We’re pleased and proud to spend this spring and summer celebrating SVP’s 10-year anniversary of venture philanthropy and service in the Charlotte community. As part of this celebration, we are curating a series of #SVPCLT10 lists, and this piece is on our 10 (really 11!) Investees who’ve collectively received over $1,000,000 and thousands of volunteer hours from SVP over the past decade. SVP is honored to have partnered with these Charlotte nonprofits that help kids succeed in school and life, provide safe and affordable housing, and work to build a healthy and strong community. Through a diverse number of programs, these organizations are serving the people of Charlotte by tackling some our community’s toughest challenges.

1. All Star Teacher Initiative (ASTI), SVP’s first Investee, is a program that provides grants, study programs, and professional development opportunities designed to attract, reward, train and retain excellent high school teachers. Started in 2007 at East Meck, the program has continued to support public high school teachers financially and personally, and has been replicated in other CMS high schools. SVP helped fund and establish ASTI.
2. Workforce Initiative for Supportive Housing (WISH) was created as a supportive housing solution for homeless working families in Mecklenburg County. Along with a short-term rental subsidy, WISH provided supportive services to empower struggling families to move from homelessness to self-sufficiency. In 2011, WISH merged with two other agencies to form Charlotte Family Housing. SVP funded seed operating costs and played a major role in the strategic development, advocacy, and governance.
3. Partners for Success (PFS) is a partnership between Communities in Schools and SVP that connects at-risk students with local faith communities and businesses in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. The goal of the program is to minimize CMS dropout rates and maximize youth education, ultimately improving quality of life for students as they develop into young adults. SVP funded a CIS staff position to coordinate the program and help secure new resources for the affected Title I schools and their students.
4. Habitat Critical Home Repair (HCHR) is an arm of Habitat Charlotte designed to decrease substandard housing conditions by providing urgent home repairs. The main goals of the program are to keep homes safe and rectify Charlotte housing code violations, protecting Charlotte’s affordable housing stock. SVP provided grants and human resources to strengthen and streamline the organization and increase the impact of their vital services.
5. Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) is a nurse home visitation program that improves the health, well-being, and self-sufficiency of first-time, low-income families. NFP nurses provide education and hands-on support for new families throughout the pregnancy and in their first two years raising a child. SVP helped fund two positions to manage the strategic plan to expand NFP in the county, increase community awareness, and identify and increase funding.
6. Sow Much Good (SMG) provides direct access to fresh and affordable food to underserved neighborhoods, educating residents on healthy eating habits, and advocating for the human right to real food security. SVP  invested money and human capital towards SMG’s advancement, resulting in the organization’s first urban farm serving the Sunset Road community.
7. Heart Math Tutoring is a math intervention program that recruits, trains, and supports volunteers to work as tutors in high-poverty elementary schools in Charlotte. Volunteers give an hour per week to work one-on-one with struggling math students using a hands-on, activity-based curriculum. SVP designed and piloted the program in 2010. In 2014, Heart became an independent 501c3 organization. SVP continues to provide Heart funding and strategic and operational counsel as well as tutors.
8. Sheltering Families Intact (SFI) is an initiative designed to keep homeless families intact while they are seeking emergency shelter assistance and to provide rapid re-housing support to end their homelessness. Coordinated portals of entry, a motel voucher approach to temporary housing, and national best practices in rapid re-housing are the foundations of the project. The initiative was created to fill a gap in the service provision to homeless families without building a new shelter or creating a new nonprofit. SVP has invested seed money and project oversight to SFI.
9. Circle de Luz works to empower young Latina women in the Charlotte area through extensive mentoring, holistic programing, and scholarship funding for post-high school education. The goal of the program is to educate young women and emphasize the importance of staying in school for long-term success and health of the girls. Circle de Luz, a past participant of SEED20, receives funding, ongoing assistance, and volunteers from SVP to help strengthen and grow their impactful program.
10. ourBRIDGE is a innovative nonprofit that grew out of a for-profit, after school program into its own 501c3 in 2014. The program seeks to decrease the learning gap between native English speakers and refugee/ immigrant/ bi-cultural children in CMS and foster a respectful, multi-cultural community through an after-school program for grades K-5. Not only does ourBRIDGE assist and encourage its students from all over the world, it also offers services to their families including serving as the communication liaison with CMS teachers, an important service for the child’s academic success. SVP partnered with ourBRIDGE in early 2015 and has provided funding, strategic planning, and financial counsel to the organization.
11. Youth Development Initiative (YDI) strives to tap the undiscovered potential in underprivileged and at-risk youth through curriculum and training that focus on guidance, mentoring, and enrichment in all aspects of life. YDI goes beyond academic support and aims to get young adults involved with their communities, teach real-life skills, and prepare its students for the competitive job market after school. The second 2015 Investee, SVP has provided funding and strategic direction thus far in the partnership.