Insider look: New possibilities for our network

Over the past week, we’ve shared an insider look into our evolving Network strategy, how it came to be, and the early results from this collective work (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4). In our final chapter in this series, I want to turn our attention to the year ahead and explore how this strategic framework can open up exciting new opportunities for Affiliates, as well as our Network as a whole.

In parts 1-4, I’ve touched on the many ways that Affiliate-led innovation shaped the development of our Network level strategy. In turn, we designed Reimagine Giving and the accompanying strategic framework to do some concrete things in response to common questions and challenges faced by Affiliate leaders:

• Provide a way for individual Affiliate work to align with movements for justice around the globe, through defined shared values
• Engage potential Partners and donors in new geographies and provide a recruitment pathway into SVPs, or a way for donors to explore SVP and collective giving as they consider starting their own Affiliates
• Secure funders who will resource peer exchange, and the documentation of learnings and innovations across the Network
• Amplify SVP investee stories around the globe and provide digital tools for donors to connect with both investees and other donors around the Network
• Increase the value and consistency of the SVP brand and expand into new geographies, and engage new emerging donor demographics with a clear strategy and vision for impact
• Raise and move resources that no one Affiliate could mobilize alone and orient ourselves to a future of collective action at a network scale

So, what does this work look like in practice for SVPI over the next 12-18 months? We’ve identified several key activities:

• Bringing our community together with other Giving Circles for learning throughout the month of May for the “We Give” Summit in partnership with Philanthropy Together (use code “SVPI” for $20 off of your registration fee), and providing a toolkit for you to recruit local sponsors for this event – and keep the resources you raise
• Increasing our communications to curate and amplify your stories of the power of collective giving, and accountable and connected philanthropy via a new partnership with Giving Compass
• Building an SVP International staff team of highly qualified professionals and consultants with global perspective who can carry out a bold network vision centered on equity and systems change, while supporting Affiliates’ work on the ground
• Launching a network Brain Trust of leaders from SVP to help inform our strategies, make recommendations on key investments and targets for our Network to more fully dig in on systems change and justice, and co-create programming and next steps together
• Updating our digital and website presence to build our visibility as a modern global community and supporting Affiliates in doing so as well
• Evaluating the Network business model and bringing forward a new model for Affiliate fees that is equitable for our different geographies and aligned with other philanthropic support organizations while supporting our collective work and our future vision for growth

I welcome your thoughts via our survey right here on which actions you’re excited to learn more about.

We have to go slow to go fast – and these next several months of organizational change will take significant attention to do well. As you all know, getting our internal systems and team in place is the most critical part of the work to scale and shift into a learning organization.

I know many of you are making these same shifts locally; I look forward to learning together. We are in a time of great uncertainty in so many aspects of our lives and work. With that ambiguity comes significant opportunity for us to do more and be more – and we must answer this call if we hope to remain relevant and of use to the world into the future.

I began this series talking about the power of networks – where shared learnings can create new approaches, and collective action can amplify our impact far beyond what each of us could achieve alone. Over the next year we will begin to more fully harness that power on behalf of lasting systemic change by learning together, deepening our relationships with each other and the communities we operate in, and catalyzing more resources to frontline leaders and changemakers.

Onward,

Sudha Nandagopal
CEO
SVP International

PS: Registration has already opened for the We Give Summit with Philanthropy Together beginning in May. We’ll be sharing more, including template emails for you to share with your network, but in the meantime you can register today with code “SVPI” for $20 off of your registration fee.