Give BIG Together! 

2009 Social Venture Partners Conference

 October 22 - 24, 2009

The Fairmont Dallas Hotel

Dallas, Texas

You don't want to miss the 2009 conference in Dallas, Texas - We know about big! 

So, get ready to pull on your cowboy boots and head down to Texas to exchange ideas and innvoations with partners from all over the network!

Presented by SVPI and hosted by Dallas SVP, the 2009 conference will offer a variety of opportunities for you to gain new ideas from partners around the network through peer exchanges focused on topics that are top of mind in the network today.

Register Today: 

Stay at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel:  Ask for the "Social Venture Partners" group rate of $179 when reserving your room at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel. Call 214.720.5290 or 800.441.1414 to book your room today.

Topics on tap include: Keys to a Sustainable SVP * Successful Approaches to Community Challenges * Assisting Nonprofits in the Current Economic Climate * Collaborations and Cofunding Strategies * SVP and Web 2.0 * SVP's Potential Role in Sector-Wide Initiatives * Measuring Outcomes * Click here to view the full agenda.

Keynote Speakers

Andy Goodman, author of Storytelling as Best Practice

If you work for or with a nonprofit, you're on a mission. Andy is too! His is to give you specific tips, tools and insights you need to tell your organization's story and to tell it well. Currently conducting a storytelling webinar with SVP Seattle, Goodman manages a communications consulting firm that helps public interest groups, foundations, and progressive businesses reach more people more effectively. Selected by Al Gore to train 1,000 volunteers to present “An Inconvenient Truth” and the climate change story, Goodman is a highly recognized author, speaker and consultant in the field of public interest. Learn more about Andy.

Melinda T. Tuan, thought leader in High Engagement Philanthropy

Melinda is an independent consultant who works with the senior leadership of philanthropic organizations to research and create content regarding strategies for thoughtful and effective philanthropy. Melinda currently serves as a Consultant to the Impact Planning and Improvement division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She recently completed terms as a Senior Fellow with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and a Special Advisor to Bridgestar/The Bridgespan Group. Other recent clients include Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and the Eagles Youth Partnership, the philanthropic arm of the Philadelphia Eagles Football Team.

Previously, Melinda co-founded and managed REDF (formerly The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund) with Jed Emerson and George Roberts of KKR. REDF is a social venture capital fund that works with a portfolio of nonprofit organizations employing formerly homeless and low-income individuals in market-based business ventures. While at REDF, Melinda invested in a portfolio of fifteen nonprofit organizations running over thirty different businesses employing over 2,000 formerly homeless and low-income individuals over a seven-year period. In addition, she coordinated the design and development process for REDF’s social return on investment (SROI) framework and ongoing assessment of social impacts (OASIS).

Prior to REDF, Melinda was a manager at a national healthcare nonprofit and a management consultant specializing in growth strategies for Fortune 500 companies. Melinda has volunteered with numerous community-based organizations in Honolulu, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area that serve homeless and very low-income populations. Additionally, she co-founded Boston Cares, a nonprofit volunteer service organization, and was involved in the start-up of a social-mission driven company called Dayspring Technologies in San Francisco.

Melinda is recognized nationally for her work in high engagement philanthropy, foundation effectiveness, evaluation, nonprofit capacity-building, and social enterprise. She has lectured at leading business schools in the country including Stanford and Wharton, and published articles, business school cases, and a book chapter entitled “Cultivating a Culture of Measurement” in Funding Effectiveness by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. Melinda currently serves on the Board of Managers for Evergreen Lodge, a social-purpose destination resort located just outside Yosemite National Park, and the Advisory Council for REDF.

Melinda graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude with an AB in Social Studies focusing on urban poverty and homelessness and she holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She resides in Narberth, Pennsylvania with her husband and three children.

Hosts and Sponsors

The SVP 2009 Conference is hosted by Dallas Social Venture Partners. Since 2000, DSVP partners have been interested in helping at-risk children and supporting innovations in education. DSVP's portfolio represents a diverse group of agencies that serve children and improve education in North Texas. Learn more about how DSVP partners are making a difference in their community.

Special thanks to Foundation Source for sponsoring this year's annual conference. Foundation Source is a leading provider of outsourced support services for new and existing private foundations in the United States. Services include administration, compliance monitoring, federal and state filings, grants management and much more. Click here to learn more.