Thursday, June 4^th the SVP team held a fun, seasonal get-together at Margaret and Harrison Marshall’s home to welcome the SEED20 Class of 2015 to the Alumni Network. Megan Guhl, SEED20 Alumni Network Lead Partner, organized the barbecue supper for the members of all four classes of Seed20 to date and SVP Partners.

Along with casual introductions and conversations, the Alumni and Partners were split into eight different groups to talk about themselves and their nonprofits. In this way, everyone at the event was sure to see at least a few new faces (especially me—I met everyone for the first time as an intern!) and to learn a lot about our SEED20 family.

The evening offered a wonderful opportunity to connect, allowing representatives from SVP-supported nonprofits to mingle and share their ideas, strategies, and contact information with each other and with the Partners who attended. Joanne Stratton Tate, 2015 Seed20 winner and Head of School at Charlotte Bilingual Preschool, shared exciting news that the program will be moving to a bigger space and able to accommodate considerably more students beginning this coming school year thanks to recent grants and developments.

Megan and Harrison also made the exciting announcement that Harrison’s law firm, McGuireWoods, will be working closely with SVP in the coming months to set up times for our SEED20 Alumni to receive counseling and advice on relevant law-related topics and questions.

Overall, the evening afforded all its guests a chance to discuss the evolution of the Seed20 competition over the past four years, reminisce about program experiences, and forge new relationships, both personal and professional, that will contribute to the future growth and vibrancy of the Alumni Network.