Who We Are

We want to know about groups that you think deserve start up assistance or entrepreneurial support grants and counsel to become more sustainable. Please spread the word about our Grantees to others who might want to support their efforts or to Volunteer their time and expertise.

Kids on the Hill: Arts Action for Neighborhood Change, Baltimore, MD. (Rebecca Yenawine, Director) On April 8, 2001, the SVCF made the foundation's first grant. The grant was awarded to Kids on the Hill, a Baltimore non-profit that provides an after school (and summer camp) program of arts education, academic support and tutoring, mentoring, and family assistance. The grant provides financial and consulting support to enable Kids on the Hill to develop a preliminary arts-based enterprise plan to help the group become more financially self-sustaining and to teach the youth key skills of entrepreneurship.

- A second grant was awarded to Kids on the Hill on December 13, 2001, upon completion of the preliminary plan. The purpose of this grant is to help implement and refine the preliminary mission-related enterprise development plan. In addition, the grant is intended to assist Kids on the Hill in further developing an entrepreneurship curriculum for the children it serves.   (Note: Thanks to e-town radio, which awarded Rebecca its "e-chievement" award and thereby led The Social Venture Capital Foundation to learn of Rebecca and Kids on the Hill.)
- A third grant was awarded to Kids on the Hill on January 31, 2002. This award -- a $2,500 grant and $2,500 loan -- was made to assist Kids on the Hill in establishing an entrepreneurial web site. [Note: As of September 1, 2002, the new web site -- describing the activities of the group and linking to a secure and consumer-friendly electronic commerce outlet for the sale of the art products developed by the Kids on the Hill arts program -- was launched and is now up and running. Check out the web site to order some great T-shirts and bumper stickers and to support Kids on the Hill.]
- A fourth award was made to Kids on the Hill in December 2003 to recognize their achievement in winning a Golden Web award for the new web site.
- On June 5, 2004, SVCF made its fifth grant to Kids on the Hill, a Recognition of Excellence award, for the prize-winning film, "Children of Birmingham," that won the Time Warner Foundation-Open Society Institute "See Change Make Change" prize for best Youth Video.

Stand for Children Leadership Center, Washington, DC. Jonah Edelman, Director; Eliza Leighton, Deputy Director.) On September 5, 2001, the SVCF made the foundation's second grant. This grant was awarded to the leadership development and training arm of Stand for Children, the only national membership group dedicated to community organizing and advocacy in support of the interests of children. The grant is intended to help the group advance strategic planning, organizational development, and recruitment efforts necessary to achieve additional victories on behalf of children. Click here to learn more about the victories that Stand has achieved and its promise for the future.

Zuni Entrepreneurial Enterprises, Inc. (ZEE, Inc.), Zuni, NM: a 501(c)(3) organization devoted to using entrepreneurial approaches to meeting the needs of disabled persons living on and near the Zuni Pueblo in northwest New Mexico.   Click here for a copy of the Zuni Entrepreneurial Enterprises, Inc. E³ Center seed grant proposal.

Phoenix Gate, Inc., Hartshorne, OK: a 501 (c)(3) organization devoted to community recreation for the young people of Hartshorne and nearby communities, crime and drug abuse prevention and counseling, and community re-entry support for men and women leaving prison.  The SVCF seed grant is for the community re-entry program for ex-offenders, with particular focus on job readiness and learning entrepreneurial skills.

All For Youth, Inc., Stuart, FL: a new nonprofit organization "that specializes in creating and implementing comprehensive intervention and prevention programs for youth at-risk of becoming delinquent, for youth who have been referred for delinquency, and for communities that contain high percentages of youth that demonstrate pre-delinquent or chronic behaviors." The SVCF seed grant is intended to help All For Youth meet certain organizational start up expenses and defray a portion of the costs for planning and designing the Indiantown (FL) Educational Center, a Second Chance (alternative) School for middle school and high school students who are expelled or suspended from public schools. A supplemental seed grant was awarded to All for Youth, Inc. to assist in fund raising efforts after All for Youth demonstrated sufficient progress in carrying out the initial seed grant.

Art for a Child Safe America, Columbus, OH: a program of arts to inform and educate America about the dangers and effects of violence on our children, our families, and on the perpetrators of violence themselves. SVCF provided a $3,500 strategic planning seed grant to help the organization move toward greater self-sufficiency.

Fair Chance, Washington, DC: a fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Washington, DC devoted to ensuring that every child in the District of Columbia has a fair chance in life, focusing particularly on after school programs in some of the neediest areas of DC. SVCF provided a $3,000 grant, of which $2,000 was to help seed the Evening Star Learning Center Project, an after school center for children one of the most impoverished areas of Washington, DC, and the remaining $1,000 was to provide seed money for Fair Chance's start up expenses.

Austin Eastside Community Connection, Austin, TX: a nonprofit group of University of Texas students and former students working with the Eastside Community of Austin to provide emergency food assistance, educational opportunities, and self-sufficiency support for the Eastside Community and important opportunities for hands on organizational development learning for the University of Texas students.

Hope for Henry Foundation, Washington, DC: in memory of Henry Strongin Goldberg, this new foundation supports children suffering from life threatening diseases, encouraging them, as Henry did to "live well and laugh hard."

Beyond Talent, Washington, DC: providing an path for mentoring, educational opportunity, and a ladder up for low-income youth in our Nation's Capital.

Critical Exposure, Baltimore, MD: providing inner city students with tools -- cameras and film, pen and paper, training, and exhibit space -- so that they can show the impact of educational inequity through their own eyes and engage the community in a dialogue on the need for school report and support of public education.

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