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The Social Venture Capital Foundation, Inc. (SVCF) |
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Helping new nonprofits build a better world for all
The Changes We Need
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"What will the new human agenda of the year 2020 be? . . . (1) seeing each person as a creator and author, one with the educational opportunities to allow them to fulfillment of one's highest aspirations and provide for one's basic human needs; (2) fostering enterprising organizations in every sector that have the vision, collaborative attitudes, and knowledge-creating skills needed to meet both social and economic needs; (3) finding better ways to deal with difficult conversations, disputes, and regional conflicts, than coercion, compliance, or war; (4) creating a more decent, civil and just society and a sustainable environment for the future." -- Robert Hargrove, Mastering the Art of Creative Collaboration (1998), p. xiii. |
Specifically, What Kinds of Change Does The SVCF Seek to Promote?
The Foundation will not dictate program or project priorities from the top down. Rather we will look out there (i.e., where the most compelling needs are experienced) for the innovative ideas and new groups that seem most worthy and promising.
Successful candidates for seed money (or entrepreneurial support grants) and mentoring assistance may offer new insights for addressing any one of a broad range of needs or challenges. The SVCF is looking for those who can offer more effective ways to
Help people help themselves and each other,
Protect human health, promote wellness, ensure safety, and/or improve quality of life,
Protect the environment and the welfare of animals,
Promote justice, preserve endangered cultures, prevent exploitation of those unable to protect themselves, and/or provide an effective voice for the voiceless,
Empowering people to prevent and alleviate poverty, hunger, and homelessness,
Protect human and civil rights and liberties, eliminate discrimination, and encourage respect for others,
Encourage greater personal, parental, and social responsibility and accountability,
Educate our children, overcome illiteracy, promote lifelong learning, and inculcate transcendent values (e.g., honesty, hard work, independence, and compassion),
Prevent crime, violence, and alcohol and drug abuse,
Nurture peace, and the conditions and processes that lead to peaceful resolution of disputes,
Promote democracy, integrity, openness, and accountability in governmental and political processes, and/or
Encourage community, collaborative decision-making, and the development of common ground approaches for resolving complex and polarizing issues.
These challenges are not unrelated. No matter the particular cause, the SVCF will be looking for leaders, groups, and proposals that recognize and address the need for education, openness to new ideas, and expanding spiritual consciousness to build a better world for all.
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"Most of the social, economic, and political issues we now face have a spiritual core. . . . What we seem to have lost is something as simple as respect -- for each other, for the earth, for the kind of values that could keep us together." -- Jim Wallis, The Soul of Politics: Beyond "Religious Right" and "Secular Left" (1994), p. xv. |
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