Recently we asked one of our newest partners who joined DSVP in May to reflect on how her journey has unfolded. Below you can see a glimpse of one partner's path as she navigates her way into Dallas Social Venture Partners. Special thanks to Barbara for sharing her experience.
On becoming an effective DSVP Partner
Reflections by Barbara Errickson
Retiring from 35 years in the business applications software business was a tough decision. Having been a focused career person for all those years, quitting “cold turkey” was not appealing. Enter DSVP – a way to continue applying my knowledge and skills in new ways while rounding out my “self” to include my more community-oriented side. And what a great set of partners as I embark on my new “career” !
Getting acclimated to any new environment can be a challenge, and DSVP has smoothed out that process by steering me to investee projects that fit my skills while also linking me up with other like-minded partners. Hence, my assigned “buddy” George, along with tours of Youth Village and Samaritan Inn - truly eye-opening events for me to understand better how local, non-profit organizations are helping children and their families avoid being totally left behind. It helps underscore how important it is for those of us who have been blessed with successful careers to give back to our communities.
Along with participation on our DSVP membership committee, I am now linked in to assist with the next Dallas Youth Village strategic planning session, and am joining several Samaritan Inn Board of Directors managed “IT modernization” teams. What a terrific adventure to help Collin County’s only homeless shelter plan for well-managed growth into the future.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Room to Read Giving Circle, of DSVP Partners, advances on goal to build school in Nepal!
Posted by guest blogger:
Ellen Wood, DSVP Partner and Board Member
Certainly, our focus at DSVP is to engage with our local investees. But it is also great--through our association at DSVP-- to find high energy, successful organizations to support outside that portfolio, as individuals, or groups of partners.
We have a great opportunity to do so for Room to Read. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to co-host a luncheon with Room to Read founder John Wood in March. Talk about sky-high goals....Room to Read wants to become the Andrew Carnegie of the developing world.....to set up libraries and schools and help increase the number of young women who get educated in countries in Asia and Africa. Currently they are opening new schools at the rate of one every 1.5 days and libraries every 4 hours. We were amazed at the business model his team has developed: with an aggressive growth trajectory, full accountability of results, which was led by local R2R teams that required the local community to contribute (land, labor, materials, some funding) to the "hand-up". No "hand-outs" allowed! Room to Read is a beautiful example of what social enterprise can be.
Over the last two months, a group of about 15-18 DSVP partners have organized a DSVP Room to Read Giving Circle in order to raise the money to build a school for children in Nepal. We are hoping to also organize a Texas Trek to Nepal sometime next year to go visit the school we build. So there are a few extended learning opportunities ahead for our group! We are so appreciative of a $15,000 dollar for dollar match that we were recently awarded from the Hudson Foundation in the interest of increasing the ability of our group to make a more significant gift. We have $10,000 raised so far, and need an additional $7,000 to reach our goal of $32,000 that it takes to build a (4 classroom) school in Nepal. More details on the School Project can be found on their website.
Even if you missed hearing John speak, we hope you will consider joining us in investing in the education of children outside our own community. I love to travel, and seeing the young kids in poor countries such as those in the Room to Read portfolio, has always made me want to do something for them that would last. Room to Read is the first organization that I have found where I know my investment will be optimized.
Please let us know if you want to join us. Contact DSVP and they will put you in touch with our work. Also, you will find even more detail on the need and the countries on their website.
See previous post on Room to Read.
Ellen Wood, DSVP Partner and Board Member
Certainly, our focus at DSVP is to engage with our local investees. But it is also great--through our association at DSVP-- to find high energy, successful organizations to support outside that portfolio, as individuals, or groups of partners.
We have a great opportunity to do so for Room to Read. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to co-host a luncheon with Room to Read founder John Wood in March. Talk about sky-high goals....Room to Read wants to become the Andrew Carnegie of the developing world.....to set up libraries and schools and help increase the number of young women who get educated in countries in Asia and Africa. Currently they are opening new schools at the rate of one every 1.5 days and libraries every 4 hours. We were amazed at the business model his team has developed: with an aggressive growth trajectory, full accountability of results, which was led by local R2R teams that required the local community to contribute (land, labor, materials, some funding) to the "hand-up". No "hand-outs" allowed! Room to Read is a beautiful example of what social enterprise can be.
Over the last two months, a group of about 15-18 DSVP partners have organized a DSVP Room to Read Giving Circle in order to raise the money to build a school for children in Nepal. We are hoping to also organize a Texas Trek to Nepal sometime next year to go visit the school we build. So there are a few extended learning opportunities ahead for our group! We are so appreciative of a $15,000 dollar for dollar match that we were recently awarded from the Hudson Foundation in the interest of increasing the ability of our group to make a more significant gift. We have $10,000 raised so far, and need an additional $7,000 to reach our goal of $32,000 that it takes to build a (4 classroom) school in Nepal. More details on the School Project can be found on their website.
Even if you missed hearing John speak, we hope you will consider joining us in investing in the education of children outside our own community. I love to travel, and seeing the young kids in poor countries such as those in the Room to Read portfolio, has always made me want to do something for them that would last. Room to Read is the first organization that I have found where I know my investment will be optimized.
Please let us know if you want to join us. Contact DSVP and they will put you in touch with our work. Also, you will find even more detail on the need and the countries on their website.
See previous post on Room to Read.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
New Investee, New Ideas!!
From Guest Writers and Lead Partners: Scott Chase and Lynn Thorby
Photo from one of the radish gardens that the young men grow
and sell to local chefs.
It was with great excitement that Lynn Thorby and I agreed to be Co-Lead Partners for DSVP’s newest investee, Youth Village Foundation. Having been to Youth Village Foundation as part of the site visit team from the Investment Committee, we knew that the they would welcome our expertise and would be open to new ideas from us.
The Foundation supports programs to educate and train non-violent juvenile offenders who are residents of the Dallas County Youth Village. These programs range from culinary training to dog training and DSVP's networking and engagement resources will enable the Foundation to expand its funding and programmatic sources. The Foundation could also benefit from accounting, strategic planning and board governance skills that DSVP has to offer. These are the skills our partnership is known for and constantly improving. So, our mission at this early stage of the investment is to take those skills and apply them to our newest investee.
As a way to determine how best to deploy our resources, DSVP has the benefit of coordinating an Organizational Assessment for Youth Village Foundation with the Center for Non-Profit Management. The assessment will help determine and prioritize the strategic initiatives that DSVP will engage with on-the-ground.
Next month, we will report on the findings from the Organizational Assessment.
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