To reduce poverty in Philadelphia, SVP reimagines how giving is done and our role as philanthropists by infusing Trust Based principles, policies, and practices in all aspects of our organization.
SVP Philadelphia strives to advance equity, shift power, and build mutually accountable relationships by practicing Trust Based values. SVP Partners pool their resources to provide multiyear grants in addition to their professional skills and networks to Investees. We offer streamlined paperwork, so Investees are free to focus on implementing their missions with the support of our growing network.
Our focus is on building relationships with Investees through open communication listening and learning to move the work forward in a more thoughtful way.
SVP Philadelphia works to collectively build awareness of social issues among our Partners. We know the more we understand drivers of poverty, the better and more effective philanthropists we can be. SVP offers curated learning opportunities and programming to support Partners in understanding the root causes of poverty, SVP’s approach to philanthropy, and the organizations it invests in.
As a Partner, you can:
All Partner Education is meant to invite new ways of thinking about and “doing” philanthropy, understand one’s position when engaging with marginalized communities, and inspire SVP’s organizational principles, values, approach, and policies.
“At SVP Philadelphia, we are committed to understanding the barriers that make eradicating poverty so complex. Our model is designed for SVP Partners to not only invest our time and resources, but to learn as much as we can from the wisdom of the leaders on the frontlines, and to become champions for their work.”
Jen Gleason
Managing Director of SVP Philadelphia
SVP Philadelphia invests in and works with organizations working to reduce and eliminate intergenerational poverty at a structural level including investing in organizations whose mission delivery activities seek to reform laws, policies, regulations, and institutional practices impacting Philadelphia communities experiencing poverty.
All SVP Investees work to change public narratives around an issue, build coalitions, create alternatives to inequitable systems and are led by and serving Black, Brown, and Indigenous Philadelphians of color.
Abolitionist Law Center (ALC) is a nonprofit, public interest law firm and community organizing project working to end mass incarceration and protect the rights and wellbeing of people who encounter the criminal punishment system in all its forms, from policing, to courts, to jails and prisons.
Working with prisoners in defense of human rights has led ALC to the realization that the prison system is part of a larger system that operates according to a logic of violence and intimidation.
ALC seeks to challenge this status quo by building creative, principled, visionary, and lasting alliances with people and organizations inside and outside of prison who are determined to confront and defeat these interconnected systems of oppression, and replace them with healthy, sustainable, and liberating alternatives.
Collective Climb is a BIPOC-led nonprofit organization empowering youth (between ages 13-20) in Philadelphia through restorative justice-informed violence prevention and diversionary programming. By helping youth heal and become community caretakers, Collective Climb is building a future where Black joy, security, and freedom prevails. Collective Climb looks to build alternative, restorative systems to current inequitable ones.
Collective Climbs primary efforts fall within three programs: the Restorative Community Project (RCP), a paid 3-month violence prevention fellowship — training intimate cohorts of BIPOC West Philadelphia teenagers as Restorative Justice Practitioners prepared to substantively address conflict and structural harms in their communities before they escalate into violence or police intervention. A Youth Advisory Board, an assembly of RCP alumni who marshal the future direction of Collective Climbs core programming and Collective Kickbacks, intergenerational public-facing community events that respond to shared neighborhood needs.
Why Not Prosper is a grassroots nonprofit founded by a formerly incarcerated woman for other formerly incarcerated women. Why Not Prosper strongly advocates for women and are committed to providing programs and services that support women in their re-entry efforts from prison to community.
Why Not Prosper provides a continuum of programs that includes Pre-Release Mentoring to incarcerated women, residential services at Why Not Prosper House and community services at its Resource Center located in Philadelphia PA.
Why Not Prosper works at the intersection of direct service and system reform including work around the PA Senate Bill 1074 — the Healthy Birth of Incarcerated Women Act and ending long term (typically never-ending) probation and parole policies and practices.
In 2021, our Partners worked together to design and launch our first multi-year investment cycle using the tenets of Trust Based Philanthropy. We know that Philadelphians of color are disproportionately impacted by the systems that produce poverty, and we know that those closest to these issues have unique experience, insights, and ability to change them. So, we designed this opportunity specifically for organizations led by and serving Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC).
Resilient Coders teaches young people from traditionally underserved communities how to code. We do this as a way of aligning them with a lucrative and meaningful career path. It's a multi-tiered program that funnels students from an 8-week Bootcamp, into a Fellowship with Resilient Lab, and ultimately into tech job placements with companies across the greater Boston and Philadelphia areas. For more information visit resilientcoders.org.
Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) is a multi-racial, community-based organization committed to social and economic equity for low-income women and their families. For almost 35 years, WCRP has worked to address Philadelphia’s affordable housing crisis by advocating for long-term systemic change while simultaneously providing concrete services and housing opportunities. Core to our success has been the leadership of our constituents — primarily low-income women of color — who sit on WCRP’s board and committees and both shape and participate in our programs and campaigns. WCRP is unique in the extent of our commitment to the city’s poorest residents — often left behind in the affordable housing world — and for the blend of strategies we employ to achieve our mission. For more information, visit www.wcrpphila.org.
Center for Black Educator Development seeks to reclaim power and honor the legacy we inherited from those who struggled to commit the deeply subversive, ultimately liberating, act of teaching. Launched in June 2019, the Center for Black Educator Development is revolutionizing education by dramatically increasing the number of Black educators so that low-income Black and other disenfranchised students can reap the full benefits of a quality public education. For more information, visit www.thecenterblacked.org.
We believe structural racism is a direct root cause of poverty. In 2020, we saw countless moments of injustice: the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other Black Americans. In response to this public display of a historical pattern of violence, we knew we needed to take an active stance against racial injustice. In the Fall of 2020, we invested more than $30,000 in funds and additional beyond-the-dollars support to three grassroots organizations focused on racial justice organizing, led by and serving people of color in Philadelphia.
The Girls Justice League (GJL) is a girls’ rights organization dedicated to taking action for social, political, educational, and economic justice with and for girls and young women. GJL uses multiple mediums to tell girls’ stories, disseminate research that accurately describes girls’ current realities and social justice organizing toward a different future for all girls.
The Racial Justice Organizing Committee is a group of activists and advocates, working towards the abolition of white supremacy and racism in all of the ways it presents in our communities and schools.
The Philadelphia Black Women’s Health Alliance works to improve health care outcomes and reduce health disparities for African American and other minority women and their families through advocacy, education, research and support services.
Sign up for our mailing list to be notified about upcoming opportunities!
