Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners

THE ORGANIZATION IS A PHILANTHROPIC ORGANIZATION CONSISTING OF A DIVERSE NETWORK OF INDIVIDUALS WHO INVEST THEIR TIME, EXPERTISE AND CAPITAL IN ACCELERATING THE SOCIAL IMPACT MADE BY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

FULL CIRCLE PROGRAM OUR MODEL - FULL CIRCLE - IS PITTSBURGH'S IMPACT ACCELERATOR FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. ENTERING 2020, WE EXPECTED FULL CIRCLE TO RUN TWO COHORT GROUPS OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS DURING THE YEAR, AS WE DID IN 2019. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE ONSET OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, IN 2020, WE DID NOT FIELD ANY NONPROFIT COHORTS. AS WE ENTERED 2021, GIVEN THE ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WE DID NOT KNOW WHETHER WE WOULD BE ABLE TO FIELD ANY NONPROFIT COHORTS. HOWEVER, AS THE YEAR PROGRESSED AND AS THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE PANDEMIC CONTINUED TO EVOLVE, WE ULTIMATELY FIELDED TWO COHORTS, IN WHICH NONPROFIT PARTICIPANTS WERE PAIRED WITH TEAMS OF PSVP PARTNERS WHO SERVED AS EXECUTIVE COACHES, WORKING DIRECTLY WITH EACH NONPROFIT THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. THE PSVP PARTNERS' TIME AND EFFORTS COACHING THE NONPROFITS WERE ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY. THE FULL CIRCLE PROGRAM MANAGER AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ORGANIZED THE COACHING TEAMS, COORDINATED PROGRAMMING WITH THE NONPROFITS AND RAN THE WORKSHOPS. EACH COHORT CULMINATED WITH A PITCH EVENT, AFTER WHICH POINT A NONPROFIT RECEIVED A FINANCIAL GRANT (SO LONG AS WE RECEIVED, IN ADVANCE, CERTAIN REQUIRED INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION). THE FEEDBACK THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED THROUGH SURVEYS WITH THE FULL CIRCLE NONPROFITS AND PSVP PARTNERS WHO HAVE BEEN EXECUTIVE COACHES HAS BEEN POSITIVE. THE PARTICIPATING NONPROFITS CREDIT THE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE PROGRAM AS KEY AIDS IN GAINING NEW FUNDING, IMPROVING THEIR MESSAGING TO THE PUBLIC AND TO THEIR STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL AS IMPROVING THEIR OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY. WHILE WE HAVE RECEIVED POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON PRIOR YEARS' PROGRAMMING, WE STRIVE TO ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE DEEPER INVOLVEMENT AND DEVELOPING SKILLS TO A WIDER RANGE AND MORE-DIVERSE SET OF ORGANIZATIONS EACH YEAR. AS PART OF THE PROGRAM, THE BREADTH OF SKILL-BUILDING (I.E., NOT SIMPLY PITCH EVENTS, BUT WORKSHOPS ON FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE MAPPING) ALLOWS MORE OF THE PSVP PARTNERS TO USE BROADER SETS OF THEIR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE. THE WORKSHOP-STYLE SESSIONS GIVE PSVP PARTNERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT AND CONNECT WITH MULTIPLE NONPROFITS AS WELL AS WITH EACH OTHER. SEVERAL PSVP PARTNERS HAVE CONTINUED THEIR WORK WITH THEIR NONPROFITS AFTER THE PROGRAMS HAVE ENDED (FOR EXAMPLE, BY JOINING THE NONPROFIT'S BOARD OR VOLUNTEERING IN OTHER WAYS). IN 2022, FULL CIRCLE WAS ABLE TO RETURN TO IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING FOR ALL EVENTS (PROGRAM WAS CONDUCTED ONLINE ONLY DURING PANDEMIC SHUTDOWN). WE ALSO BEGAN OUTREACH INCLUDING A SOCIAL EVENT TO POTENTIAL NEW PARTNERS FOR SVP TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION AND ENSURE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. SVP ALSO CONDUCTED FOCUS GROUPS AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS WITH PAST FELLOWS AND PROSPECTIVE PARTNERS TO GET INFORMATION THAT HELPS US PLAN FOR FUTURE PROGRAMMING.