On October 31st, SV2 Partners and staff met students at Richmond High School and learned more about the Richmond community. It was such a treat! Twelve very bright and talented students who engage in the programs of College is Real, SV2 Grantee Partner, led us through a tour of their school. We learned a lot, including how students select academies / tracks, the schools’ renowned band and Robotics club, mental health support, and inspiring family changemaking in the community. 

Angelica Arriaga, Executive Director, College is Real, thoughtfully facilitated discussion about the Richmond community’s challenges and hopes. We had a roundtable discussion with the students about a recently canceled football game and how the school and community are often misperceived based on what people “hear” instead of what they “see” themselves. As students shared the struggles of people assuming they were unsafe to be around, they also shared their determination to push back against the stereotypes and contribute to their community wellness and thriving. 

When our group was asked to reflect on our time together, some responses were:

“It taught me that other people are actually interested in coming into Richmond High and wanting to learn who we are instead of just judging us”

“Impressed by the people and opportunities available at RHS”

“Definitely shifted my perception to be much more positive”

Per our Get Proximate practices, we were really able to listen, confront truths, and break down unconscious biases. The Richmond community is vibrant and aspiring, and we’re so grateful to have experienced that directly!

In October, ten SV2 Partners and CEO David Onek took an unforgettable journey with Telos Group to New Orleans, Jackson, Selma, and Montgomery, into the heart of the US racial justice and civil rights movement. Participants visited key historical sites and met with local advocates and leaders, deepening their understanding of our history and of the advocacy efforts on the ground today. Getting proximate is a key SV2 practice and this trip was another step in listening to and learning from multiple community voices.

Participants visited Congo Square, Whitney Plantation, the Louisiana bayou, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the National Voting Rights Museum, the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, among other sites. Even more impactful were meetings with local advocates and leaders such as Konda Mason from Jubilee Justice, Luther Gray of the Congo Square Preservation Society, Monique Verdin of the Houma Nation, Will Snowden from the Vera Institute of Justice, Everett Ofray and Louis Gibson from Orleans Public Defenders, Bishop Ronnie Crudup from New Horizon International Church, Cassandra Welchlin and Toni Johnson from Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable, Kyita Welchin and Amyah Akharume from Mississippi Black Youth Vote, Freedom Rider Hezekiah Watkins, former US Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, voting rights advocate JoAnne Bland, Ainka Sanders Jackson of the Selma Center for Truth, Nonviolence, and Reconciliation, and Montgomery-based artist and activist Michelle Browder, among others.

SV2 Partner Paru Desai will be hosting a lunch and learn event in January and a video will be forthcoming. In the meantime, we invite you to read snippets from their group journal.

October 18, 2022
Paru: On the eve of the trip, doing some logistical work of group email and setting up text message – looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow! This trip is a few years in the making – planned for 2020 but as with so many things, the pandemic forced a change of plans. In some ways, perhaps the moment is more right for it to happen now after the events and learnings of the last few years?

October 19, 2022
Alice: Just re-read Letter from a Birmingham Jail on the plane. It’s even more compelling than I’d remembered. (I was thrilled when it was the second reading assignment my son had as a freshman in college, just a few weeks ago; the first was Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow!) MLK Jr’s voice is so powerful and eloquent, but it was a little jarring how so much of what he says is still so relevant today, especially the section “just” versus “unjust” laws and complacency of so much of organized religion when it comes to social justice. I also continued reading How the Word is Passed, including the chapter on the Whitney Plantation in preparation for tomorrow. Parts of it were hard to read, and I expect it will be even harder to see in person.

October 21, 2022
Don: Lots to process from yesterday’s visit to Whitney Plantation. Delighted to hear Konda’s innovative approach to rice, but sad to hear the loss of land.

October 24, 2022
Kwok: The experiences on this trip demonstrates the power of storytelling from the first person to engage minds and change hearts. Examples that stick with me are Monique, talking about the disaster of the oil spills, and the direct impacts of climate change on her community. Luis and Buck and their lived experiences in dealing with a justice system that is rigged against them. Hezekiah and his personal story with the freedom riders. JoAnne and her experiences dealing with the violence and hatred fueled by racism in her fight for voting rights. They make us deal with the painful truth of our history, but also they share the promise that with courage, belief and hard work over time , the fight for equity will make a difference.

October 26, 2022
Grace: The training at the Selma Center for Nonviolence Truth and Reconciliation was phenomenal. Powerful learning and testimonials and delectable food (Mama Callie’s collard greens slow-cooked with smoked turkey, baked chicken with homegrown and hand-ground herbs, Uncle’s recipe macaroni and cheese, jalapeño cornbread, and peach-bursting cobbler). So much makes sense in how violence (active and passive) is fear-based, and how the steps of nonviolence (as opposed to non-violence) apply to so much conflict in our world. As Mama Callie sings, “Hold on, hold on.”

For more information on the US South Trip, please get in touch with Paru Desai at desaiparu526@gmail.com.

In mid-October, we had an energizing gathering of over 60 changemakers. Thanks to all who joined our Fall Connections: Voices from our Community event at the beautiful and inspiring EPACENTER! The evening was filled with joyful catchups, dance, delicious local eats and drinks, and of course, motivating social impact breakouts. 

“It was such a lovely venue, and the event had such a special feeling.  It was more intimate, less formal; more engaging; more community integrated etc than the semi-annual gatherings we had pre-covid.  It was so consistent with the new strategic themes of SV2 so really resonated.” – Jennifer McFarlane, SV2 Partner

Special thanks to:

• EPACENTER for graciously hosting us and sharing your creative and fun community space!
• Our inspiring and thoughtful Breakout Speakers: Ivan Martinez (Redwood City PAL), Jasmyne and Quincy Sanders (StreetCode Academy), and Kurt Kuhlmann (Amped Innovation)!
• Our talented vendors:
  • Diana Zaldivar – Pastry Chef, and an Upward Scholar 
  • Natalia Gutierrez – Floral Artist, and an Upward Scholar 
  • Crumble & Whisk – an ICA Company
  • Curated by Trang
  • Taqueria La Cazuela
• Rekha Pai, SV2 Partner and Board Member, for doing a fun Indian Navratri dance demo with Amy!

We’re also very grateful for skillful interpretation provided by Brenda Graciano and Yeny Ramos (Upward Scholars) and to Legacy Venture and Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) for sponsoring our event. 

We hope to see you at future events!

High school can be a formative and significant experience. Beyond the classes, lockers, extracurriculars, and questionable cafeteria food, students are developing their identities and sense of belonging. 

When we gather, students will take this opportunity to provide insights into their community; share challenges and accomplishments, and highlight the experiences that have shaped them. We’re doing this on Halloween, feel free to come in costume if you’d like! There just might be a Halloween Contest! 

College is Real (CIR) identifies, motivates, educates and mentors the “college-aspirational” students at Richmond’s three public high schools in order to have as many students as possible apply to, attend, and graduate from four-year colleges. We want to change the lives of the students in the program so they can ultimately improve the lives of their families and change their communities. 

CIR was selected as a Grantee Partner in SV2’s 2022 Equity in Education Grant Round. 

This Get Proximate event is happening soon after the grantmaking as part of SV2’s commitment to advancing strong trust and relationship building earlier on. Read more about how Get Proximate is a core approach embedded in our philanthropic work. 

Monday, Oct. 31st | Richmond High School | 1250 23rd St, Richmond, CA 94804

Agenda: There is a combination of indoor and outdoor activities. 

• 9:30-10:00am: Arrive 
• 10:00-10:25am: Introductions + Overview of what CIR does 
• 10:25-10:30am: Overview of the day
• 10:30-10:55am: Student-Led Tour of High School Campus 
• 10:55-11:20am: Icebreakers with Students
• 11:20-12:00pm: Small Breakout Discussions
• 12:00-1:00pm: Lunch
• 1:00-1:30pm: Games 
• 1:30-1:50pm: Reflection 
• 1:50-2:10pm: Close and Next Steps

135 Bay Area changemakers gathered on the Sunday afternoon of August 28th, under one-hundred-year-old redwoods at the beautiful Atherton home of SV2 Partners Aarti and Asheem Chandna, to celebrate the end of summer. 

After a long pandemic, 40 SV2 Partners were able to catch up with each other in person and engage in meaningful conversations with Grantee & Impact Investee Partners Upward Scholars, SV@Home, Puente de la Costa Sur, Redwood City PAL, College is Real, and Amped Innovation. 

Gatanya Arnic, the Executive Director of Grantee Partner Safe & Sound Center for Youth Wellness who recently joined the SV2 Board, acknowledged the timely support of SV2 through a critical merger and unrestricted grant funding for 3 years, thanking SV2 Partners Deb Dauber and Kelly Pope and SV2 Director of Community Engagement Amy Badiani.  

“We appreciate the trust from SV2 to let us lead the way we know how to lead the people we serve, but really—I just have to say that I appreciate how welcome you’ve all made me feel today,” said Grantee Partner Puente de la Costa Sur Executive Director Rita Mancera, who also thanked SV2 Partner Leaders Kwok Lau and Cindy Lang for their moral support through an unexpected pandemic and talent shortage. 

Tony Stayner, who has been an SV2 Partner since 2013, shared his philanthropic journey with the SV2 community of continuous learners, encouraging the audience to look at the broader spectrum of giving. “My real passion is impact investing. In reality, we all have a lot more money to invest than we have to give away. If we can put that money to work through impact investing, we unleash market forces to scale true innovation.” Tony shared how proud he and the SV2 partners were of the impact investment portfolio of 22 social enterprises generating positive impact in the world, 4 of which have seen over 2x in returns after exit. 

New friends and family of SV2 who joined the Backyard Impact Social included educators, doctors, community leaders, venture capitalists, artists, scientists, engineers, and strategic allies such as Thrive Alliance, Legacy Venture, Northern California Grantmakers, Santa Clara University Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, and Berkeley Skydeck. Even the newly crowned Miss California 2022 Catherine Liang made an appearance. 

Together, we caught up with old friends and made new ones while enjoying the stylings of a French jazz trio ensemble from SFJAZZ All-Stars, an award-winning training program for Bay Area high school-age musicians. Tasteful appetizers were prepared by Chef Susan Leon. We ran out Aarti’s special Spanish sangria but the adults joined the kids in supporting local food entrepreneurs Shao-ying Fang of SF Gelateria and Vincent Ma of Sana Tea by dutifully eating fresh gelato and slurping hand-crafted boba brûlée lattes. 

“Magical things happen when we bring a diverse group of people committed to equity and power sharing together. We connect, we learn, and we practice innovative giving—in community,” concluded SV2 CEO David Onek. SV2 hosts two Backyard Impact Socials each year at the start and end of summer to bring together SV2 community and new friends to foster connection and collaboration. Save the date for our next all-community gathering, Fall Connections: Voices from Our Community, taking place on October 13th at EPACENTER in East Palo Alto. 

Our grantmaking and community engagement will advance climate justice. This can include supporting frontline communities in building resilience to climate change, addressing environmental consequences of our fossil fuel economy, and providing benefits from the transition economy. As an initial part of our Climate Justice Grant Round, SV2 is connecting with community changemakers to understand what climate justice in the Bay Area means, community strengths and challenges, and the opportunities to make an impact.  We’re learning these opportunities include frontline communities addressing causes of injustice and leading positive change, supporting equitable access to solutions and resources, and ensuring that diverse perspectives contribute to driving policy and advocacy.

The Grant Round is led by Partners Jennifer McFarlane and Nancy Grove, and staff member Amy Badiani.

Here is a visual that helps clarify the difference between equality, equity, and justice:

Image credit: Mobilize Green

SV2 Partners and Community Partners (Grantees), please join us at an Open House on Zoom on Thursday, August 25th from 6:30-7:30pm to learn more about the Grant Round and opportunities for engagement. RSVP here. Also email Amy Badiani (abadiani@sv2.org), if you’d like to nominate Bay Area nonprofit or fiscally sponsored organizations and/or join the research and community engagement team.

Some guiding details for this Grant Round:

We strive to advance equity and trust based philanthropy throughout our learning and relationship building. SV2 will allocate $160,000 of unrestricted, multi-year funding across two organizations ($80,000 each). SV2 will also offer the selected organizations beyond-the-dollars support as helpful and friendship!

SV2 can best support organizations / Community Partners who match the following criteria.

SV2 is interested in deploying a greater share of grants to organizations led by underrepresented people of color.

• 501(c)(3) nonprofit or fiscally sponsored.
• Has work and community reach in the Bay Area with executive leadership and Board presence in the Bay Area.
• $500,000-$4 Million in revenue.
• Organizations that are at “growth” stage in their lifecycle, they have a proven model and initial evidence of impact, and are still building their internal organizational capacity (e.g. learning and evaluation, strategy development, talent and human capital, operations and systems, finances and fund development). Typically, the organization is on the young side; if it has been in existence longer, it’s in some sort of “renewal” period.
• Addressing inequities and root causes (i.e. creating conditions to reduce the prevalence of an issue). 
• Has not previously received a three-year grant from SV2 (current Community Partners here, former Community Partners here).

 

SV2 Partners: If you’d like to participate in the Grant Round, please join the Environment Group on mySV2 in order to receive future communications and access to files. Please contact Amy Badiani if you have questions about the Grant Round or trouble accessing mySV2.

This past Spring, we checked in with our Community Partner Grantees and invited them to connect and share updates at a meeting in June. They continue to deepen impact and grow their organizational capacity, in the midst of ongoing crises and challenges. These inspiring changemakers and leaders are listening to communities they engage, adapting, deepening, and pivoting. All organizations received continuation of unrestricted funding from SV2. 

Here are some things these organizations are proud about and want to amplify:

• Braven Bay Area – strong early progress by successfully working with the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering to implement Braven as a technical elective option, and with the new Data Science major to add Braven as a recommended elective for students in the major.
• ICA – Case study co-authored between ICA and Firebrand Artisan Breads, a West Oakland-based baking company that has partnered with ICA over the last ten years, that examines how small businesses can create high quality jobs while scaling up. They also highlighted the 2021 ICA Annual Report.
• Mujeres Unidas y Activas – 3 key policy victories at the local, state and national level respectively:
  • The City of San Francisco Domestic Worker Paid Sick Leave Ordinance will create the first ever mandated paid sick leave system in California.
  • The Domestic Worker Health and Safety Act will establish the first ever workplace health and safety guidelines for domestic workers throughout the State of California.
  • Changes to the Department of Justice rules regarding the grounds for asylum in the United States in July 2021. This victory could save the lives of tens of thousands of survivors of violence, including many MUA members, who will be protected from deportation to their home countries. This victory was reported in the New York Times, which featured the story of a MUA member who provided her testimony to the government. 
• One Life Counseling – building and creating immigrant focus and mental health center that doesn’t exist in San Mateo County. Launched Una Vida. 
• Safe & Sound – Center for Youth Wellness and Safe & Sound (merged) enhance each other’s strengths in improving the health and wellbeing of children and families. Launched Lunch and Learn series open to the community.
• StreetCode Academy – named 2021 Nonprofit of the Year for California’s 13th Senate District StreetCode Academy Named Peninsula’s 2021 Nonprofit of the Year, selected as one of 40 organizations nationwide to receive a grant and partnership with the NBA Foundation, 100% staff team retention, and strengthened Ravenswood School City District partnership.
• SV@Home – had another very successful Affordable Housing Month is past May. They uploaded the majority of the 50+ Affordable Housing Month events to the SV@Home website.
• Upward Scholars – has an awesome and highly valued staff team! Also there are Upward Scholars’ small businesses which you can support.  

We’re also honored and delighted to welcome our newest Community Partners: Code Tenderloin, College is Real, Puente de la Costa Sur, and Redwood City PAL. 

Here are some more things we learned as we connect with all our Community Partners:

• Based on community realities, programs and activities are becoming more deeply intersectional – e.g. education, job ready-ness, and mental health, environment and social justice, community organizing and workforce development, and housing and economic inclusion. 
• Our Community Partners are also experiencing various challenges including the emotionally burdensome work of dismantling inequitable systems, expanding geographically and into new communities successfully, doing community engagement well in a hybrid format in the continued realities of COVID, retaining staff, sustaining team wellbeing, and having systems and processes that effectively keep up with growth. 
• There is more collaboration and less “re-inventing the wheel”. 
• Teams are growing and deepening (staff and board with diverse lived experiences), staff are being paid better.
• Operational efficiency is improving, and impact measurement and sharing is more robust and intentional. 
• SV2’s trust-based unrestricted funding, relationship building, and support has clearly contributed to these successes. 

We continue to be honored to be in community together to advance equity and social impact, and contribute to a Bay Area in which everyone can thrive.

We are thrilled to welcome four new members to SV2’s Board of Directors: Gatanya Arnic, Kelly Pope, Dr. Linda Prieto and Zelica Rodriguez-Deams. As part of our Strategic Plan’s emphasis on equity and power sharing, three of the new Board members — Gatanya, Linda and Zelica — are current or former SV2 Community Partner Grantees, a first for SV2. We are so excited to bring Gatanya, Kelly, Linda and Zelica’s talents and experience to the SV2 Board!

Gatanya Arnic

Gatanya is a visionary leader with over 19 years of experience in leadership development, healthcare, and nonprofit expertise. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Center for Youth Wellness, a program of Safe & Sound, where she is also the Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to joining the Center for Youth Wellness team, she spent three years with a leading senior housing organization in Chicago. As an Executive Director, she has developed strong leaders, streamlined operational costs, developed and executed internal and external strategies, and managed and led several large scale community events. Gatanya holds a B.S. in Community Health from Illinois State University and is working on completing her MBA. She was a former LeadingAge Leadership Fellow and a 2021 Gratitude Network Fellow. Gatanya has also held several different leadership and board membership roles in her career and is an Americorps VISTA Alumni. In 2018, she became a Honoring Excellence Award nominee. Gatanya practices Vipassana meditation daily, and on the weekends, you can find her doing outdoor activities, reading, traveling, and spending time with her daughter and friends.

Kelly Pope

Kelly Pope is a social entrepreneur and strategic advisor focused on creating opportunities for the youngest (0-5yrs) learners and their families. She consults with and advises young edtech start-up companies on business models, design thinking, and technology implementation. Prior to her social sector work, Kelly spent 25 years in the software industry as a software technology executive, managing diverse high tech organizations. She built and led cross-functional teams to deliver robust and engaging end-user products ranging from medical diagnostic software to consumer video games to web-based interactive curriculum for students and teachers. Kelly serves as Vice Chair on the New Teacher Center board and is also on the board of Growing Up New Mexico, working to bring structural change to early childhood care and education in New Mexico. Kelly holds a B.S. in electrical engineering/signal processing from U.C. Davis, and she was one of the first women to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Linda Prieto
As the daughter of immigrants who left México to give their children a better life, Linda grew up working in the agricultural fields of the central San Joaquin Valley in California, but her heart was in the classroom. In second grade, her teacher was the first person she ever heard say the word “college.” Until that point in her life, she didn’t know anyone who had more than a sixth-grade level education. But like her parents, she too believed that education could break the cycle of poverty. A belief in education drove Linda to earn a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from Stanford, a Master’s degree in education from Harvard, and a Ph.D. in education from UT Austin. She began her work in the nonprofit sector as vice-president of programs at ALearn, a Santa Clara-based math and college readiness program for underserved students. Linda now serves as Executive Director of Upward Scholars, whose mission is to provide adult immigrants the boost they need to move up the economic ladder through education and career development support. In addition to this leadership role, she is raising her son to be just as excited about learning and service as she has always been.

Zelica Rodriguez-Deams
Zelica has nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit field as a community organizer, advocate and community builder.  Her prowess is in research and analysis, strategy development and program impact. Zelica currently serves as Director of Santa Clara County’s Office of Immigrant Relations. Previously, she served on the leadership team at SOMOS Mayfair for 8 years, first as Director of Programs and then as Associate Director. While at SOMOS, Zelica launched the “In Our Hands” initiative, spanning 13 programs, all focused on dismantling inequity and addressing the multi-generational crisis in Mayfair. She also led the development of a collective impact model across five local organizations (the Si Se Puede Collective) which has built a robust eco-system supporting families in the Eastside. She also led the creation of an immigrant women worker-owned cooperative that has gained visibility across the county as experts in sustainable community engagement. Before joining SOMOS, Zelica served as the Director of Policy & Organizing for SIREN, where she developed and won advocacy campaigns to increase equity, access, resources and rights for immigrant families. She also led SIREN’s robust civic engagement strategy that resulted in a multi-language civic campaign to increase awareness of voter rights and responsibilities amongst the immigrant community. Born in El Salvador, Zelica came to this country as a child.  She earned her Master’s in Political Science from San Francisco State University in 2007.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Latin American and Latino studies from University of California, Santa Cruz. She is married to Dewayne Deams, proud BART Train operator, and has two daughters, Mikaela and Lina. 

Join us in welcoming these terrific new Board members!

We are deeply grateful for the many contributions of outgoing Board members Dan Barritt, Aarti Chandna, Paru Desai, Lisa Jones, and Rick Tinsley. Dan has served as a Grant Round leader and member of the Grantmaking and Impact Investment Review Committee (GIIRC) of the Board. He also has offered his professional expertise in user experience on beyond-the-dollars projects for Grantee Community Partners, and in helping to identify and design SV2’s internal collaboration platform. Aarti has served as a Grant Round leader and has led SV2’s Impact Investing Working Group for many years, tirelessly sourcing deals, conducting diligence, and serving as a Lead Partner for multiple Investees. Paru’s leadership includes the Get Proximate initiative, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) working group, serving as Grant Round leader and on the GIIRC, hosting multiple social events in her home, and most recently, joining the SV2 staff team on an interim part-time basis to help with new Partner recruitment. She has been a champion of Partner-led efforts at SV2, founding and leading the Social Impact Book Club and piloting a Partner trip to the US South next fall for deep learning about social justice and civil rights. Lisa was an early impact investing leader at SV2 and has served as a Grant Round leader and member of the Board’s Finance Committee. She also led SV2’s DEI working group, crafting our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) training and paving the way for many of the equity commitments in SV2’s current Strategic Plan. Rick has been engaged in SV2’s grantmaking and impact investing work, serving as a Lead Partner for both Grantee and Investee Community Partners. His thoughtful input on the Finance Committee has helped to shape SV2’s fiscal policies.

We appreciate these stellar leaders, and all they have given to the SV2 community during their time on the Board. Thank you!

We’re pleased to report that three SV2 Investees had exits this year, and that SV2 made four additional investments, all with a focus on environment or climate adaptation and mitigation. We benefited from a terrific learning series on Investing in Climate Solutions, led by Partners Jennifer McFarlane, Tony Stayner, and Paul Traina. As we enter our eighth year of impact investing at SV2, we’re poised to continue and deepen our practice together.

Exits
SV2 had three portfolio exits this year: OpenInvest and Nepris were both acquired at significantly increased valuation, returning 8x (OpenInvest) and 6x (Nepris). Village Enterprise’s Development Impact Bond was repaid at the maximum rate, returning 1.3x. 

OpenInvest is a Public Benefit Corporation offering a transparent, values-oriented alternative to traditional investment portfolios. Using technology, OpenInvest tailors investment portfolios according to the specific values of investors to help promote social and environmental good. SV2 invested $50,000 in July 2017, and received an 8x return (71% IRR) in June 2021 when OpenInvest was acquired by J.P. Morgan.

Nepris connects educators and learners with a network of industry  professionals virtually, bringing real-world relevance and career exposure to students. Nepris also provides a skills-based volunteering platform for organizations to engage in education outreach within the future workforce. SV2 invested $25,000 in August 2016, and received a 6x return (42% IRR) in November 2021 when Nepris was acquired by PSG Equity.

Launched in 2017, the Village Enterprise Development Impact Bond (DIB) funded a ‘graduation out of poverty’ program run by the non-profit Village Enterprise, enabling more than 14,000 first-time entrepreneurs, 75 percent of them women, in Kenya and Uganda to start small businesses and form business savings groups. This first ever development impact bond for tackling extreme poverty in Africa exceeded its targets, sustainably improving the livelihoods of 95,000 East Africans. Under the impact bond model, investors (including SV2) provided upfront funding for the work, with ‘outcome payers’ repaying the investment according to the results achieved. Since all agreed targets were met, the outcome payers repaid Village Enterprise the maximum amount. SV2 invested $25,000 in March 2018, and received a 1.3x return (8% IRR) in February 2022 when the outcome payers repaid the loan.

Learning
SV2 Partners Tony Stayner, Jennifer McFarlane, and Paul Traina worked together to plan and lead a six-part learning series on Investing in Climate Solutions. This learning series covered various approaches which investors might consider for personal asset allocation in support of climate solutions, including Public Investments, Real Assets, Venture Capital, and Defensive Strategies. Our guest experts’ slides and recordings of the sessions can be viewed here. 

New Investments
Following the Venture Capital presentation, SV2 Partners considered two climate-focused venture funds and recommended a $50,000 investment in Buoyant Ventures. This is SV2’s second investment in a venture fund and the first in a fund led by a 100% women-owned VC firm. The fund invests in companies offering digital solutions to communities and businesses to mitigate ( i.e., reduce emissions) and adapt (i.e., address the risk to lives and livelihoods today as well as climate justice and equity) to climate change. Buoyant Ventures invests in seed through Series B rounds. Impact is best summarized by the fund’s primary targets, UN SDGs: #13 – Climate Action, #7 – Affordable Clean Energy, #6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, and #12 – Responsible Consumption and Production. Buoyant seeks to invest in and help build high performing diverse teams. 

SV2 made three other investments this year in companies focused on environmental impact. Change:WATER Labs and Sanivation both work on sanitation. Poor sanitation is responsible for a wide range of problems including the spread of disease, diarrheal deaths, and water pollution. Sanitation affects all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Croptix is a smart Ag subscription platform using data and machine learning analytics to help farmers detect and manage fatal diseases in permanent crops to save their farms. This means saving the livelihoods of many farmers, not just for that year, but for several years, as Croptix is dealing with permanent crops.  Early detection also stops the unnecessary use of pesticides. This company’s work is related to SDG 12 ( Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 8 ( Decent work and Economic growth).

As we enter our eighth year of impact investing at SV2, we are poised to continue and deepen our work as we apply lessons learned. We invite you to join us! If you’re new to impact investing, learn more about how it works at SV2 by checking out this overview. The SV2 Impact Investing Working Group meets monthly to discuss prospective impact investment opportunities, hear pitches from social entrepreneurs, and perform due diligence in order to make informed investment decisions on behalf of SV2. All Partners are welcome to begin regularly attending IIWG meetings at any point in the year or are welcome to audit meetings on a drop-in basis. This is a fantastic way to hear from inspiring social entrepreneurs and participate in a hands-on and highly engaged investment process. Please reach out to Jody Chang with questions.