Home"The AZ Insider" with Kathy Shayna Shocket › AZ Insider: Social Venture Partners AZ Scoring Home Runs
 
 
 

Kathy Shayna Shocket reports on the people who make a difference, 

 FP2017 recipient

Social Venture Partners Arizona keeps scoring a home run for charitable causes in Arizona. On the heels of the organization's Fast Pitch annual event -comes the success of its new program, Next Gen Partners which recently awarded its Inaugural Grants. 

The Fast Pitch was a record breaking night. About 720 business and community leaders gathered to watch sevent nonprofits, an ASU student and a for-profit entrepreneur with a social mission, competing for cash awards and grants. And it's all live. 

(Pictured above with finalist Stephen Sparks are  SVP Fast Pitch Program Mentors Michael Zirulnik, of ASUScott Salkin of Allbound, Patrick Armstrong, SVPAZ Board Chairman and Terri Calderón, SVPAZ Executive Director. )

And it’s all live! Finalists were asked, “How can you change the world in three minutes?” The event boasted a record attendance, sponsorship, number of awards given, and total dollar amount raised.

The nine finalists are tackling some of the most critical problems in the community. The top $25,000 SVP Innovator Award was presented to Labor’s Community Service Agency and Stephen Sparks, who was chosen by a panel of Partners from the SVPAZ network for the innovation and repeatability of the Shift Program. Stephen and LCSA also receive three years of SVPAZ Partner time and talent to support capacity building.

Through Social Ventures and its community partners’ donations, $61,000 in grants were awarded to non-profits that impact everyone.

next- gen- social venture

(Pictured above are Maggie Zehring, deputy director of Arizona Education Foundation, Phoebe Wells, Josh Smith and Evan Peck. )

The Next Gen Partners new program provides middle and high schoolers with a hands-on curriculum in fundraising, volunteering and grant-making. The students first raised $4K and have continuted through the grant-making cycle. Most recently, they awarded two grants to organizations focused on education and technology. The finalist, AZ Strut, received $,2000. 

Congratulations to SVP Arizona - which cultivates effective philanthropists, strengthens nonprofits, and invests in collaborative solutions – building powerful relationships to tackle our desert community’s social challenges.

     kathy shayna shocket copy    Kathy Shayna Shocket is a freelance Writer and TV- Field Producer based in Phoenix, AZ. The former TV-Reporter has written for publications such as TIME Magazine, Money Magazine, PEOPLE Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and The NEW YORK TIMES. You can reach her at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it