Arlene Siller didn’t intend to start a business offering grant writing services to nonprofits.
As a scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, her early forays into grant writing were a necessary undertaking to fund scientific research. In the process, she developed the skills to secure millions of dollars in grant funding.
Social Venture Partners San Antonio is pleased to announce Class 4 of our Leadership Fellowship, made up of 20 outstanding nonprofit leaders who begin in September. The Fellowship was developed out of conversations with nonprofits to address some of their professional development needs. We designed the day’s content to strengthen nonprofit executive level leaders to round out their skills. The 7 month program, that is held September – March of each year includes 6 full day sessions (we do not meet in December) with dozens of experts from all areas to share their experience and tools for success.
One of the best parts of Shannon Perry’s job is when she sees children leaving a show at the Magik Theater. As soon as they turn to see Yanaguana Garden at Hemisfair, their eyes get bigger, their jaws drop and they start running with joy toward the colorful, vibrant playground next door.
“That never gets old,” she said. “I love seeing the faces of those kids.”
When Tia Gibson’s younger brother died tragically, she was lost in grief.
“I didn’t realize how deep-rooted it was. I didn’t know how to deal with it, but I knew I still had my children to take care of,” Gibson said. “I decided I needed to do something that would allow me to feel again and to live out his legacy.”
That’s when she decided to start Monster Moms…
Gable Crowder learned early on the difference having a positive role model makes in a kid’s life. Growing up in the projects of Baltimore, he was the only kid he knew who had a father at home…
SVPSA Partner Sharon Krietzburg never intended to be the executive director of a nonprofit. She was working part-time for one when the founders decided to shut it down. Krietzburg, now fully committed to the mission, decided to continue the work she was passionate about: providing once-in-a-lifetime vacations to San Antonio for children with disabilities and their families from all over the U.S.
Melanie Cawthon was working with people with intellectual disabilities when she discovered her calling. She saw that while many organizations exist to help people with specific disabilities, a person or their caregiver dealing with multiple disabilities would need to find three, four or more different agencies to get assistance. The city needed a unified community of service providers. That insight … Read More
For SVPSA Partner and Board Member Ed Pope, the concept of helping others is woven into everything he does. It’s part of the reason he founded his technology company, DigitalGenetix, which not only helps nonprofits and churches with their digital needs, but also helps support Pope’s charitable giving.
It was a transformative experience when Kimberly Sama moved into a rural village in a small West African country. Her job with the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso was the start of a decade of living and working in African countries.
She worked on issues ranging from girls’ education, women’s empowerment, gender-based violence recovery and prevention and community health work.
After decades in business, Cory McRae never thought he’d be leading an arts organization. But his business experience has helped the Alamo City Performing Arts Association (known as Alamo City Arts) grow into a multi-faceted performing arts powerhouse. What started as a volunteer position became an obsession, McRae said. Today his work with the arts association is full-time.
“I saw there was a lot of potential with this organization,” he said. “I wanted to see what its true potential would allow it to become.”