Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland

What Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland does

SVP Vancouver (legally B.C. Social Venture Partners Foundation) is a venture philanthropy organization founded in 2001 and headquartered at 300 – 1001 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC. It recruits engaged philanthropists ("SVP Partners") who pool annual financial contributions and donate professional time and networks, then deploys that combined "money plus time" as multi-year unrestricted funding plus hands-on capacity-building support to nonprofit "Investees" serving children, youth, and families in British Columbia. The organization identifies investees through a trust-based due diligence process performed by Discovery Teams including site visits, and partners with smaller, grassroots nonprofits typically in the start-up or early growth stages. As of 2025, SVP Vancouver operates the largest investee portfolio in the SVP global network of 40+ member organizations and 4,000+ philanthropists, with approximately 10 active investees and an annual reach of 84,000+ children, youth, and families.

The product surface is a portfolio of programmatic offerings rather than a technology platform. Core programs include multi-year unrestricted grants, capacity-building engagements (485 hours of strategic Partner expertise across 94 capacity-building projects in 2025), the Early Years Innovation Fund, the Capacity-Building Flex Fund (smaller agile grants to Investees and Alumni), The Leadership Table (a peer-led leadership development program for nonprofit Executive Directors where 100% of participants would recommend it), and the Social Dialogue Series (educational events). The Dr. Donald Rix Endowment, valued at approximately $2M, provides sustained operational and grantmaking capital. All delivery is human-capital intensive; there is no proprietary technology underlying the model, and the organization uses standard SaaS for operations.

Revenue is generated through tiered annual Partner subscriptions: Young Partner ($2,500–$4,999), Partner ($5,000–$9,999), Leadership Partner ($10,000–$24,999), Sustaining Partner ($25,000+), and Community Business Partner ($10,000–$30,000+ for corporate giving programs), supplemented by foundation and corporate grants and endowment income. The organization is a registered Canadian charity (#86668 3196 RR0001), governed by a Board of Directors with Nicole Geyer having served as Board Chair from 2020–2024, and it currently benefits from pro bono office space at Nimbus Synergies' The GENERATOR startup hub.

Name

Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland

Legal name

B.C. Social Venture Partners Foundation

Website

https://svpvancouver.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SVP Vancouver is a venture philanthropy organization that pools donations from engaged philanthropists to provide multi-year unrestricted funding and capacity-building support to nonprofits serving children and youth across British Columbia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Philanthropy Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Venture philanthropy funding
• Nonprofit capacity building
• Multi-year unrestricted grants
• Philanthropic partnership programs
• Nonprofit leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Contributions: SVP Vancouver operates as a venture philanthropy organization funded entirely through charitable donations from SVP Partners (donors). Partners contribute at various tiers (Young Partner $2,500-$4,999, Partner $5,000-$9,999, Leadership Partner $10,000-$24,999, Sustaining Partner $25,000+, and Community Business Partner $10,000-$30,000+). The organization pools these contributions to provide multi-year unrestricted funding to nonprofit investees, along with capacity building programming.
2. Corporate and Foundation Grants: SVP Vancouver also receives support from corporate partners and may access foundation grants for specific programs like the Early Years Innovation Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Per the source content, the organization operates as a venture philanthropy entity that pools donations from individual and corporate philanthropists to provide multi-year unrestricted funding combined with capacity building programming to nonprofit organizations serving children, youth, and families in British Columbia. Services include due diligence, leadership and operations support, strategic expertise from volunteers, and access to networks, with the goal of strengthening nonprofit investees so they can scale their impact.

Product overview

SVP Vancouver operates as a venture philanthropy organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs: multi-year unrestricted funding, capacity building programming, the Early Years Innovation Fund, and the Flex Fund. These programs work together to provide nonprofit organizations with financial resources, strategic expertise, and hands-on support. Additional programs include The Leadership Table for leadership development and the Social Dialogue Series for knowledge sharing. The organization connects philanthropists (Partners) with nonprofit organizations (Investees) through a 'money plus time' model.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Leadership Table: A peer-led leadership development program for nonprofit Executive Directors and leaders from across SVP's network, providing space to reflect, connect, and grow.
• Early Years Innovation Fund
• Capacity Building Flex Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.2M invested in BC's children and youth in 2025
• +5 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

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and major.

• Pacific Postpartum Support Society (PPPSS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026SVP Vancouver approved PPPSS for Series A multi-year funding. Partnership focuses on strengthening organizational foundation including fund development, leadership development/HR guidance, and social impact measurement. PPPSS provides free peer-led perinatal mental health support across BC, responding to 6,000+ calls/texts in 2024 and supporting 300+ parents through peer groups.
• The Cinderella ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026SVP Vancouver partnership focuses on strengthening internal systems over three years including board governance, leadership development, strategic planning, fund development, and evaluation/infrastructure support. The Cinderella Project is a federally registered charity founded in 1999 helping high-risk Grade 12 students complete high school.
• PowerPlay Young EntrepreneurscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026SVP Vancouver partnership provides $120,000 over three years for fundraising staffing and donor management software. Beyond financial support, SVP will help evaluate organizational structure and articulate improvements. PowerPlay serves 32,000+ students across Canada with 80%+ in BC.
• Flourish Education & Mentorship SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026SVP Vancouver partnership supports dramatic transition and growth including impact measurement, strategic planning, fund development, and rebrand roll-out. Founded 2017 as Fire & Flower Girls, provides empowerment programs for pre-teen girls and gender-diverse youth in 7 communities.
• BC Society of Transition Houses (BCSTH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024SVP Vancouver partnered with BCSTH through Series A grant in 2024 to support the BCSTH Bursary Fund providing flexible funding for women leaving violence to pursue education and employment. SVP provides wraparound support including fund development coaching, strategic connections, and social impact evaluation support. Since inception in 2019, the bursary has supported 199 women, distributed $539,548, with $110,000 projected for 2026.
• Richmond Family PlacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023SVP Vancouver awarded Richmond Family Place a three-year Early Years Innovation Trial grant in 2023, enabling launch of Prenatal Circles of Support program. SVP's sustained support enabled organizational growth and innovation. In 2024-2025, served 8,880 children and 6,803 families.
• Take a Hike FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016SVP Vancouver success story - sustained partnership since 2016 helped Take a Hike scale from 20 youth in one community on $250K budget to 320 youth across 16 communities on $6.2M budget. 95% of alumni report improved mental health. Nicole Geyer served as Board Chair supporting their growth.
• Nimbus Synergies (The GENERATOR)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNimbus Synergies provides SVP Vancouver with pro bono office space at their The GENERATOR startup hub - a one-of-a-kind space exclusively designed for early-stage health-tech ventures. Paul Geyer facilitated this arrangement.
• SVP Global NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSVP Vancouver is part of a 40+ global network of SVP member organizations from Boston to Bangalore, connecting 4,000+ philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and changemakers. Enables cross-city forums and annual conference for shared experience, knowledge, and resources.
• New School of FundraisingsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal experts engaged through SVP's agreement to provide fund development coaching for BCSTH.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Inspirit Foundation: Canadian venture philanthropy foundation supporting youth-led and media/democracy initiatives with grant + capacity building. Comparable model of pooling donor resources to strengthen mission-aligned nonprofits serving younger populations.
• Toronto Foundation: One of Canada's largest community foundations, distributing pooled donor funds to nonprofits through grants and capacity-building support. Functionally comparable to SVP Vancouver but serving the Greater Toronto region rather than BC.
• Vancouver Foundation: British Columbia's largest community foundation, also distributing grants and supporting nonprofit capacity building in the same region. Most directly comparable Canadian peer given shared geography and grantmaking-plus-capacity-building mandate.
• United Way British Columbia: Major BC-based funder pooling donor contributions to support community nonprofits serving children, families, and vulnerable populations. Operates a similar pooled-funding + nonprofit-support model in the same region.
• Tides Canada Foundation: Canadian venture philanthropy and shared-platform foundation supporting social ventures and nonprofit infrastructure. Comparable because it combines grantmaking, capacity building, and donor-advised fund structures across Canadian social-sector causes.
• SVP International / SVP Global Network: Direct parent affiliation governing the SVP model of venture philanthropy that SVP Vancouver operates. Both share the same "money plus time" framework, partner-investee structure, and capacity-building methodology.

Broad incumbents

• J.W. McConnell Family Foundation: One of Canada's largest family foundations with a national scope, funding social innovation, capacity building, and nonprofit infrastructure. Comparable venture philanthropy orientation but operates at significantly greater scale and broader thematic scope.
• McConnell Foundation (Innoweave / Coaching): Through Innoweave, McConnell delivers capacity-building coaching and social-innovation programs to Canadian nonprofits — a model closely paralleling SVP Vancouver's investee-strengthening mandate, but at national scale.

Emerging players

• Purpose Capital: Canadian impact advisory firm supporting foundations and social-purpose organizations with strategy, measurement, and capacity building. Adjacent player providing similar nonprofit-strengthening services to a Canadian funder base.

Regional players

• The Counselling Foundation of Canada: Canadian national foundation providing multi-year grants and capacity building support to nonprofits. Comparable grantmaking-plus-capacity-building orientation, with a national rather than regional focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/social-venture-partners-vancouver
• Xx.com/SVPVancouver
• Facebookfacebook.com/svpvancouver

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland