PSVP

Education Framework

Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners (PSVP) embraces the idea that educating individuals to be well informed, effective and engaged philanthropists is just as important as making grants. Therefore, our Partner Education Programs provide opportunities for both learning and networking to strengthen PSVP’s expertise and sense of community. Additionally, a goal is to catalyze ongoing individual philanthropy through hands-on experience and education. Without question, a tighter knit, better-educated network of engaged philanthropists and volunteers has greater capacity and energy to achieve positive social change.

The events will be geared to educate and inspire Partners in three different “tracks” of philanthropy – personal & family philanthropy, Investees & community, and Prevention of child abuse & neglect. Each topic / speaker will be assigned to a “track” and then a “subtrack” – Building Blocks, Taking Action, or Inspiration – to help you prioritize your learning. Where certain events are particularly suited for our Grant Committee or Volunteer Team members, this will be noted, but it is important to note that every event will be open to all Partners. We encourage you to attend as many events as you can fit on your calendar, and we welcome your guests and Partner prospects! We also invite your feedback and suggestions for topics and/or speakers at any time.

As our funding focus has evolved to “Prevention of child abuse and neglect in Allegheny County”, we will gear approximately 25% of the events to this topic for the year ahead. In addition to PSVP events, we will identify other related events and resources that complement the PSVP education program – these will be communicated primarily via the PSVP web-site and/or email as we hear about them. Examples include programs offered by organizations such as Grantmakers of Western PA, Duquesne University’s Nonprofit Leadership Institute, The Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University, The Forbes Funds, and The Foundation Center.

For all events, we will ask that you RSVP at least one week in advance (an email address will be provided) in order to assist with the logistics. Depending on the venue, some events may have to be limited to “first come, first serve” and some may have a cost, which will be communicated with any announcement.

How the Framework Works

PSVP has adopted the following ‘tracks’ that will help partners identify and choose the events that best fit their interests.

• Personal & Family Philanthropy
• Issues Facing At-Risk Youth
• What We Do and How We Work
• Integration & Retention

See our events calendar to review past or future education opportunities.