New Research Examines Donor Socialization and Social Venture Partners

In addition to increasing how much donors give, involvement with SVP also affected how they give, with 86.3 percent of partners saying they gave in a new way after becoming active in SVP. Partners reported being more “strategic” in their giving, being more results-oriented, more engaged and collaborative, and writing fewer but larger checks.

Social Venture Partners was started in Seattle in 1997 as technology companies and advances created a new form of “dot.com” wealth, and entrepreneurs and others then became interested participating in philanthropic projects. SVP International has now grown to more than twenty affiliates in the United States and Canada.