What to Expect When You Join
After you make your contribution and become a Social Venture Partner, you’ll be joining a diverse group of men and women of all ages who are at different points in their careers. Some partners work full-time, others are retired or self-employed. Some have climbed the corporate ladder. Others are just starting out. Some are lifelong volunteers. They all bring expertise in time management, strategic planning, risk assessment, accounting, finance, event planning, communications, social work and much more. All Partners want to go beyond giving money alone to help Greater Cincinnati thrive.
It’s easy to fit Social Venture Partners alongside your family, work and social obligations. Whether you have a few hours a month or a few hours a week, we offer plenty of ways to get involved. You can join our committees for communications and marketing, education and innovation, membership or investment, or one of our teams that work directly with our investees. You can participate in one of our education events, which teach about philanthropy, equity and other topics. You can also take advantage of our parent organization, Social Venture Partners International, which has 3,500 partners in more than 40 cities worldwide and holds an annual conference and other events.
Here’s what just a few of our partners have to say about Social Venture Partners:
“I joined Social Venture Partners because I wanted to meet and socialize with fellow philanthropists and learn more about the nonprofit community in Cincinnati. Philanthropists are not all mega-millionaires, but rather people who are passionate about having a disciplined system to share their time, talent and treasure to make our community better.”
BRUCE BERNo, PARTNER SINCE 2019
“I joined SVP to help solve the root cause of some of the challenges our community faces. I love the idea of social innovation and really digging in to find a sustainable solution to make the world a better place.”
Katherine Schwerdtfeger, partner since 2019
“The work we do with nonprofits engages my heart and my brain. I love our capacity building mission. Most organizations focus on directly serving people; we focus on helping strengthen, expand and scale the nonprofit sector. I love seeing partners get turned on and learn about the nonprofit world.”
Susan Ingmire, partner since 2011
Partners or their corporate/foundation sponsors make a minimum, tax-deductible, annual contribution of:
$3,000 for individuals
$6,000 for families
$1,500 for young professionals (younger than 40) sponsored by their companies
$500 for the first year for an individual younger than 40, $1,000 for the second year, and $1,500 for the third year and thereafter until they are 40 years old
Corporate collaborations
Our corporate collaboration program allows employers to offer a unique leadership development and training opportunity to their employees.
How it works: The corporation or foundation pays the individual contribution for the sponsored employee, who becomes a Social Venture Partner for a year. By working with fellow partners and our investees and participating in our education events, the employee learns about our community, expands his or her professional network and builds valuable leadership skills to become an effective community citizen.
Our corporate collaborators often sponsor more than one employee year after year, allowing them to have an even greater impact on our community.
“Fifth Third is proud to be involved with Social Venture Partners, which provides a unique opportunity for valued employees to become immersed in the Cincinnati community in a meaningful way. The program supports our development and training initiatives and helps chosen employees become civic-minded community leaders and strategic philanthropists.”
Teresa Tanner, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, fifth third bank
“The E.W. Scripps Company has worked with Social Venture Partners for several years to support nonprofits in our community. Our sponsored partners have gained valuable experience as engaged, knowledgeable and hands-on philanthropic leaders.”
Lisa Knutson, executive vice president and chief financial officer, the e.w. scripps company
Email info@svpcincinnati.org to learn more.