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.”
Military service sometimes comes at a personal cost for service members and their families. That’s why Endeavors, a San Antonio-based nonprofit organization, is dedicated to helping veterans and their families with personalized, comprehensive care. Hear from one of the SVPSA Fellows on their mission to support military and their families.
As a wealth management advisor with over two decades in the financial services industry, SVP Partner Justin Pawl understands return on investment. That’s what makes him a big believer in SVP. For Pawl, SVP’s appeal is its adoption of the venture capital model that investors use in private enterprise: building smaller organizations and helping them scale by investing not only dollars, but professional guidance.
The most important (leadership trait) of all, Shoemaker said, “is a generosity mindset, which looks for ways to connect people and is based on the belief that bringing people together makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.”
“It’s insanely important in the world today. It’s not about being nicey nice and polite. Having a generosity mindset is a truly strategic way you approach your work. When you walk into the room, are you looking to see who should be connected?” he said.