WHO WE ARE
We are people for whom improving our community is part of our life’s journey – whether we work in the nonprofit or corporate world.
We are volunteers, parents, community leaders, philanthropists, entrepreneurs – a global network of local partners connecting passion and purpose. We see the chasm between the challenges we face today as a society, and the scale at which we are engaging those challenges.
HISTORY
With more than 3400 individual partners from Boston to Bangalore, Social Venture Partners Connecticut is part of the world's largest network of engaged donors. SVP-CT was established in 2013 by 12 founding partners as a Field of Interest Fund of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. SVP-CT makes grants to nonprofit organizations and provides volunteer capacity building services to its nonprofit partners. The first nonprofit community partner was iiConn (now known as CIRI). By 2016, SVP-CT had grown to 50 SVP partners funding five nonprofit organizations, hired an Executive Director and honed its focus on closing the opportunity gap in Connecticut. In 2017, we deepened our consulting services to nonprofit partners to help them achieve their strategic goals. In order to ensure high quality and consistency in the delivery of our volunteer consulting services, we added two professional consultants to coach, train, and support our volunteers. In 2019 we added a second investment fund at the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven.
In 2020, SVP-CT reached several milestones. On July 1, we became an independent corporate entity recognized by the IRS as a tax exempt public charity; established a new Race Equity Fund; and supported the development of 4-CT, a new nonprofit organized to address the COVID pandemic on a statewide basis. We also released a new strategic plan that places systems change and race equity at the core of our work. In this context, we are focusing heavily on workforce development and early childhood care and education in order to eliminate the racial and socio-economic opportunity gap in Connecticut.
A GLOBAL NETWORK
Our Partners are part of a 3500+ global network of philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and change-makers located in over 40 cities around the world including the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, China, India, and the United Kingdom. They share common ideals, similar struggles, and can tap into a wealth of experience and knowledge through cross-city forums and SVP’s annual conference.
MEET OUR BOARD
Althea is the Executive Director of the state's first Cradle to Career Initiative - Waterbury Bridge to Success Community Partnership. Using a collective impact approach with an equity lens, Bridge to Success collaborates with over 90 community partners including Waterbury Public Schools, businesses, local public and private organizations that are passionate about creating opportunities for local youth to ensure they succeed in school, career and life.
ALTHEA BROOKS
MEET OUR STAFF
Mark Argosh has been an SVP Partner since 2014 and has served as Executive Director since December 2016. Since 2016, SVP has tripled in size to almost 200 members, while its nonprofit and government consulting portfolio has grown from two to 18 organizations. As Executive Director, Mark oversees the daily management of SVP to engage Partners, recruit new Partners, and maximize the impact of SVP’s work to close the opportunity gap. In addition, he serves as the Chair of the Governor’s Workforce Council and serves as an advisor to many of SVP’s projects with nonprofit organizations and initiatives.
Prior to his role with SVP, Mark worked for more than thirty years as a boardroom consultant and operating executive in the financial sector. He began his career in the nonprofit sector as a community organizer and executive director of two grassroots community organizations focused on community revitalization and economic development in low and moderate-income communities in the Midwest. Mark did his undergraduate work at Brown University and received his MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
MARK ARGOSH
Executive Director
OUR PARTNERS
We call our member donors “Partners” because they’re so much more than individuals who write checks. SVP Partners are engaged in their giving, and get involved beyond the checkbook.
SVP Connecticut started with 9 founding Partners and we’ve been growing ever since. Our Partners, current and retired professionals, are drawn from varied industries and sectors including banking and finance, energy, nonprofit, tech, and management consulting.
We are truly fortunate to have so many generous individuals living in our area who are committed to being a catalyst for closing the opportunity gap in our state. Some of our Partners are extensively experienced in philanthropy while others are just starting out and eager to learn from others in the group.
Every story is different, but each is fueled by a series of connections. That’s the beauty of the SVP network. You never know who will take your impact to the next level.
