We’re new here - but we’re not new. Social Venture Partners is a global network of engaged philanthropists supporting meaningful change with communities by giving them not just funds and support, but trust. After many conversations with leaders across all sectors of the city, and with support from United Way, we’re proud to set to work as Social Venture Partners Philadelphia. As a community of committed Philadelphians - who love our city and care about its future - we believe this kind of cross-sector collaboration can’t wait.
We know truly great work is already being done in Philadelphia, so we started with researching both the issues and the existing solutions. We don’t want to replicate other important efforts, but rather, work alongside the powerful philanthropic networks of our city to more deeply respond to the needs that are still not being met. With one in four of our neighbors surviving on less than $24,000 a year, poverty in Philadelphia is too big for anyone to tackle alone. We stand on the shoulders of the great research and progress already made and work together to close the poverty gap in our city.
Our work is grounded in research and stakeholder engagement because we know the data doesn’t tell the whole story. To truly eradicate poverty in Philadelphia, we place trust in the hands of the people directly doing the work, with and for their own communities. We encourage our investees to tell us what they really need - not what they think we want to hear - and then we give unrestricted, multi-year funding, so they can do the work as only they know how.
Many of our Partners want to give more than a check, allowing us an opportunity to deepen our impact even further by offering our networks, expertise and time to organizations to amplify their mission. We believe that we’re not offering our neighbors a seat at the table, but rather, that it is their table at which we are seated. Through these relationships, we become champions and advocates for the organizations and leaders doing the work.
This is an exciting time for Social Venture Partners Philadelphia! Our funding cycle is underway, and in just a few weeks, we’re thrilled to announce our three-year commitment to investees, who will each receive unrestricted funding and our beyond the dollars support. In the coming weeks we’ll also be launching our website which will feature additional information on our work, our learnings, and Partnership opportunities. We hope you'll take a moment to explore it and see where you might fit into the work we are honored to be doing in the city we love best. For the 400,000+ Philadelphians living in poverty, this work can’t wait.