Building Bridges: Collaboration Transforming Our Community

At SVP Vancouver, we believe in the transformative power of collaboration. Our support extends beyond traditional funding; through our unique capacity-building programming, we intentionally facilitate connections that lead to meaningful collaborations, amplifying the reach and effectiveness of organizations across our community. 

These collaborations range from formal programming and peer-to-peer support to external connections with other sectors, demonstrating the diverse ways in which collaborations thrive when facilitated by SVP Vancouver.

As BabyGoRound’s Executive Director, Meghan Neufeld, said during our AGM panel: if all funders funded like SVP Vancouver does, we could rethink the competitive impulses of our sector and imagine what we could achieve together.

At SVP Vancouver, collaboration isn’t just about what our funding enables—it’s our Ties: the relationships and networks we cultivate, the bridges we build between organizations, and the collective impact we achieve. We invite our community to join us in celebrating the power of collaboration and its many forms reflected in the examples below.

Examples of Collaborative Success

Recent Program Partnerships

Several organizations in our community have worked together on formal projects since being introduced through someone at SVP Vancouver or at one of our many events. Partnerships like the Surrey Shapers: Public Space project between CityHive and Umoja, which you may have read about in our Annual Report, showcase how having people in the same room can lead to transformative programs. 

“The connection with Umoja allowed us to build our capacity in growing partnership models, and taught us how to do programming for newcomers. This led to new funding! We’ve since received two grants from the city to do collaborative programming this year.” – Rowan Gentleman-Sylvester, Executive Director, CityHive

LDS, Learn, Develop. Succeed. and New Westminster Family Place (NWFP) connected at an SVP Vancouver event and realized the work LDS does in the community would be very helpful at NWFP. Two of their program leaders worked together to bring LDS to NWFP to provide early learning differences screening and intervention initiatives in the near future.

Time to Network

Our funding model explicitly integrates opportunities to expand networks, recognizing that these connections can be transformative. This Game-Changing Giving not only provides financial support, but also facilitates collaborations that fuel innovation and progress. By filling critical gaps and offering resources beyond monetary donations, we foster a community where organizations can connect, share expertise, and grow together. 

At A:lmélháwtxw, Stó:lō Service Agency’s Early Education Centre, Monique Belanger has been working with SVP Vancouver’s Social Impact and Strategy Coach, Karen Gelb, throughout the first six months of their micro-grant. Alongside impact reporting work, they mapped out how to pursue further partnerships and tie them in. Our support helped make space for Monique to attend conferences and focus on network growth. Strong connections have been fostered with the University of the Fraser Valley, to work towards formalizing this innovative mentorship program for youth pursuing careers in early childhood education into their Dual Credit program. This type of network growth is essential for budding programs.

Informal Networks, Lasting Impact

Our work not only supports organizations as they form formal collaborations, but also cultivates a community where great things grow organically from shared knowledge and common challenges. Informal collaborations emerge regularly within our cohorts, where overlapping interests foster unexpected partnerships. 

Organizations regularly face challenges that their peers may be able to help with. Our Director of Community Capacity, Selma van Halder, works to build relationships with everyone, in order to be able to make thoughtful connections between folks.

Last year, we saw SVP Vancouver’s Ties in action through peer- to-peer connection between the Deaf Children’s Society of B.C. (DCS) and Blind Beginnings. DCS was looking to make the shift to a co-leadership model, so SVP Vancouver connected them to Blind Beginnings, who has seen great success with this approach. You can read more about this connection in our Annual Report.

More recently, a peer-to-peer fundraising connection between West Coast Kids Cancer Foundation (WCK) and New Westminster Family Place even led to a WCK staff member now joining the NWFP Board of Directors.

Creating Space for Connection

SVP Vancouver’s capacity-building programming includes sharing resources and facilitating mutual support to uplift organizations beyond their individual efforts. Whether it’s facilitating leadership lunches to encourage networking or housing a shared Google Resource Drive, we actively create spaces where partnerships flourish and collective goals are achieved. 

In this sector, we find ourselves facing similar challenges, so tackling them together makes sense: at a recent SVP-facilitated working group about real estate, we welcomed Derek Lee, SVP Partner & President at Prospero International Realty Inc., who has 30 years of real estate expertise to share his Talent with our community. Ten different organizations connected on their shared struggle to find suitable office, storage, and programming space. Many tips and tricks were shared, and connections were made in order to join forces to navigate the market. If you missed it, the notes can be found on the Investee and Alumni Resource Drive, here.

Looking Ahead: Nurturing Collaborative Momentum

As we reflect on the impact of collaborative initiatives within our community, we remain committed to fostering both internal and external partnerships. The examples discussed here show how relationship building isn’t just a strategy, but rather a fundamental approach to creating sustainable change. By nurturing these connections and celebrating the successes they bring, we ensure that our community grows stronger together.