Austin Social Venture Partners | About ASVP

ASVP Q&A

To learn more about ASVP, read the following interview with ASVP founder David Lunsford.

Q. What is Austin Social Venture Partners?

Austin Social Venture Partners (ASVP) is a new "virtual" organization of professionals in the Austin area who want to make a different kind of philanthropic contribution. It was founded by several of us who work at Dell who were interested in supporting community organizations, but beyond just writing individual checks. We wanted to work with community groups whose missions support important social issues facing Central Texas. We also wanted to create a new form of investment — "active investment" is what I call it, where we work with community organizations by contributing specific partner skills. These skills can range from management and marketing expertise, to financial management and technology development. Partners also work with the organizations to help design metrics to measure and demonstrate success. This is much like venture capital firms that work with start-ups for the long term.

Q. Why do you think this kind of "venture philanthropy" is gaining support?

Our original founders of ASVP come from the technology community, and they tend to approach their philanthropic responsibility as they would their businesses. They are interested in helping nonprofit organizations achieve their goals, and setting clear "metrics" for success. Many of our members have lived in Austin less than 10 years, and they have been completely immersed in their work. They now have sufficient financial resources that they are inclined and able to re-invest in the community. Re-investing in the community means you’re strengthening the business and social environments, which lead to a healthier situation for everyone. ASVP provides an easy, participatory vehicle for giving that also provides personal meaning to each partner.

Q. What are the goals for ASVP?

We want to build our organization by adding more partners and by matching volunteers with the grant recipient organizations. We have 19 grants totalling $384,000 and we are getting ready for our fourth investment cycle. For the long term, we want to establish long-standing partnerships with the groups we support, helping them grow their abilities to serve the residents of this community.

Q. How do you decide where to direct your grants?

ASVP is a partner-directed organization. Our partners help develop our giving priorities based on their personal interests and their professional expertise. Our current partners are interested in supporting children and health and human service organizations, thus our recent round of grants are directed to such groups. However, if a sufficient number of voting partners had an interest, say in environmental issues, we could certainly expand our giving priorities.

Q. What has been the response from the nonprofit community?

The nonprofit community has been very responsive to our approach. They appreciate having access to management, marketing and technology expertise, along with new financial support. More often than not, they cannot afford to pay for the kinds of services that our volunteers will provide to them as part of our commitment to growing with them.

ASVP is a 501(C)(3) supported organization based on the philanthropic model developed by Social Venture Partners (www.svpseattle.org) in Seattle, Washington, established by former Aldus Corporation president Paul Brainerd.
ASVP grants are administered through the Austin Community Foundation, a unique, not-for-profit organization connecting philanthropists from all walks of life with the broad spectrum of efforts that improves the community. ACF, which has assets of $48 million, annually awards more than $2 million in grants.

Find out more:

Nonprofits -- If you are a nonprofit interested in applying to be an ASVP Investee, review this section of our Web site.

Partners -- If you are interested in becoming an ASVP Partner, review this section of our Web site.

Associates -- If you are interested in volunteering your time and expertise as an ASVP Associate, review this section of our Web site.

For more information, contact communications@asvp.org.

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Copyright 2000, Austin Social Venture Partners




	ASVP Q&A To learn more about ASVP, read the following interview with ASVP founder David Lunsford. Q. What is Austin Social Venture Partners? Austin Social Venture Partners (ASVP) is a new "virtual" organization of professionals in the Austin area who want to make a different kind of philanthropic contribution. It was founded by several of us who work at Dell who were interested in supporting community organizations, but beyond just writing individual checks. We wanted to work with community groups whose missions support important social issues facing Central Texas. We also wanted to create a new form of investment — "active investment" is what I call it, where we work with community organizations by contributing specific partner skills. These skills can range from management and marketing expertise, to financial management and technology development. Partners also work with the organizations to help design metrics to measure and demonstrate success. This is much like venture capital firms that work with start-ups for the long term. Q. Why do you think this kind of "venture philanthropy" is gaining support? Our original founders of ASVP come from the technology community, and they tend to approach their philanthropic responsibility as they would their businesses. They are interested in helping nonprofit organizations achieve their goals, and setting clear "metrics" for success. Many of our members have lived in Austin less than 10 years, and they have been completely immersed in their work. They now have sufficient financial resources that they are inclined and able to re-invest in the community. Re-investing in the community means you’re strengthening the business and social environments, which lead to a healthier situation for everyone. ASVP provides an easy, participatory vehicle for giving that also provides personal meaning to each partner. Q. What are the goals for ASVP? We want to build our organization by adding more partners and by matching volunteers with the grant recipient organizations. We have 19 grants totalling $384,000 and we are getting ready for our fourth investment cycle. For the long term, we want to establish long-standing partnerships with the groups we support, helping them grow their abilities to serve the residents of this community. Q. How do you decide where to direct your grants? ASVP is a partner-directed organization. Our partners help develop our giving priorities based on their personal interests and their professional expertise. Our current partners are interested in supporting children and health and human service organizations, thus our recent round of grants are directed to such groups. However, if a sufficient number of voting partners had an interest, say in environmental issues, we could certainly expand our giving priorities. Q. What has been the response from the nonprofit community? The nonprofit community has been very responsive to our approach. They appreciate having access to management, marketing and technology expertise, along with new financial support. More often than not, they cannot afford to pay for the kinds of services that our volunteers will provide to them as part of our commitment to growing with them. ASVP is a 501(C)(3) supported organization based on the philanthropic model developed by Social Venture Partners (www.svpseattle.org) in Seattle, Washington, established by former Aldus Corporation president Paul Brainerd. ASVP grants are administered through the Austin Community Foundation, a unique, not-for-profit organization connecting philanthropists from all walks of life with the broad spectrum of efforts that improves the community. ACF, which has assets of $48 million, annually awards more than $2 million in grants. Find out more: Nonprofits -- If you are a nonprofit interested in applying to be an ASVP Investee, review this section of our Web site. Partners -- If you are interested in becoming an ASVP Partner, review this section of our Web site. Associates -- If you are interested in volunteering your time and expertise as an ASVP Associate, review this section of our Web site. For more information, contact communications@asvp.org.
Contact Us \| Site Map Copyright 2000, Austin Social Venture Partners