Hunger affects 1 in every 8 Rhode Island households. There are 35,000 children living in poverty in Rhode Island - that's 15% of the state's population under 18. Why?

On Monday, September 29, 2008, SVPRI will host Rhode Island's first ever poverty simulation allowing participants to experience firsthand the challenges and frustrations of living and working in poverty. This event will be held from 8 to 11 am at Exchange City on the Johnson & Wales Harborside Campus.

The Poverty Simulation is designed to help participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a typical low-income family trying to survive. Senator Jack Reed, Laurie White, President of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, and Eileen Hayes, Executive Director of Amos House, will serve as honorary co-chairs for this unique experience.

To register or to serve as a volunteer for the event, please send an email with your contact information by September 20th to amy@svpri.org.

For more information please visit our website at http://www.svpri.org/.

You're Invited to the 2008 Social Venture Conference!

The SVP Annual Conference is a unique opportunity to celebrate what we do best – share and learn from each other’s experiences and take those lessons home to apply in our own communities. This year, we are gathering in Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum!

There are currently more than 2000 SVP partners throughout the network! And just like a good song, each Partner has a story to tell starting down the path of civic engagement and investing his or her skills and experience in local nonprofits.

We have rockstar speakers lined up this year including John Wood of Room to Read and Stephen Lewis from AIDS-Free World. The conference offers informative and provocative programs for new and seasoned philanthropists. To rock the evening, a number of SVP Partners and staff will debut in the first ever SVP Band playing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Visit SVPI's website to stay tuned to details on session dates, speakers and organized conversations.
Save the Date for SVPRI’s Fall Meeting! Monday, October 27, 5:30 to 7:30 pm

Join us for the SVPRI Fall Meeting – location soon TBD. Updates on our five investees, and many opportunities to learn and get involved. Look for an Evite in your inbox soon.

SVPRI launches SVP-U, Partners with area colleges and universities to expand Social Enterprise in RI

In July, SVPRI released a Request for Proposals (RFP) from nonprofit organizations who wished to collaborate with a team of students to develop a social enterprise business plan. We received 28 proposals in response to this RFP. Over the next month, we will be working with faculty from Brown University, Bryant University, the University of Rhode Island, and Johnson and Wales to assign these proposals to teams of students so that they may help these nonprofits launch mission-related businesses or refine their business plans for existing social enterprises.

We’ll keep you posted on their progress throughout the year. Next spring, their work will culminate in a social enterprise business plan competition – the student team developing the best business plan will earn a $5,000 grant, to benefit the nonprofit with whom they have worked. Stay tuned!

Cool Things our Partners and Investees are Doing . .

Partner Rick Wilkins is working with Amos House to raise money for their new venture, the Friendship Café, which will open later this year as the flagship business in a property on Broad Street in Providence. Opening ceremony for the café is slated for October or November.

Two of our SVPRI partners, Tony and Jen Silbert of Innovation Partners (http://www.innovationpartners.com/) recently returned from Texas where they facilitated a 450+ person "Voices to Vision" summit August 19-21 hosted by Neighborhood Centers Inc (NCI) (http://www.neighborhood-centers.org/) a non-profit community development and human services agency serving the greater Houston region - an area some refer to as the "modern day Ellis Island" of the US.

The purpose of this large-scale event was to build on Houston's diverse education, human service, economic planning, and workforce development assets; scan current trends and opportunities; and collaboratively shape the strategic directions of the agency for the next five years. NCI recognizes that significant community development can only happen when local residents and constituents are involved - when they are afforded the opportunity to invest themselves and their resources in making their neighborhoods stronger, safer, more vibrant and more inclusive.

Summit attendees included NCI staff, partner agencies, city council and congressional members, board directors, donors, educators, parents, seniors and youth. Preparation included over 700 pre-summit appreciative interviews across Houston to gather input in such a way that mazimizes stakeholder engagement and commitment to the ideas and action plans generated.

Previous Newsletters
To view a previous SVPRI Newsletter, simply click an attached file listed below.