Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP) is pleased to announce the continuation of the co-investment partnership between VPP, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (EMCF), and Asian American LEAD (AALEAD), a multi-service organization that provides after-school programs, leadership training, mentoring, and family support services for Asian-American youth. AALEAD is having a positive impact in the National Capital Region, increasing the opportunities and abilities of low-income Asian American children to move out of poverty and become successful, self-sufficient adults. 

The investment partnership with AALEAD represents more than $1 million in growth capital from VPP and EMCF. This includes $375,000 in initial support for AALEAD’s organizational development efforts, as well as a $700,000 commitment to support AALEAD’s business planning process, expansion initiatives, and continued funding for core organizational capacity. In addition to capital, VPP has provided AALEAD with significant levels of strategic assistance, including board development, talent recruitment, advisory help, and building stakeholder support for its expansion into Maryland.

AALEAD has been a VPP investment partner since 2002. At that time, VPP and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, a national leader in strategic grantmaking focused on youth development, forged an innovative co-investment partnership with AALEAD to build its organizational capacity.

Sandy Dang, Executive Director of AALEAD, praised the partnership saying "AALEAD is extremely fortunate to have the financial and strategic advisory support of both VPP and EMCF.  This partnership has given AALEAD the opportunity to build our organization—and create a business plan that will guide AALEAD's future growth.  We are so excited about the prospect of building a stronger future for the Asian American children and community—and creating a powerful voice for the Asian American children of this region."

EMCF Portfolio Manager Jamie McAuliffe stated: "AALEAD, under Sandy Dang's leadership, has come a long way in a short time to strengthen its service model for children and develop an ambitious, but achievable, business plan for growth. We're very pleased with the results to date and with our close investment partnership with VPP."

VPP Managing Partner Carol Thompson Cole agreed with Dang, saying "AALEAD is making a big difference for children in our region. Its expansion plans to Maryland are a direct result of the vision, planning, and dedicated effort of Sandy and her board."

Business planning helps AALEAD address shifting demographic needs
Under the strong leadership of Dang, AALEAD continued to build on the success of the first three years of the partnership by developing a business plan to guide the organization’s future growth.

During the business planning process, Dang and her board recognized that shifting demographics in the greater Washington region required a change in the organization's strategy for growth. When AALEAD was founded in 1998, its focus was on Asian Americans in the Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant area of Washington, DC. Since then, however, the increasingly diverse Asian population has expanded beyond the District to the region’s suburban locations.

Backed by solid demographic research, AALEAD mapped out plans to expand and refine its service delivery model while continuing to serve the DC community. AALEAD’s board and management team were fully engaged during the entire process, and have embraced the five-year strategic plan that will serve more than three times as many youth in the DC and Maryland programs by 2010.
Additional goals include:  

• Serve more than 500 youth and families in sites in DC and Maryland;
• Provide a full set of services to Vietnamese and Chinese youth and families;
• Expand its after school program by using a mix of site and school-based programs to extend the tutoring program to middle- and high-school students while continuing to offer mentoring to students in these grades;
• Offer family strengthening programs to help families better support their children; and
• Serve as a voice for the Asian American community by increasing visibility and ability to influence change in the DC metro area.

In the coming year, AALEAD will focus first on laying the groundwork for the Maryland expansion, building key relationships, securing funders, establishing a presence, and offering core programs. AALEAD will also implement the recommendations for programmatic changes/improvements as prioritized in its strategic plan.

Progress Review Shows Solid Gains by AALEAD
In addition, over the course of the past year, AALEAD also made strong progress on two core milestones to take the organization to the next level of impact -- building its board leadership and strengthening its fundraising abilities. To date, AALEAD has recruited six new board members whose specific areas of expertise include strategic planning, finance, accounting, education, business development, and communications, and now has an effective committee structure to support the AALEAD management team in the execution of its strategic plan. Regarding fundraising, in September AALEAD hired a seasoned executive as its Vice President for Development and External Affairs, who will be a strong asset as AALEAD defines its model for sustainability while implementing expansion plans.

In the next twelve months, AALEAD will continue to build its board and develop a long-term financing strategy that builds a more diverse funding base and a stronger net asset position capable of supporting the organization’s long-term growth objectives.

We look forward to our continued work with AALEAD and to its ongoing progress toward its aspirations. Please join me in congratulating AALEAD’s leadership team and Board, EMCF Portfolio Manager Jamie McAuliffe, and VPP Partner and CFO Eleanor Rutland for advancing this partnership.

Please visit the VPP website to learn more about AALEAD. VPP Board and Investors can access private documents on the VPP partnership with AALEAD, including the Continuation Agreement, in the secure area of the site. If you need assistance accessing the secure area, please contact Suzy Twohig at stwohig@vppartners.org.

My best, Mario


VPP is a nonprofit philanthropic investment organization that provides growth capital and strategic assistance to high potential community-based organizations serving the core developmental, learning, and educational needs of children of low-income families in the National Capital Region. VPP is incorporated as a nonprofit public charity and operates as a support organization to the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region.