SVP Portland was recently featured in a Philanthropy Together article on Giving Compass, “Hungry to Learn, Hungry to Transform: Advocating for Universal Early Education with SVP Portland,” highlighting how we deftly pivoted from a broad investment approach to focusing on the community goal of equitable preschool access. Read More »

Capacity building is an investment in the futures of nonprofits and, when successful, it strengthens their ability to fulfill their missions and make positive changes over a longer period of time. SVP Portland supports local nonprofits, and our Investor Partners are part of our secret sauce. We often get questions from newer Partners about the kinds of work that we do and how to get more involved with nonprofits directly. Many nonprofit face resource constraints, both in terms of skills and bandwidth, which limit organizational growth and health. This is where SVP as a capacity builder is positioned to collaborate with Community Partners to leverage the strengths within their organization, identify infrastructure and skill gaps, and pair resources to solve bigger challenges together. Read More »

The Preschool for All victory is a story about partnership. SVP Portland helped build relationships between parents, preschool providers, and community leaders, and collaborated with cross-sector allies to design the policy and drive the campaign. The Preschool for All victory highlights thinking beyond the dogma of top-down philanthropy to build trust and credibility with the community. As SVP Portland Executive Director Lauren Johnson put it, “Our experiences can serve as a roadmap to other communities seeking to engage in community-based, participatory policy development.” Read More »

Elizabeth joined SVP Portland in August of 2021 after working at the University of Portland for the past three years where she developed and executed marketing strategies. As Communications & Project Coordinator, Elizabeth helps share the inspiring stories of impact and growth through various media channels, including the website, newsletter, and social media. She also engages with Partners and supports staff success. Elizabeth has a background in education, administration, and equity work. Read More »

A new report synthesizes extensive input from nearly 50 key participants in the effort, captured by the research firm Dialogues in Action. As you can see in the documents and videos below, the findings provide an example of public policy centered on racial equity, community voice, and grassroots coalition building -- an example poised for replication far beyond Multnomah County, and relevant to other issue areas. We invite you to read on to gain insights about this innovative - and effective - approach to policy making! Read More »

New research by The Oregon Early Learning Division (ELD) shows how severely COVID-19 impacted Oregon’s child care and education programs’ ability to remain open and serve families. “These are criti­cal losses, particularly from the standpoint of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The loss of these providers may mean that multilingual children and families will have even fewer opportunities to use child care in which staff reflect their cultural background and who speak the child’s language, deepening inequities.” Read More »