History

Social Venture Partners was founded in Seattle, WA in 1997 and was the inspiration of former Aldus Corporation president Paul Brainard. The vision of the founders was to build a philanthropic organization using a venture capital model, where Partners invest in innovation, and then actively nurture their financial investments with guidance and resources. As interest in this new approach to philanthropy grew, SVP organizations began developing throughout North America. By 2001, a loose network had formed, and SVP International (SVPI) was created to support and advance this network. There are currently twenty-five SVP organizations and over 2,000 individual Partners in the United States, Canada and Japan.

As of early 2008, the Social Venture Partner network of twenty-five affiliates had contributed 26.5 million in grant investments and countless volunteer hours to more than 300 nonprofit organizations. In 2007 alone, SVP invested more than $3.8 million into 127 nonprofits, and had a 14% growth in total Partners.

The Social Venture Partners Charlotte chapter was organized in 2005 by local philanthropists led by Will Miller. An initial group of fourteen, we are now sixty-nine partners strong and growing, dedicated to achieving long-term social change in the Charlotte region.