New Year, New Look: Part 1

In the spirit of new years’ resolutions – but with much more sticking power – Dallas Social Venture Partner is proud to announce some newness of its own. If you’ve been paying close attention (and I know you have), you have noticed a new logo and website quietly rolled out during the past month. To go along with both a new name, sort of. Dallas Social Venture Partners, or DSVP is now Social Venture Partners Dallas, or SVP Dallas, for short. Less obvious to most is our newly-minted status as a stand-alone 501c3. More on that tomorrow, but first about the new look…

Why the change? The new website and logo plus the updated name are more than cosmetic. They express an emerging reality in the venture philanthropy movement that SVP Dallas has helped fuel for nearly 15 years. SVPs around the globe are coming together under one single brand and now share a new common website. With more than 2700 Partners from 34 SVP network member organizations from Boston to Bangalore, SVP is the world’s largest network of engaged donors. Twenty more SVPs are in the pipeline with India and China among the fastest developing regions. The SVP Network Office is the hub that links everyone together – Partners and nonprofits and cities – allowing us to convene and learn from one another, while fostering new members throughout the world.

SVP Dallas is proud to contribute to this global movement and the new look and updated name are intended to reflect and leverage its strengths. While it will surely be bolstered by clearer alignment and resource-sharing with the SVP Network, nothing about our mission to improve lives and maximize social impact is changing. The unique and powerful combination of hands-on philanthropists and promising nonprofits will continue to be at the heart of carrying out our mission.

In Dallas, we have 110+ Partners and counting who commit their time, talent, treasure and ties to accelerating the impact of high-potential nonprofits dedicated to at-risk children and improving education in the region. By leveraging the funds we invest in nonprofits with the skills and networks of our Partners, we nearly triple the impact of our granted funds and form highly-engaged philanthropists in the process. Our Partners are a remarkable collection of community leaders, notable for their diversity but united by their desire to do more than simply write a check. They range from business owners to financial managers, from nonprofit leaders to corporate veterans, and from foundation executives to people just beginning to explore their giving potential.

Our portfolio of nonprofit agencies also continues to reach impressive heights thanks to dedicated leaders and effective programs and with the capacity-building investments of SVP Dallas. Last year, SVP invested nearly $150,000 in grants that were leveraged by an estimated 1,850 skills-based volunteer hours. That’s nearly $400,000 in value directly invested in accelerating the community impact of organizations like TRM and VMLC. In 2014, our portfolio of investments and special projects will include PediPlace, The School Zone, SciTech Discovery Center, Texas Association of Mental Health, Reading Partners, AVANCE, Children at Risk, and Mission Possible Kids, among others.

So check out the new site. Try out the updated name. And let us know what you think….