Dallas Social Venture Partners

Portfolio

DSVP's Social Investment Portfolio represents a diverse array of nonprofit agencies whose mission address children or education.  The missions address areas such as violence prevention, family services, college prep and life guidance, alternative education opportunities, parent involvement and training, and more.  The organizations reflect budgets under $100,000 and over $1 million.  Some are seasoned agencies in North Texas, others are just emerging.  The variety of missions and organizations are reflective of the diverse passions and interests of our partnership.

Agencies that no longer recieve direct funding from DSVP are denoted as emeritus.  Emeritus Investees represent the highest achievement attained by DSVP investees.  They continue to recieve limited partnership support, but continue to maintatin a strong relationship and connection.

• 	Advanced Placement Strategies Advanced Placement Strategies (APS) works with Texas Schools to plan and manage Advanced Placement and Pre-AP incentive programs for students, teachers and schools in an effort to increase the number of students who pass AP exams.

• Child Abuse Prevention Center Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Center breaks the cycle of child abuse by equipping parents and caregivers for success. CAP's mission resonates through four educational and counseling programs for families at risk for abuse. The Center works to empower its clients by teaching positive parenting methods and supporting parents in strengthening their families emotionally, economically, physically, and socially. CAP Center is a key provider of prevention services for at-risk children and families in Dallas County.

• Dallas After School Network Dallas After School Network (DASN) is a membership-based organization focused on expanding the quality and availability of afterschool programs for the 135,000 Dallas children who require afterschool care. DASN provides professional resources and networking opportunities to afterschool providers and a web- and phone-based Program Locator to help parents locate afterschool programs.

• 	Dallas Community Lighthouse Dallas Community Lighthouse (DCL) assists at-risk youths in discovering pathways to success by concentrating on their social, educational, personal and environmental issues. DCL was founded in November 2002 to combat one of the most profound problems in Dallas: children not completing their education.

• Educational First Steps Educational First Steps (EFS) improves the quality and availability of early childhood education for economically disadvantaged Dallas area children. This is done by providing services to EFS affiliated childcare centers and preschools in low-income areas. EFS provides teacher training, educational field trips, funding for classroom materials, professional consultation and assistance to affiliates in gaining national accreditation.

• KIPP TRUTH Academy KIPP TRUTH Academy requires students and teachers to attend school from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the week, for four hours on Saturdays, and for three weeks during the summer. Exceptional instruction, more time on task for students (totaling nearly 70% more learning time than typical schools), and high expectations for behavior and academic achievement have encouraged KIPP students to achieve remarkable results. With the motto “ALL of us WILL learn”, the emphasis at KIPP TRUTH is on preparing our students with a quality education through exceptional instruction that will provide a foundation for success throughout our students’ lives.

• 	Mi Escuelita Preschool Mi Escuelita Preschool is an early childhood program dedicated to teaching English and developing early learning skills for at-risk children of all cultures for preparation towards a successful school experience. Established in 1978, today Mi Escuelita empowers young children with English through seven preschool centers located in Dallas.

• National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) provides entrepreneurship education to young people from low-income communities, teaching business skills to start their own small business while reinforcing academic and life skills. NFTE aims to help young people unlock their true potential and find a pathway to prosperity, improving their lives and communities.

• PediPlace PediPlace is the neighborhood pediatrician’s office for children in our community who are uninsured or who receive Medicaid or CHIP benefits. While not a free clinic, PediPlace will not deny services because of a family’s inability to pay for services. All services are provided by appointment at a single clinic site in Lewisville, Texas. This provides easy access to quality care for families living in Lewisville, Carrollton, Flower Mound, The Colony, Denton and other surrounding communities in North Texas.

• 	Shared Housing Center, Inc. Shared Housing Center, Inc. breaks the cycle of homelessness for the elderly, single parents with children, and persons with special needs. They offer non-traditional permanent and transitional housing solutions, as well as programs and services that create independence, empowerment and self-worth.

• 	The Concilio The Concilio enhances the quality of life for Hispanics through community partnerships. With DSVP's assistance, the Parent Institute for Quality Education was incubated to train parents to take a participatory role in supporting their children's education, focusing on high school graduation and college attendance.

• The Samaritan Inn The Samaritan Inn was established in 1984 as a comprehensive homeless program that helps willing people gain dignity and independence. DSVP's grant has been used to support children's programming which includes opportunities to complete homework assignments, receive tutoring, participate in extracurricular activities that enhance their education and attend group and individual counseling sessions.

• The Wilkinson Center The Wilkinson Center serves homeless, working poor, and families in need. The Center provided services to more than 26,000 people in 2007, half of them children. Through a wide array of programs, ranging from food and clothing distribution, to career development, computer education, children's programs, and emergency assistance, The Wilkinson Center provides pathways for people seeking to reclaim their lives from poverty.

• The Youth Village Foundation The Youth Village Foundation is dedicated to helping juvenile offenders, ages 10 to 17 years old, reach their law abiding potential and to diverting them from further involvement with the juvenile justice system or progression to greater offenses. We are committed to putting positive outcomes within their reach and bolstering the success of the work done by the Dallas County Youth Village and Medlock programs.

• Transition Resource Action Center Transition Resource Action Center (TRAC) is a regional one-stop center that works with young adults transitioning out of foster care to independent living. TRAC offers skill training, access to affordable housing, livable-wage jobs, and a safety net of community support. At TRAC, young people have opportunities to become independent, contributing citizens by realizing their full potential as they transition toward young adulthood.

• UPLIFT Education Uplift Education is dedicated to operating open-enrollment charter schools that provide a quality education in underserved neighborhoods by raising and continually maintaining high expectations for students and staff. Uplift currently operates five campuses and will serve 3500 students in 2008-2009. It is Uplift's goal to dramatically increase the number of students from all backgrounds who are provided a high quality public education so that they can succeed in college and In life.

• Vision Regeneration Vision Regeneration facilitates and maintains peace treaties between gangs that deter potential violence while providing life skills training to teens that have no hope of a future outside of violence without some type of reality-based intervention. The youth served by Vision Regeneration have witnessed significant violence, experienced poverty and are, in short, street smart. Vision is unique and innovative in its approach to reclaim at-risk youth by employing ex-offenders and nontraditional leaders who speak their language and promote gang prevention and intervention, social interaction, faith and positive expression while ensuring a nonviolent and social civility environment in and around schools.