The philanthropic movement is taking on a new form across the city.
No longer is charity limited to writing a cheque, planning fundraisers, or dishing out hot meals at a soup kitchen.
The new Toronto-based Social Venture Partners is changing all that, shifting the priority from raising money, to encouraging "partners" to actively engage in the communities they intend to help. That means opening cheque books and volunteering time, expertise and advice to non-profit organizations.
It was an idea Kathryn Wortsman, 36, brought back with her from New York City, after she was introduced to the concept of Social Venture Partners while working there.
In Toronto, she had found her options for giving back limited.
"I had tried to get involved in a meaningful way in the Toronto community, and my options were to help plan a party, or to fundraise, and I didn't want to do either," said Wortsman, who works in the private equity field.
"I wanted to find something where my expertise from my day job could be put to use," she said.
After finding five other like-minded "young professionals," she launched a Toronto-based chapter of what has become an international venture philanthropy success story.
Launched in Seattle in 1997, Social Venture Partners now has 25 chapters worldwide. Toronto is the newest, just launched last year, but has grown the fastest – 48 people are already signed up.
The idea behind the initiative is simple: With highly engaged investments of money, resources and business expertise, a local non-profit will be able to fulfill its mission in a more efficient and sustainable way.
Becoming a partner involves an annual investment of $5,000, and the option of volunteering on a specific project. More than 70 per cent of the partners – business professionals – volunteer in specific roles, committees or projects.
The Toronto group decided to focus on agencies helping people trying to escape poverty.
Out of the 30 non-profits that wrote proposals and presented to Social Venture Partners Toronto, two were chosen by the members – Eva Phoenix, a print shop training program for at-risk youth, and Microskills, a job skills development centre.
Each agency is given $75,000 over three years, and an organizational assessment to determine where improvements can be made. Already, nine volunteers from Social Venture Partners Toronto are helping Eva Phoenix with their brand management and marketing.
Branding is an area where many non-profits need expertise, said Kay Blair, executive director of Microskills. She hopes the partnership will also give women who use her centre access to networks they normally wouldn't be a part of.
"For a lot of women, especially immigrant women, there is social isolation, and systemic barriers," she said. "So this is really about helping them to find ways to connect to ... people with expertise and Canadian experience."
That's something that former Microskills student Rina Rovinelli, who graduated from the self-employment program in 2006, sees as the greatest benefit of SVP Toronto.
"A lot of women fall through the cracks when they leave the program," said Rovinelli, who helped pitch Microskills to Social Venture Partners, and now runs a clothing company for plus-sized women, Maximum Woman. "There are no elements in place that make a smooth enough transition to help them start their business."
