August Newsletter

Happy August,

Note from the Board Chair

This Saturday I drove through a full-on snowstorm to attend an outdoor wedding in Keystone (there was a tent, but it was chilly!). Thinking about winter, I realized that my tenure as SVP Denver board chair is nearly over. I get another year on the board thanks to being chair emeritus, but I confess being "emeritus" anything seems a bit odd!

At the beginning of another school year and another cycle at SVP, my message is simple: If you have ever thought about serving on a board, nominate yourself (or have me nominate you!) for one of the board vacancies coming up with SVP Denver this fall. You will have the chance to make a difference in our community, and be part of the evolving story of SVP. Being on SVP's board is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. Come join me in 2009!

-Dale Tomrdle


Upcoming Events

August Events
Wednesday, August 27th
Encore Performance of Throwaway/Runaway
Minsuk Cho's Air Forest Pavilion
Behind the Denver Museum of Nature and Science City Park
6 pm
ArtLab students will perform an encore performance of their powerful original play addressing youth homelessness "Throwaway/Runaway."

September Events
Monday, September 8th
Collaborative program with Tier 1 Arts Organizations
DCPA, Sewall Ballroom
5:30 pm
Speaker: Ben Cameron, Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Thursday, September 18th
Donor Seminar - Family Philanthropy
Four Mile Historic Park
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Speaker: Nathan Dugan, founder and President of Share.Save.Spend.

October Events
SAVE THE DATE
Tuesday, October 14th
SVP Denver Annual Meeting
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Please join the SVP board of directors and the grantmaking team in a celebration of SVP's successes over the past year. More details to follow but please SAVE THE DATE.

Wednesday, October 15th
Fall Tribute to Philanthropy
Denver Zoo
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
A celebration of The Denver Foundation's donors. This event features a presentation of the Brad Butler awards

SVP Events


Committee Updates

Grantmaking Committee (GMC) - Gina Ferrari & Dave Ryan, Co-Chairs
The Grantmaking Committee is currently reviewing the following ten grant proposals: America SCORES Denver, CampFire USA - Central Rockies, cityWILD, Colorado Youth at Risk, The Conflict Center, FrontRange EarthForce, Medical Career Collaborative, Summer Scholars, Thorne Ecological Institute and The YESS Institute.

Thursday, September 4th 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm, The Denver Foundation Offices

We look forward to sharing updates with you throughout the year. If you have any questions about the work of the committe please do not hestiate to contact Dave or Gina.

News


Volunteer Opportunities
Looking to engage with an SVP grantee? Below are the descriptions of each of SVP Denver's 4 grantees along with their immediate needs. If you do not see an opportunity below that interests you please contact one of the Lead Partners at the organization that you are interested in working with or contact Lisa Fasolo Frishman to discuss available options.

Environmental Learning for Kids
SVP Denver Lead Partners:
Aaron Frishman and Sara Jo Light

Agency Overview:
The formation of ELK arose from the realization of the necessity for positive action, encouragement, and support to develop responsible values and behavior in today's youth.The ELK staff has over 18 years of combined working experience with urban youth. The students must make a yearlong commitment to participate in the program as a volunteer. Students who have been involved for one year and exhibit enthusiasm and leadership are invited to become a Youth Mentor in order to provide peer support to new and continuing students.This active participation will help thescomplete exposure possible to their natural environment. On each activity there is always a trained, professional wildlife and/or aquatic biologist to ensure that we are providing quality and accurate information to our students. With the outdoors as their classroom, students will come to know and understand themselves, establish new goals, and explore natural resources in Colorado. Students create slide shows of activities and practice public speaking when presenting to youth groups and neighborhood associations. Also, they are encouraged to express their experiences through journals and photographic scrapbooks.

Volunteer Opportunities Include:
Please call Lisa for available volunteer opportunities.
OpenWorld Learning
SVP Denver Lead Partners
Todd Kilkenny and Kirsten Castleman

Agency Overview:
OpenWorld Learning serves elementary school children in grades 3 through 5, in eight high-poverty Denver-area public schools. The program is offered four days a week, three hours a day, after school, and throughout the summer. The program includes a snack, 30 minutes of vigorous physical exercise, 90 minutes of computer project time, and half an hour of homework and writing support. OpenWorld Learning students learn teamwork, leadership, and advanced computer skills, including animation, Internet research, multi-media presentation, and computer programming. Students learn these skills by designing multi-media presentations and interactive software around topics of personal interest. In the course of mastering OpenWorld Learning's creative and challenging curriculum, students also strengthen their reading, writing, and math skills.

Leading each OpenWorld Learning site is a team of 3 paid teachers and 6-8 student leaders who teach advanced computer skills to their peers. OpenWorld Learning chooses student leaders who exemplify a love of learning, creativity, hard work, and a passion for helping others. Peer teaching develops children’s teamwork and leadership ability and creates a powerful and positive peer culture. The peer teaching model takes advantage of children’s natural ability with computers, is a cost-effective way to reduce teacher/student rations and allows each child to receive individually guided support. Seventy percent of the teaching power in OpenWorld Learning Labs comes from 9 and 10 year olds.

Volunteer Opportunities Include:
Currently all positions have been filled. If you have an interest in volunteering with OpenWorld Learning please call or email the Lead Partners to learn about upcoming projects.

PlatteForum
SVP Denver Lead Partners
Kimberly Coughlon

Agency Overview:
PlatteForum is an innovative art center in downtown Denver that introduces under-served youth to the world of art. The program gives small groups of under-served youth a chance to participate in intensive workshops Learning Labs led by master artists Creative Residents. Each creative endeavor culminates in the completion of a finished work that is presented to the public in exhibitions and performances, complete with an opening reception at PlatteForum. Throughout the process, the public is invited to drop in and watch the work take form. The PlatteForum approach, pairing youth learning labs with a creative residency program, makes a unique and valuable contribution to the city's cultural discourse while fostering personal growth. PlatteForum was founded in the autumn of 2002 as a response to the critical need for education in the arts for public schools and at-risk youth. PlatteForum was named "Best Gallery for Kids" in Westword's "Best of Denver 2004", and received the 2006 Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. PlatteForum has collaborated with over 60 non-profit and educational organizations whose mission is arts and education. Each year PlatteForum brings more than 5,000 under-served children, their families, and the general public to our studios - to work in small groups with professional, practicing artists, to experience the arts process, and to exhibit their works in our Lower Downtown, eclectic setting. Children and teens at PlatteForum build relationships with their mentors - while they create and implement a tangible project from beginning to end. This project culminates in a performance or exhibition to the public, bringing an incredible sense of accomplishment to youth.

Volunteer Opportunities Include:
All SVP capacity building volunteer positions have been filled. If you are interested in getting involved with PlatteForum please contact Kimberly to talk about upcoming opportunities.

Young Philanthropists Foundation
SVP Denver Lead Partners:
Mary Miller and Rebecca Riff

Agency Overview:
The Young Philanthropists Foundation (YPF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging youth in philanthropy by creating opportunities for kids and families to give back to their community. YPF believes that philanthropy is anything you do to make the world a better place, and base their programming on a simple philosophy: "if you give kids the opportunity to make a difference now, they will continue to make a difference the rest of their lives."

The Mission:
The Young Philanthropists Foundation fosters philanthropic practices from a young age by creating hands-on opportunities for Colorado’s youth to participate in the philanthropic process.

The Vision:
We envision being a centralized resource on youth philanthropy for the state of Colorado and the region, offering a variety of programs to support our mission.

Volunteer Opportunities Include:
1. Introducing Young Philanthropists to local schools
2. Sit on the event planning committee to help with a fundraising event that will take place this June
3. Fundraising training
4. Assist with a fund development plan
5. Board development, composition, committee structure, and roles and responsibilities
Get Involved


Invest in the Best to Make an Impact
By Sean Stannard-Stockton

Giving money to charity does not necessarily make the world a better place. Nevertheless, most donors believe that donating qualifies as “doing good”. In fact, the gift of money is only the first step in a chain of events that might achieve the elusive goal of creating social impact.

Click on the headline to read the full article.


Join PlatteForum for the premier of ArtLab Democracy in Film Reception
DENVER - ArtLab youth have spent part of the summer creating short films exploring democracy which will be submitted to Cinemocracy Film Festival. The culmination of the student's work has resulted in films addressing the pessimistic and optimistic views of democracy in the United States. Join us on August 13th at 5:30 pm at the Starz Film Center to for film premieres, reception and Q&A with the student film makers. Thanks to Laura Mirage and RedLine for hosting Summer ArtLab! Stay tuned for more information.

Click on the headline to be directed to Platteforum's ArtLab.


When it hurts to give: Charities brace as stumbling economy shadows budgets, donor lists
By Vinnie Tong THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK— Charities are bracing for a decline in donations as the faltering economy takes its toll on pocketbooks nationwide.
Nonprofit leaders are fretting over donor lists to figure out how they will find the money to run educational programs, deliver food to the needy and pay basic expenses such as health care and mileage reimbursements for employees. Many are creating alternate budgets to account for a lower level of donations they expect this year.

Click on the headline to read full article.


OpenWorld Learning - The Results are in!
DENVER - OpenWorld Learning is excited to report the outstanding results from our evaluation of our programs during the 2007-2008 school year. We've had success with student homework completion and classroom behavior in addition to positive indicators on CSAP scores and social-emotional measures.

Click on the headline to read more.


Corporate Social Irresponsibility
by Leo Hindery Jr. and Curt Weeden BUSINESSWEEK

When companies forsake their broadly defined social responsibilities or use spin to construct a deliberately overinflated image of their corporate citizenship, the end result is a private sector and a civil society out of balance.

Too prevalent today are heavily promoted, self-generated snippets designed to show how businesses are meeting their obligations to society. Paid advertisements that wave banners about how companies address global warming, curb health-care costs, or improve public education often are smoke screens to hide a troubling trend: the significant falloff in corporate charitable contributions.

Click on the headline to read full article.


Hands-on corporate philanthropy
Corporate philanthropy is a well-established tradition in Canada. Thousands of companies donate money, goods and professional services to non-profit agencies. Face-to-face giving is still rare. Only a few businesses open their doors to the people they're trying to help. General Electric did that one recent Friday.

Click on the headline to read full article.


ArtLab Seeking High School Applicants
Application Deadline: September 1, 2008 Apply Now

ArtLab, a collaboration between PlatteForum and Labyrinths Art Academy, is an after school program for underserved high school students that focuses on the development of creative, academic and workforce skills. ArtLab students work side-by-side with master artists to create and present new work in an atmosphere that fosters creativity, diversity, competence, trust and teamwork. This is an intensive year-round internship and apprentice program. During each academic semester students receive a $150 stipend. Students who successfully complete at least one academic semester are eligible to apply for a paid summer internship (20 hours/week).

During the Fall, students will work with PlatteForum Creative Resident, Gail Watson (artist books) exploring relationships with the dominant culture, culminating with an opening show on October 16, 2008. The second half of the semester students explore issues in theatre and media arts, attending performances at the DCPA, Curious Theatre, Starz FilmCenter and other cultural venues.

ArtLab students will have the opportunity to meet and work with professional artists, community & cultural leaders and gain valuable skills opening new doors for each youth. Because of the intensive nature of this program it is open to a small number of youth.

Who should apply?

* Students in the 10th - 12th grades
* Students who enjoy working as a team
* Students who aren't afraid of taking on challenges in a supportive environment
* Students in need of an outlet for expressing themselves
* Students who are willing to risks and commit to a project
* Students interested in creating and performing
* Students do NOT need to have an art or theatre background

Questions? call us at 303.893.0791 or email: meagan@platteforum.org

ArtLab is supported in part by: Colorado Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Riverfront Park Community Foundation, Denver Foundation, Social Venture Partners-Denver, SCFD Tier III, St. Mary Land & Exploration, Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation, Vectra Bank, and Friends of PlatteForum. Join them in supporting our programs.

PlatteForum
1610 Little Raven St. #135
Denver, CO 80202
303.893.0791
www.platteforum.org


CCC Report Shows Alarming Increase in Child Poverty
The Colorado Children’s Campaign released a startling report this week showing that Colorado has the fastest growing child poverty rate in the country. These findings confirm similar research released last fall by the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute (COFPI) that showed Colorado was the only state in the country that had a significant increase in child poverty. COFPI data cited in the Children’s Campaign report was referenced in both the Denver Post and the New York Times.

Colorado Children's Campaign Press Release:
http://www.coloradokids.org/includes/downloads/08kidscountnewsrelease200...
White Paper- Childhood Poverty in Colorado:
http://www.coloradokids.org/includes/downloads/kidscountwhitepaper6.9.08...
KidsCount 2008 Data Book:
http://www.coloradokids.org/facts/kids_count/publications.html

Click on the headline to read more.