Silicon Valley Social Venture Capital

What Silicon Valley Social Venture Capital does

Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1998 and headquartered at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits in Redwood City, California. SV2 operates as a community of individual Donor Partners whose pooled annual contributions (recommended at $10,000 per household, ranging from $4,000 to $20,000+) fund equity-centered grantmaking, early-stage impact investing, and immersive learning programs. The organization deploys unrestricted multi-year grants (up to $150,000 per year for three years) to Bay Area nonprofits operating in San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and Alameda counties, and makes pre-seed and seed investments of $25,000-$50,000 in social enterprises. Since 1998, SV2 has invested over $5 million in more than 200 social ventures and currently supports 46 grantees and investees.

SV2's core programs include Classic Grant Rounds (multi-year unrestricted grants) and Lightning Grant Rounds (one-time grants of $20,000-$50,000), an Impact Investing Program with monthly pitch meetings and diligence teams, an Immersive Learning curriculum delivered at three dosage levels (101, 201, 301) with multi-day trips in California and the U.S. South, a three-year Community Initiative partnership (currently with Redwood City Together at $500,000 over three years), and "Beyond the Dollars" capacity-building support. Donor engagement is coordinated through the my.sv2 community platform built and managed by Socious, Inc., which supports Partner forums, event planning, informational resources, and a membership directory. Payment processing is handled through Stripe and PayPal integrations on the sv2.org donation pages.

SV2's revenue model is threefold: recurring annual Donor Partner contributions (the primary stream), general public donations, and recycled returns from impact investments that cycle capital back into the mission. The organization employs six full-time staff members, including CEO David Onek (formerly Program Director at Spirit Rock Meditation Center), Chief Program & Advancement Officer Linda Prieto, and Director of Impact Investing Suhani Mohan. Marketing is conducted primarily through the sv2.org website, an email newsletter, a LinkedIn presence, the @SV2films YouTube channel, annual Impact Reports, and community events including grant round kickoffs and pitch meetings.

Name

Silicon Valley Social Venture Capital

Legal name

Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund

Website

https://sv2.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit donor community founded in 1998 that pools Partner contributions to fund equity-centered grants and early-stage impact investments in Bay Area nonprofits and social enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Philanthropy & Impact Investing

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Venture philanthropy
• Impact investing
• Collaborative grantmaking
• Donor education programs
• Capacity building support

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Altos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Partner Contributions: Annual financial contributions from Donor Partners at various contribution levels provide the primary funding pool for grants and impact investments. Partners contribute annually with recommended levels ranging from $4,000 to $20,000+ per year.
2. General Donations: One-time donations from the public to support SV2's equity-centered grantmaking, impact investing, and immersive learning programs.
3. Return on Investments: When impact investments generate returns, the capital cycles back into SV2's mission, creating a可持续 funding model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SV2 is a 501(c)(3) donor community that pools annual contributions from Donor Partners to deploy as collaborative grants to Bay Area nonprofits and pre-seed/seed impact investments in socially-driven companies. Partners engage through semi-annual grant rounds, monthly pitch meetings, an immersive learning curriculum (workshops, cohorts, multi-day trips), a three-year Community Initiative, and the my.sv2 community platform (managed by Socious, Inc.).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Classic Grant Rounds Semi-annual SV2 program selecting two Bay Area nonprofits per round to receive unrestricted multi-year grants of up to $150,000 per year for three years. The process includes landscape learning, financial diligence, coffee chats, and a collaborative voting process among Donor Partners.
• Lightning Grant Rounds Shorter SV2 grant rounds offering one-time grants between $20,000 and $50,000 to Bay Area nonprofits in SV2's funding areas, designed for limited applicant time commitment.
• Impact Investing Program Early-stage impact investing program where SV2 invests $25,000–$50,000 in socially-driven companies at pre-seed or seed stage, focused on founders from underrepresented backgrounds across sectors including climate, education, and economic opportunity. Monthly Zoom pitch meetings are open to early-stage companies seeking investment and Donor Partner diligence engagement.
• Immersive Learning Program (SV2 Essentials) Experiential learning program for Donor Partners with SV2 Essentials curriculum at three dosage levels (101, 201, 301) covering grantmaking, impact investing, and equity, including workshops, cohorts, and multi-day immersive learning trips in California and the U.S. South.
• Community Initiative A three-year focused grantmaking and community engagement program partnering with a single local initiative to support measurable social impact in its community. Currently partnered with Redwood City Together, which received $500,000 in unrestricted funding over three years when selected in December 2022.
• Meditation Mondays Weekly guided meditation sessions held on Mondays at 12pm via Zoom, led by SV2 CEO David Onek and Paru Desai. Open to colleagues, friends, and family of SV2 Partners.
• my.sv2 Community Platform A community website for SV2 Partners to interact through forums, emails, event planning, informational resources, and a membership directory. Built and managed by Socious, Inc. as a core engagement layer for the Donor Partner community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $5 million invested in more than 80 social ventures
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Redwood City TogetherflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Selected as SV2's Community Initiative Grantee Partner in December 2022, receiving $500,000 of unrestricted funding over three years. Redwood City Together advances youth and family success in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks through community collaboration, focusing on education, wellness, and equity.
• Socious, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for the my.sv2 community platform that enables Partner interactions, forums, event planning, informational resources, and membership directory. This platform is central to SV2's community engagement and Partner coordination.
• Sobrato PhilanthropiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-location partner and key philanthropic collaborator in the Bay Area nonprofit ecosystem. SV2's headquarters are in the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits.
• Spirit Rock Meditation CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for mindfulness programming. SV2 CEO David Onek is a former Program Director at Spirit Rock and leads Meditation Mondays sessions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• New Venture Fund: Fiscal sponsor and pooled philanthropic platform supporting multiple projects across social justice, civic engagement, and equity causes. Comparable to SV2 in pooled-fund administration and equity-centered grantmaking, though operates at materially larger scale and broader issue range.
• San Francisco Foundation: One of the largest community foundations in the U.S., serving the Bay Area with grants, donor-advised funds, and civic leadership. Comparable in community-foundation identity and Bay Area geography, but materially larger in scale and broader in mandate than SV2.
• Kapor Capital: Oakland-based impact venture fund investing seed-stage in startups closing gaps of access for underrepresented communities. Comparable to SV2's impact investing program in check size, stage, and equity-centered thesis, though operates as a traditional VC rather than pooled-donor fund.
• Sobrato Philanthropies: Bay Area family foundation focused on education, housing, and economic opportunity. Direct strategic partner and co-location host of SV2 at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits; comparable in Bay Area geography and equity-centered grantmaking themes.

Direct peers

• Acumen Fund: Global impact investing and philanthropy nonprofit combining patient capital with leadership development for social enterprises. Comparable to SV2 in its dual grantmaking-plus-impact-investing model and donor-education programming.
• Echoing Green: Social enterprise fellowship and seed-funding organization that identifies and supports emerging social-impact leaders. Overlaps with SV2's pre-seed/seed impact investing focus and equity-centered mission, though Echoing Green operates fellowships rather than pooled donor grants.
• Tipping Point Community: Bay Area-based anti-poverty philanthropy that pools donor capital and makes multi-year grants to local nonprofits serving low-income communities. Operates a similar pooled-funding, donor-engagement model focused on the same geography and population as SV2.
• Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation: Venture philanthropy foundation that selects early-stage social enterprises for multi-year unrestricted funding and capacity support. Closely comparable in fund structure (pooled donors), investment size, and social-enterprise focus to SV2's impact investing program.

Others

• RSF Social Finance: San Francisco-based social finance nonprofit offering loans, grants, and donor-advised giving to social enterprises. Comparable in Bay Area geography and social-enterprise funding focus, with overlapping values around equitable, integrated capital strategies.

Regional players

• Pacific Foundation Services: Bay Area-based foundation management and back-office services provider for family foundations and philanthropic entities. Adjacent to SV2's grantmaking administration operations, supporting Bay Area donors with similar compliance, diligence, and stewardship infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SV2films
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/silicon-valley-social-venture-fund-sv2-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments9 records

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Frequently asked questions about Silicon Valley Social Venture Capital