“Culturingua helps increase intercultural understanding, promote economic empowerment, and helps people better understand others from different cultural backgrounds—both their neighbors and people from the other side of the world,” Culturingua co-founder Nadia Mavrakis says about
Partner Profile: Harriet Marmon Helmle 
Harriet Marmon Helmle is a legend in the San Antonio nonprofit space. In addition to her work as a CPA – she is currently a Senior Financial Advisor with CAPTRUST – she has spent more than 40 years creating and growing nonprofits for San Antonio’s youth and children. She may be best known as the founder of San Antonio Youth Literacy and for her efforts to bring Communities in Schools, Girl’s Inc., and the San Antonio Education Partnership to San Antonio. We know her best as the first Executive Director and Founder of the San Antonio affiliate of Social Venture Partners.
Program Profile: The Impact Guild
Sarah Woolsey established The Impact Guild five years ago because she saw a need in San Antonio for a network of support for entrepreneurs who want to be a force for community impact. She was exposed to social entrepreneurship in Austin and wanted to bring that to San Antonio.
Program Profile: Pink Berets
Stephanie Gattas founded the Pink Berets in 2016 to give women veterans something she couldn’t find for herself, an organization that was entirely focused on the needs of women veterans healing from PTSD and other trauma. The VA offers medical treatment and she found plenty of resources available to assist with things like paying bills and transportation, but she needed something that took a more holistic approach and that addressed women’s mental health directly.
Program Highlight: Project Brave
We’ve seen an alarming increase in domestic violence nationwide, another devastating impact of the pandemic. Locally, San Antonio police received almost 23,000 more calls for help with domestic violence cases in 2020 than the previous year. Community leaders are looking everywhere for solutions, investing millions in crisis response teams, case management and police support. Project Brave, a local nonprofit, is … Read More
Partner Highlight: Billy & Lynn Cox
One of SVPSA’s founding partners is Billy Cox, who is in his second year as chairman of the board. After retiring and moving back to the city in 2015, he was excited by the opportunity to invest more time in volunteer work.
October Fellowship Focuses on Management
The lunch program featured a Q&A with Hope Andrade and Kevin Moriarty, who shared anecdotes from their decades of experience with nonprofits and insight into effective management.
Partner Highlight: Nisi Bennett
When Nisi Bennett moved to San Antonio in 2014 as a civilian nurse for the Army, she brought her five children and a deep commitment to philanthropy. She was a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, a national speaker and entrepreneur. After moving to San Antonio, she furthered her career as a local public health nurse, teaching parents, educators and college students about the fundamentals and importance of mental wellness.
How a new school thrived during the pandemic: Promesa Academy
To say the 2020-21 school year was memorable might be a bit of an understatement. The emotional, physical and mental work required to teach and learn in a pandemic will leave a lasting impression on many of us. But for 200 students, their families, and about two dozen dedicated teachers and staff, it will be remembered fondly as the year … Read More