In 2020, Social Venture Partners International established the Reimagine Fund, a pooled giving fund supporting frontline-led, systems change efforts. (Click here to learn more about the Fund.)
A committee of deeply committed social change leaders, racial justice and systems change experts informed our selection of our first round of recipients. Meet the awardees and the selection committee below:
Nominated by: SVP Tucson
Higher Ground is the lead agency for developing Smart Schools (formerly known as Community Schools) in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) and Sunnyside Unified School District (SUSD), the two largest and under resourced districts in Tucson. A Smart School is both a place and a set of partnerships between a school and other community resources.
Nominated by: SVP Seattle
King County Equity Now is a coalition of accountable, Black-led, community-based organizations working to design and realize a new normal rooted in equity. Their strategies include a list of demands, direct actions, and the plan to coordinate Seattle’s participatory budget process for 2021. Currently, they are building a movement to advocate for equity solutions that will address systemic change in Seattle.
Nominated by: SVP Portland
TOJC is a unique collective organization that works hard to practice shared (non-hierarchical) leadership that addresses power dynamics that threaten our efforts for equity and inclusion. TOJC’s vision is to eliminate oppression and trauma in the developmental stage of young children through collective anti-bias awareness building and action.
Nominated by: Mission Capital (Austin, Texas)
MEASURE’s mission is to use data and education to mobilize communities and eliminate social disparities. The organization serves and empowers members of underrepresented communities, including Black girls and women nationally, nonprofits that serve people of color, and marginalized communities across Central Texas. By using data effectively and collaboratively in the social justice ecosystem to create equitable systems change and raise awareness.
Nominated by: SVP Cincinnati
MORTAR believes that entrepreneurship can change lives. When people have ownership in an area, they also have pride. That pride manifests itself in the way that the residents become involved in their neighborhoods; no longer feeling like spectators watching life happen from the “cheap seats” — but instead taking the field, making plays as productive members of society. MORTAR helps both existing and aspiring entrepreneurs build a comprehensive business canvas and learn the nuances of business management; The goal being to launch businesses that create jobs and circulate dollars locally.
Nominated by: SVP Philadelphia
SVP Philadelphia’s grantmaking priorities were formed through direct conversation with a diverse set of community advocates. These conversations drew attention to the many organizations led by Black, Brown, and Indigenous leaders of color that have lacked access to traditional institutional funding in spite of their significant impact in the communities they serve. SVP Philadelphia went to work, designing a grantmaking process and criteria with the explicit goal of prioritizing BIPOC led organizations working on the ground to advance racial justice.
Nominated by: SVP Chicago
SVP Chicago’s grantmaking has and will continue to support communities of color, who are disproportionately impacted by poverty in Chicago. Over the past few months, they have taken steps to further revise their investment selection process to operationalize an intentional racial equity lens. In particular, they have worked to center the voices of residents in three of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Chicago (Englewood, North Lawndale, and East Garfield Park) to help identify the nonprofits that are making an outsized impact on poverty.
Reimagine Grant Review Committee Members
*Committee members recused themselves from scoring or discussing grant applications from their own SVP Affiliates.
Insights from Systems Change Leaders
“We need philanthropy to shift to more long-term funding and patient measurement of continuous improvement rather than emphasize one-time outputs and outcomes.”
Jansen Azarias-Suzumoto
CEO/President and Co-Founder of Higher Ground (Tucson, Ariz.)
The reimagine giving movement is powered by SVP International.
At SVP International, we work to disrupt philanthropy as usual. As part of that work, we invited awardees of the inaugural Reimagine Fund and other movement leaders to share how and why individual philanthropists can reimagine giving and shape our philanthropy to be a tool that enables solving problems at their root, and changing systems.
Q: What kind of philanthropy do you need to achieve this change?
A: Jansen Azarias-Suzumoto, CEO/President and Co-Founder of Higher Ground a Resource Center in Tucson, Ariz. *These comments have been edited for length. Higher Ground was an inaugural Reimagine Fund awardee.*
While philanthropy is often well-intentioned, it is deeply rooted in a “savior” mentality that defines success in the context of individual achievement, adoption of the western culture, and moving away from the “impoverished communities.” This pervasive mindset has created problematic programs that adopt these values to get funded. It often creates dependence on a “superior” entity who will resolve their problems instead of empowering the youth to harness their internal assets mixed with their deep understanding of their community context to stay in their community and be part of long-term change.
Instead of seeing youth in impoverished neighborhoods as “pobre-cito” (poor thing, a term used for feeling sorry for someone else and rescuing them from their situation) who need to be rescued out of their community, we must make a shift to empower them to take charge of their lives using their culture and deep knowledge of context to be the problem-solvers of their community by giving them the proper resources and support to do so.
In addition to the above layers, it’s also important to recognize that, often, emphasis on sustainability of programs, while well-intentioned, is just a mask to excuse the underfunding and lack of opportunity in poor communities. We need philanthropy to shift to more long-term funding and patient measurement of continuous improvement rather than emphasize one-time outputs and outcomes.
We need philanthropy to understand community context and come in with resources but not solutions. We need philanthropists to collaborate with the people working in the field. We need to get rid of favoritism and have a critical analysis of outcomes and long-term impact. We need people who have the resources to understand that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We should not be expected to have quick turnarounds when solving historical issues.
Finally, we need philanthropy to be patient and not risk-averse. In every other sector, innovation is funded even when it is recognized that such innovation may not go anywhere. In other sectors, the risk is married with innovation, and risky ideas are supported. We need philanthropy to fund innovation rather than old solutions that they think will work without understanding the community context.
Answering the Call from Movement Leaders
SVP International, as the leader of the world’s largest network of engaged philanthropists and social changemakers, knows that philanthropy can be a force for important, systemic change.
In 2020, with this in mind, SVP International launched the Reimagine Fund as a timely pilot to engage our global network in solidarity with the growing momentum for racial and economic systems change. We sought to answer the call from movements about what they need from donors right now, and focused on catalyzing funds to communities most impacted by injustices, who are therefore also closest to the solutions. Our funding decision-making process to grant $70,000 that was raised in phase one, also centered the voices and expertise of those who historically have had less power and influence in the flow of capital, and a committee of racial justice and systems change experts informed the selection of our first round of recipients.
In 2021 we continued to catalyze flexible funding opportunities to grassroots leaders around the globe, and engaged Black and People of Color leaders in shaping the future, and sharing their expertise with funders and our network. We grew the presence and impact of the SVP brand through public thought leadership, virtual dialogues, and articles.
We are pleased to open a round two opportunity for donors to participate in the 2022 Fund.
If you answer yes to any of these questions, the Reimagine Fund round 2 might be right for you:
You’re Invited to Be Part of the Pilot Round 2
We are raising funds now for a round 2 pilot. Join us as we fund leaders on the frontlines and develop a long-term strategy and approach for the Reimagine Fund in partnership with movement leaders.
Donors to the Reimagine Fund share in the values of collective action through pooled giving, accountable and transformative philanthropy, and connectedness to the wisdom of those on the frontlines.
2022 Reimagine Fund will support:
Why Now?
We are faced with continued crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, persistent and entrenched systemic racism, and economic, environmental and social challenges around the globe.
For decades, philanthropy has sought to make communities more just, but the events of 2020 further exposed the ways in which too many of our systems are broken. And, too often historic practices in philanthropy can exacerbate these problems.
Why Me?
As donors and social change leaders committed to meeting this moment, we know that none of us can change systems alone. That’s why we’re working collectively to mobilize, share power, and change philanthropy towards more equity and justice.
If you believe in philanthropy that is more accountable, community-centered, and believe in advocating for systems change, make your commitment actionable by donating to the Reimagine Fund — a global network and collective action fund.
Join the movement to reimagine giving today.
Who Is SVP International?
Social Venture Partners is a global movement of over 3500 engaged donors, volunteers, and social change leaders. SVP currently has affiliates in 40 cities and 8 countries across the globe and together, we have invested more than $70 million in more than 900 nonprofits.
SVP International seeks to enable:
We work towards our collective impact by intervening in regional, national, & global systems.
We are… SVP. We reimagine giving.
