly worked with TKF for over ten years. Their vision is to create “a world free of youth violence.” The founder's 20-year-old son was murdered by a 14-year-old boy. The founder realized that “there were victims at both ends of the gun” and created TKF as a solution to end youth violence. This organization does important and impactful work, so I was motivated to conquer my fear and help TKF and the kids we serve at the same time.
TKF created an email campaign that was based on a request for one dollar. The idea was to inspire one million people to each donate one dollar to TKF. However, a few months after the campaign started, TKF had less than one hundred donations, though one donation was for $25,000. That donation said a lot about what could happen when you ask someone for a dollar.
On the day I started my campaign, I had 1,117 contacts in my email list. I crafted a generic email with the help of a TKF board member who was the best at marketing. She and I drafted an email containing both a logical and emotional reason to give. I decided to personalize each email with a few sentences that made it clear to the recipient that I was speaking directly to them. The thought of personalization made my fear grow because the fear of reject would be more real for me. However, but I believe that the path that produces the most fear is often the best path to take, so I continued with my effort.
I started with the A's in my contact list and disaster struck immediately. My first contact was a fellow partner in San Diego Social Venture Partners (SDSVP) and there is an unwritten rule that partners are not supposed to ask each other for donations to their specific causes. I labored over this dilemma for literally days. I began rationalizing that fundraising was not for me and this was a sign from God that I was not supposed to do this work. As I looked through my contact list, there were hundreds of contacts that I had some rationale as to why I would not ask them for money. Clearly, this task was too difficult for me.
However, the quiet and persistent voice in the back of my head told me to press on. So, I looked at my contact list with a different perspective. I looked for contacts who I would feel comfortable asking for a donation. Much to my surprise, the majority of the people on the list were perfect for my ask. I was only asking for a dollar and that would probably not anger them. I skipped the second name on my list as I was courting her for SDSVP and did not want to court her for two charities. I went for the brass ring on the third name. I wrote her a nice couple of personal connection sentences, pasted in the generic ask and sent the email off. I was exhausted by the process, so I quit for the day.
Miracle of all miracles, this absolutely wonderful lady responded five days later with a $25 donation! I was beyond excited. I sent off a grateful thank you note and a few more requests for the one dollar donation. More money came in and, lo and behold, not a single person sent me a nasty email as my unrealistic fear had predicted. In fact, I received some incredibly nice responses about TKF and my efforts. I was actually getting energized by my work. Honestly, I was still mentally exhausted from my fear, but I was really excited every time I checked my email for donation notifications.
Over the course of a year, I asked 671 out of my 1,117 original contacts for a dollar. I decided to not ask 446 contacts for a few reasons. As I said before, anyone associated with SDSVP was a no ask. Some contacts I did not know well enough to personalize an email, and others I felt would be inappropriate due to my close relationship with them. On my best days, I made ten asks. At times, I went weeks in between asks and even took a break from November to January in order to not compete with year-end asks from other charities.
There were many highlights from my involvement in this campaign effort. I reconnected with old friends and they were as grateful as I was. One man gave me money even though I had only seen him twice a few years back. A few donations came in from friends who were unemployed. They were grateful to contribute even though money was tight. One person donated five months after receiving my email. He was a salesperson in a slump, but he donated when things brightened up for him. One donation came from a former coach of mine who I had not had contact with for eight years.
All in all, a third of the emails I sent resulted in a donation. Twenty-two donations came from friends of my contacts and the average gift size was $71.52. I raised just over $16,000 for TKF. Twelve donations were for a dollar and five donations were for $500. One of the $500 donations came from someone I did not even know. All of the donations were exciting to receive and they inspired me to send out more requests.
Interestingly after getting through 80% of my contact list, my views of asking changed from feeling bad to feeling obliged. I started to realize that the recipient is an adult and has the right to choose. Without my ask, I would have denied people the opportunity to decide for themselves due to my fearful assumptions. I was always kind and sincere in my ask, so why should I feel bad? When I get asked and the ask is sincere and not too frequent, I appreciate it. I am capable of saying yes or no to an ask, so I now assume the people I ask are also capable.
Overall, I am grateful for all of the donations that were generated for TKF and opportunity to break through my fear. The fear is not gone, but it no longer rules me. TKF’s email campaign was a great first step and there are more steps for me to take, specifically with asking for donations face-to-face and over the phone. TKF needs my help and there are other great charities out there that need your help. Are you ready to take a step to break through your fears?
Mark Fackler
Blog: www.facklerfamily.org
Cell: (619)316-7723
July 13, 2011
The Partner 4-1-1
Partner, Lenore Hawkins was a panelist on Fox Business Bulls & Bears discussing how to improve the employment situation and suggestions for investors in the current climate. Click here to see Lenore in action.
July 12, 2011
Animal Fireside Chat
SVP's Fireside Chats are designed for Partners with similar interests to connect in a small group setting. The June Chat focused on animals and included a mix of SVP Partners, funders, and nonprofits. There was great discussion and a high desire to do something that could raise the floor of the whole animal sector while elevating the value of the human/animal bond. There is a group of committed individuals that are continuing to push this larger, collaborative initiative - and would welcome any help from other animal lovers.
To learn more, contact Richard Bockoff at bockoffr@aol.com.
July 8, 2011
College prep program for innercity spreads to more affluent areas
From The San Diego Union-TribuneBy Maureen Magee | June 29, 2011
The man who steers homeless teens and ex-gang members to the Ivy League is expanding to La Jolla, Solana Beach and suburban San Diego.
Christopher Yanov and his nonprofit Reality Changers will debut a spinoff operation in the fall, marketing to paying clients who can tap the expertise navigating college applications that has earned the organization national recognition.
Click here to read more.
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