SVP DE partners share a dual mission.  We seek to catalyze significant, long-term positive social change in our community by:

• Investing time, expertise, and money in innovative nonprofits to strengthen these organizations.
• Educating individuals to be well informed, effective, and engaged philanthropists.

At SVP DE, we value the power of early education. Early education centers are often young and imperfect organizations themselves. We understand this, and are willing to support their growth and development. We work with them to build long-term capacity, rather than funding short-term projects or programs.

Our capacity-building investment model includes multi-year cash grants and customized consulting teams who work with the nonprofits to help them achieve their goals. SVP DE partners provide support in areas including marketing, finance, technology, strategic planning, and human resources management. We set specific goals and track progress, knowing that we can all learn from our experiences and continuously improve the results that we produce for the community. This "venture philanthropy" model is key to helping our investees achieve results that are not merely measurable…they are remarkable.

The other half of the SVP DE model is to expand the community of philanthropists in Delaware and to deepen their commitment to addressing the challenges of early childhood education in our state. Through engagement with investees (grant recipients), collaboration with other SVP DE partners, and participation in educational events, our partners become more informed, committed philanthropists, often expanding their personal philanthropic contributions and activities to new levels.

SVP DE is part of SVP International, a global network of SVP affiliates who replicate the venture philanthropy model in their own communities. SVP was founded in 1997 in Seattle by a group of technology industry leaders.Their vision was a philanthropic community that borrowed from venture capital practices and made highly engaged investments of money, resources and business expertise in local nonprofits, with the aim of developing those organizations' capacity and sustainability.

As of 2009, there are 25 Social Venture Partners organizations and more than 2,000 partners in the USA, Canada and Japan, who have contributed over $32.2 million in grants and countless hours of strategic volunteering to more than 335 nonprofit organizations.

• engaged venture philanthropy. Partners invest time, expertise and money in nonprofits. They seek collaborative relationships with nonprofits that last for at least three years.
• entrepreneurial spirit. Partners use innovative approaches to achieve leveraged results in their nonprofit partnerships and communities. They delegate decisions, resources, and authority to those closest to the work.
• philanthropic education.  Partners educate themselves and become informed, effective, lifetime philanthropists. Ongoing individual philanthropy is catalyzed through hands-on experience and education.
• community & collaborative action. Partners believe in the power of collective, self-organized effort. They encourage and maintain highly participatory, partner-driven organizations that use non-hierarchical communications and operating practices. SVPs support an open exchange of knowledge and lessons learned, and avoid partisan, religious or political activities.
• mutual respect. Partners respect the expertise of community nonprofit organizations. They form close working relationships with organizations where Social Venture Partners are mutually vested in the nonprofit's success.
• accountability & results. Partners are mutually accountable to each other, their investees and community. They achieve and document measurable results, both in their own work and through their nonprofit partnerships.