Social Venture Partners San Antonio (SVPSA) wants to discover ways to get Gen Z and Millennials engaged with philanthropy by giving both time and treasure. As part of our strategy to cultivate more donors, we are finding ways to connect all generations for the betterment of our community. One initiative is to collaborate with the United Way of Bexar County’s … Read More
Paying It Forward: The Journey of Ben Brooks, Jr.
Imagine the concept of “Pay it forward” and your mind would probably go right to Ben Brooks, Jr., the CEO of San Antonio nonprofit with the same name, Pay It Forward. His story exemplifies this philosophy, inspiring donors to understand why he dedicates himself to such impactful work in our city. Ben’s journey with Pay It Forward began as a … Read More
Steven Meyer: A Local Leader Committed to Community Impact
With deep roots in the San Antonio community and a passion for making a difference, Steven is a welcome addition to our network of changemakers. As Branch Manager at ABC Home and Commercial Services in San Antonio, Steven brings a wealth of leadership experience and a commitment to enhancing community welfare.
Developing a Plan for Giving
A majority of giving to nonprofits is with a donation here and there. We look at our list once a year around tax time. We give to our school, to our church, maybe a hospital that helped our family. You get a lot of requests and give to those who catch us at the right time, one here, two there and so on.
All of these causes need your support, but do you actually measure the impact of your giving and see measurable change? Would you like to be more purposeful in your charitable giving? You don’t have to give a million bucks to see change. That is a myth! All of us can see an impact from our giving.
Founding Partner describes growth of SVPSA
Pawl and two other partners were introduced to the concept of Social Venture Partners (SVP) by a member of the SVP chapter in Austin. He admitted he had never heard of anything like it from a philanthropic standpoint, and was immediately intrigued. Pawl comes from a capital markets background and had worked with venture capital firms before. So the venture capital approach to business being applied to philanthropies was something that was immediately attractive for Pawl.
“I’ve seen how impactful private capital can be when applied appropriately, along with professional guidance to growing private businesses,” Pawl said. “And I thought, what a fantastic thing to do in the philanthropic world.”
Helping nonprofits make an impact
After moving to San Antonio in 2022, Rebecca White quickly found her niche. With two decades of experience in the nonprofit world, including five years leading her own consulting firm, she immediately started to explore the local nonprofit landscape.
When she learned about SVPSA from Partner Billy Cox, she was captivated.
“At first I thought wow, could this be? Maybe I don’t understand what he’s saying,” she said. “Then I dug into SVPSA and I was just so impressed.”
Teaching kids life lessons through golf
“The thing I loved about the SVP fellowship was that it was more tactical toward what you’re doing every day,” she said. “With me being new to nonprofits, looking at the financials, HR, marketing, fundraising – the information was incredible. But beyond that, the conglomeration of other nonprofit leaders just sharing ideas with the tools we were given from SVP was truly invaluable.”
Zamora is one example of how First Tee of Greater San Antonio is changing the lives of young people. First Tee San Antonio is the local chapter of a national youth development organization that empowers kids and teens through golf.
Supporting moms and families
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…
Helping children with disabilities soar
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.
Helping nonprofits grow with innovation and ROI
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.
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