Social Venture Partners Connecticut (SVP Connecticut) is seeking letters of interest from innovative organizations operating in Connecticut with a mission to close the Opportunity Gap. This also includes supporting cross sector initiatives providing employment or educational opportunities for disadvantaged families.
SVP Connecticut is a program and field of interest fund at Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. Letters of Interest are being accepted now for investment through an online application. The submission deadline is Monday, October 16.
“Social Venture Partners aims to significantly reduce or eliminate the most pressing social issue facing Connecticut -- the Opportunity Gap, “explains Mark Argosh, SVP Connecticut’s Executive Director. “SVP defines the term ‘Opportunity Gap’ to identify the severe obstacles that low income and often minority citizens in Connecticut face in securing a quality education and accessing pathways to rewarding careers. This gap imposes enormous hardships for individuals, their families, communities, and Connecticut, as a whole”.
Organizations that have an effective strategy and model that materially impacts the Opportunity Gap in the areas of education and workforce development are invited to apply. Cross sector initiatives to provide employment or educational opportunities to disadvantaged families are also supported by SVP Connecticut.
An information session about SVP Connecticut’s philanthropy model and the investment criteria for the 2017 grant program is being held on Thursday, September 28, 3:30-5:00 pm in the East Campus Forum of Norwalk Community College, 188 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, CT. Leaders of organizations interested in submitting a Letter of Interest are strongly encouraged to attend. An online information session will be held on Monday, October 2 from 1:00-2:30pm.
Using a venture philanthropy grant model, SVP Connecticut provides innovative organizations operating in Connecticut with multi-year grants of up to $25,000 per year and pro bono strategic consulting and advisory services. The members of SVP Connecticut, called Partners, seek to help organizations that align with SVP’s mission of closing the Opportunity Gap to scale their programs and organizational structure to reach more people in Connecticut.
SVP Partners engage with staff and board members to help achieve shared goals, increase business effectiveness, and improve the impact of services delivered. This combination of SVP Partners’ professional skills and expertise, along with financial support, produces positive long-term impact for the Investees. Since its founding in 2013, SVP Connecticut has invested $561,000 and over 6000 volunteer hours in 25 nonprofits in the region.
For more information about Social Venture Partners and the 2017 Grant Application process, email info@svp-ct.orgor visit the organization’s website at www.socialventurepartners.org/connecticut