Krystyna Williamson, Alan Sorkin, Paul Shoemaker and Andy Williamson share the spotlight with stellar achievers Rick Acosta of SVP Denver and Hideyuki Inoue of SVP Tokyo who are the 2011 Paul Shoemaker Leadership Award recipients.

The Paul Shoemaker Leadership Award is presented annually to the Social Venture Partner who has demonstrated consistent commitment to strengthening the SVP network and to the SVP model of engaged philanthropy, and through this, to his or her community.

It is named in honor of Paul Shoemaker, the founding Executive Director of SVP Seattle, and the founding President of SVPI – a man who embodies this commitment to Social Venture Partners, the network, and his community.

The recipient of the award is committed to Social Venture Partners’ shared principles:
1. Engaged Venture Philanthropy
2. Entrepreneurial Spirit
3. Philanthropic Education
4. Community & Collaborative Action
5. Mutual Respect
6. Accountability & Results

This year, two people were selected by the committee. On behalf of the SVPI board and the Social Venture Partners network, we’re delighted to announce the 2011 Paul Shoemaker Leadership Award to Rick Acosta of SVP Denver and Hideyuki Inoue of SVP Tokyo.

Rick Acosta

The way Rick tells the story, he was seeking a way to impact the local community after September 11th and someone suggested he learn about SVP.   He was first introduced – and hooked – to SVP in Denver at their Annual Meeting in 2001. The rest is history.

Over the past decade Rick Acosta’s myriad contributions to SVP Denver and the international network is impressive. He has held multiple leadership positions within the SVP network, including partner, Lead Partner, SVPI board member, SVP Denver board member, Interim Executive Director, and bass player in Limited Capacity, the SVP band. He has been committed to the mission of this network and has never questioned his potential and his ability to make an impact.

Rick is a top recruiter, who is able to attract people whose interests align with the values of SVP. He’s also often instrumental in strengthening relationships between SVP Denver and its investees, as well as the Denver Foundation.

Rick’s style is a combination of “New York minute” efficiency and friendly team-playing colleague. He opens doors, follows up, and always represents SVP Denver with extreme professionalism and care. He is funny, sincere, and personable, and embodies the true spirit of SVP. As one fan described Rick, “I  have been truly inspired by Rick’s character, knowledge, skill, integrity, dedication of purpose, selflessness, and unyielding sense of humor.

Even when his board term at SVP Denver was up, Rick has been the partner that the board could rely on for anything. If there was an idea and they needed to run it by someone – they called Acosta. If they needed a partner to fill in on a project – they called Acosta. If they needed someone to serve on a committee, lead an initiative, make a call….they called Acosta. If they needed a partner to talk with a business, a prospect, or potential vendor…they called Acosta.

Rick will continue to leave a positive fingerprint on SVP both locally and internationally. His commitment isn’t trivial; it is not out of obligation. He is a humble leader, reflecting the traits that SVP seeks to enhance: a dedication to community, focus on sustainability, impeccable ethics and a collaborative style.

Hideyuki Inoue

After visiting Seattle multiple times, including a six-month internship during which he studied the model deeply, Hideyuki Inoue launched SVP Tokyo in 2003 as the first SVP outside North America and led SVP Tokyo as President until recently. Over the years he has demonstrated truly exceptional leadership and engagement with care and insight. Hide was confident the SVP model would succeed in Japan; however, the goal was visionary and challenging in context. When he started SVP Tokyo, the words philanthropy and social entrepreneur were hardly known in Japan, let alone venture philanthropy – the annual average donation per capita is only about 70 US dollars. Under his guidance, SVP Tokyo has grown rapidly since 2003 to more than 150 Partners serving 15 Investees so far. 

He has been an extraordinary ambassador for Social Venture Partners.  Tokyo’s success has made it a model for engaged philanthropy in Asia: as its leader, Hide is constantly called upon to share his insights and experience with individuals and organizations seeking to learn from, replicate and adapt the model for their own communities. Within his own country, he is acknowledged as a visionary leader, who has boosted understanding and appreciation of the role of the nonprofit sector and the role it plays within Japanese society.  His efforts were acknowledged in 2009, when he was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Hide never compromises the quality of his work for SVP. He is an active listener, who draws out each Partner’s insights with respect. He values fun, creating a sociable, relaxing atmosphere with great humor even during serious discussions. Hide’s commitment has had a tremendous impact on partners and investees, and contributed to their consistent growth as engaged philanthropists and innovative problem solvers.

We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge Hide’s immediate and strong leadership around the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March of this year.  Not one day passed before SVP partners in Tokyo mobilized philanthropic support. They brilliantly identified organizations with whom to partner for both short-term emergency relief and longer-term community re-building initiatives in the worst affected communities, again bringing the entrepreneurial spirit to vulnerable individuals and communities. 

One partner, who started as the attorney for SVP Tokyo, had this to say: “It was my first experience asking my client to let me terminate the attorney-client relationship so that I could become a member of the client organization without any conflict concern. Hide did heavy lifting for SVP, attracting the most partners and he cared, cried, laughed, cheered and devoted himself to SVP. I believe leaders are leaders not because of the titles they wear, but because of what they have done.”

Congratulations Rick and Hide!