How much does a membership cost? |
Each Partner Unit contributes an annual $5,000 minimum for a minimum of two years. A Partner Unit is any two people - couples, friends, business partners, mother/daughter, grandfather/grandson.
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How does SVP Calgary accept payment? |
The annual minimum contribution of $5,000 is accepted by cheque, stock transfer or through corporate matching gifts. Payments can be made in one instalment or on a semi-annual or quarterly instalment basis.
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Are the annual dues tax deductible? |
Yes. You will receive a tax receipt for the full amount of your Partner Unit Fee from Social Venture Partners Calgary.
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Do you accept corporate matching gifts? |
Matching gifts from a Partner's employer are accepted to fulfill up to half of the annual contribution or supplement your annual contribution. For example, an employer could pay $2,500 annually, and a Partner pays the remaining $2,500, or an employer could pay $5,000 annually and the Partner could pay another $5,000.
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When are annual fees due? |
Each Partner Unit's dues are payable annually from the time they join. For example, if you join in February, your annual dues are due again the next February. Semi-annual or quarterly instalment payments are adjusted according to this annual renewal date. For example, if you join in February, your quarterly instalments would be due in May, August and November.
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How many Partners does SVP Calgary have? |
SVP Calgary has approximately 60 Partner Units, which equates with over 100 Partners. Partner Units can include up to two people.
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How much time does SVP Calgary require? |
The gift of time is optional. About a third of our Partners are highly engaged (help SVP Calgary or its Investees routinely), another third are engaged (help occasionally) and another third choose to keep their contribution on a financial basis. We need all kinds of Partners to keep SVP Calgary alive and welcome everyone!
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How can I volunteer? |
If you are interested in volunteering, there are many ways to contribute:
Internal Capacity Building
- SVP Calgary needs help to sustain and grow. We are looking for Partners to become involved with:
- Board of Directors - Three year terms elected annually
- Investment Committee - Formed yearly to select new Investees
- Reinvestment Committee - An ongoing committee evaluate reinvestments in Investees
- Education & Social - An ongoing committee to strategize and organize various educational and social events throughout the year
- Recruiting - An ongoing committee focused on recruiting new Partners
- Technology - A team with specific skills supporting our Investees and SVP Calgary
- Communication - A team with specific skills supporting our Investees and SVP Calgary
Investee Capacity Building
To support our Investees, we organize around:
- Lead Partners - these are our account managers responsible for managing SVP Calgarys investment in non-profits. Lead Partners develop annual plans, set priorities, recruit Partners and provide ongoing mentorship and support Investees
- Capacity Building - The talents of our Partners and their networks are focused on building the capacity of our Investees. Consider lending your skills in strategic planning, finance, legal, communication, human resources, technology, marketing and the like.
- Social Enterprise - A team with a specific interest to develop social enterprise opportunities within Investees
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Can I get involved in SVP Calgary with a friend? |
Yes. Each Partner Unit contributes an annual $5,000 minimum for a minimum of two years. We define a 'Partner Unit' as any two people – couples, friends, business partners, mother/daughter, grandfather/grandson.
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How can my children get involved? |
Teaching your children to be community-minded is not an easy task, and weighs heavily on the minds of the Partners of Social Venture Partners Calgary. A new program of the organization - SVP Kids - is designed to bring a new level of social conscience to the children of Partners.
The participating children, who range in age from six to 16, have been working since the end of 2003 to raise over $2,000 to award to SVP Calgary's Investees. They have been helping at SVP Calgary events and held a huge garage sale in June.
In September 2004, the children will begin the process of selecting Investees, which is similar to the one Partners follow. They'll first 'get smart' by educating themselves about SVP Calgary's Investees and the needs of the community. They will invite Investees to apply for a one-time financial contribution, then review these applications using criteria they develop. Site visits with those short-listed will be done, so the children can see for themselves the important work of our Investees.
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Who runs SVP Calgary? |
Cammie Kaulback is our Executive Director. Cammie reports to the Executive Committee of the Board.
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How much of SVP Calgary's budget is allocated to administration? |
$1,300 from each Partner Unit's annual contribution is allocated toward program support. SVP Calgary does not track 'administrative costs' in the traditional way because our philanthropic model is not traditional. We have a dual mission to promote philanthropy within our Partners and to build the capacity of our non-profit Investees. As such, our cost structure cannot be compared with organizations that award grants only. SVP Calgary's program support costs include the cost of staff and infrastructure to support the learning, volunteer and networking opportunities for our Partners in the work of building the capacity of SVP Calgary and our Investees.
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Does SVP Calgary rely on outside funding? |
While the majority of its funding comes from Partners, SVP Calgary's founders Brad and Tanya Zumwalt and an anonymous philanthropic organization, provide additional support.
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Is SVP Calgary sustainable? |
Not yet. One of our organizational priorities is to find ways to build an ongoing funding stream that does not rely on Partner contributions.
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If I cannot afford to be a Partner, are there other ways to get involved? |
Our priority at this time is to build rewarding philanthropic experiences for our Partners. That said, SVP Calgary needs everyone's help to fulfill its capacity building commitments. If you have skills that you believe could assist us, please contact us.
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Can a company join? |
No. Partners are individuals with an interest to personally learn about philanthropy and contribute to the community. Matching gifts from a Partners' employer are accepted to fulfill up to half of the annual contribution or supplement your annual contribution. For example, an employer could pay $2,500 annually, and a Partner pays the remaining $2,500, or an employer could pay $5,000 annually and the Partner could pay another $5,000.
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