Over the past nine months, VPP has taken a long, hard look at its work. These efforts were driven by our desire to improve our effectiveness in serving our investment partners and to gain valuable insight that would inform how we consider and plan for VPP’s future. The more we can do to improve ourselves, the better we can directly impact and contribute to the achievement of our investment partners’ aspirations to enhance their ability to deliver quality services to improve the lives of children and youth of low-income families in the National Capital Region.

In September and October of 2004, the VPP team took time to reflect on what we have done and how we have served our investment partners. We distilled what we had learned from our experiences in the field, questioned and dissected the findings, and applied them to clarify our focus and improve our approach. This self-scrutiny culminated in an external assessment of our work, conducted by Fred Miller, President of The Chatham Group. The assessment has proven its value in several ways, not the least of which was to demonstrate to our investment partners our willingness to subject ourselves to the same rigorous introspection we ask of them as a part of our investment approach. In fact, one of our investment partners said, “It was great to see that you were willing to walk the walk,” and another said “…This honest, thorough review is a pretty remarkable thing that VPP has engaged in. Proof again that VPP is not your typical funder.”

When the findings and observations from our introspection, the day-to-day knowledge we are developing in the field, and the assessment converged, the information provided us the first clear sense of how well we are doing and, equally important, highlighted areas where we can improve. The results were confirming, insightful, and informative. And, we are already using this feedback and the key lessons learned to strengthen VPP’s current activities and better plan our future.

It’s worth mentioning that we’ve put great emphasis on ensuring an “honest” exchange and on being inclusive in sharing the findings of the assessment. The interviews with our investment partners were conducted under a strict code of confidentiality, which was rigorously applied and enforced. The confidentiality was at the very core of the process, because we knew that the kind of openness we desired could not be achieved without it. Hopefully, we’ve demonstrated the transparency and openness we worked so hard to achieve by how we have used what we’ve learned. We’ve shared the findings in multiple sessions with the full VPP team and in discussions with our Executive Committee and Board. And, we presented the findings in a meeting/dinner with our investment Partners, with more than 50 people from all ten of the investment partners in attendance.

Continued Learning and Improvement
So what did we learn during this process? First and foremost, we affirmed that our investment approach works—all investment partners claimed that the approach added value (even those who were most critical) and over half claimed high value. It was important and encouraging (and, candidly, somewhat surprising for this stage of our evolution) that half cited that the value of the strategic assistance provided exceeded the value of the funding. And, of high importance was the fact that the most fundamental premise of our investment approach was affirmed—that to deliver the greatest value a true partnership must emerge between VPP and the investment partner. This dependence on partnership continues to be the backbone of our investment approach. But what we learned helped us and our investment partners better understand what partnership really means. As a result, we are now better focused on:

• Working harder to build relationships based on a mutuality of respect, aligned goals and expectations, and shared learning;
  
• Encouraging more give-and-take, honesty, and transparency between both parties; and,
  
• Placing greater attention on relationship development in all aspects of VPP’s investment approach and phases of the investment partnerships.
  

Improving Our Own Execution
Our internal reflection, the assessment, and the dialogue that has ensued have proven to be a valuable investment for informing the VPP team and board. VPP’s investment partners confirmed five areas that VPP had identified and has addressed, is working on, or will focus on:

• Availability of revenue sources to achieve and sustain improved capacity and outcomes, and the impact of financial difficulties and staff changes on successfully achieving aspirations—We’ll continue to work with each investment partner to restructure and expand development functions; define sustainability plans; and identify talent for senior staff and board seats.

• Sensitivity to differences (including language) between private business/corporate culture and the nonprofit sector—We’ll continue to adjust and improve on our approach to be more respectful of investment partner organizational cultures and the impact of achieving scale on their nature and outcomes.

• Performance pressure of the pace of implementation plans—We’ll continue efforts with investment partners to review milestones, the nature of investment agreements, and timing of periodic reviews, in order to better pace implementation, sharpen clarity, and better align milestones to most critical needs.

• Impact of VPP’s increasing presence in the region and its unintended consequences on image and reputation of investment partners and those that are not—We’ll continue and be even more sensitive to unintended consequences as we pursue our work in the region.

• Awareness of “noise on the street” about the nature of our investment partnerships and community reaction to our approach—We’ll continue to work on language we use, actions we take, and how we explain and implement our approach to minimize unintended interpretation of actions.

In addition to confirming the above areas, the insights also helped us target a number of efforts that will strengthen and improve our effectiveness with our investment partners. We are in the process of refining and articulating our Theory of Change internally within our investment team, clarifying expectations with our investment partners, and better explaining our intervention strategy. We are working to be even more sensitive to the need to better understand and take into account the respective organizational cultures of our investment partner organizations, and, then, to think through how those cultural elements should influence our approach and execution.

We are mindful of the need to demonstrate even more respect for investment partner organizations and their accomplishments, and be more considerate of the nuances and sensitivities of nonprofit organizations. We will also play a more active role in the facilitation of relationships between investment partners, planning firms, and other providers to reduce cultural and style differences. We are looking at our VPP team in new ways to see how we might apply our team skills and experiences more effectively to support investment partnerships across different phases of the relationship. And, to reinforce the last two points above, we must be highly conscious of how to continue to benefit from the leverage of VPP’s growing “brand” and “power,” while being more diligent to avoid potential negative repercussions. (It is worth noting that the findings of the assessment specifically focused on VPP’s growing power in the region, although this is not a term we would have used to characterize VPP.)

Lessons to Inform and Shape Our Future Efforts
In addition to improving VPP’s effectiveness vis-à-vis our current portfolio of investments, the learning and valuable inputs we’ve received are informing our future planning. Even though the inputs below are related to VPP, they are highly relevant to other investors and nonprofits using or considering the strategic investment approach.

More capital invested over longer periods of time
Although we began VPP with an appreciation for the need for significant capital and long investment horizons, we’ve learned that individual investments require even more capital invested over even longer periods of time. In fact, we believe that long-term capital commitments for larger investments may need to be even greater than the largest investments we’ve made to date, and that strategic investors may need to think in terms of much larger capital commitments spread across multiple, phased investment partnerships with a single organization.

A longer investment horizon and fund life
VPP’s first fund, the Children’s Learning Fund, was projected to have a five-year life, which has been extended to six. Considering the experience we’ve gained and what we’ve learned, we would suggest that the life of future funds needs to be longer—in the 7-10 year range. This longer investment horizon would allow more time to cultivate and allow for the most promising investment opportunities to develop and, as mentioned above, would better serve our individual investment partnerships by recognizing that such major change takes a long time in order to be successful.

Transformative change takes a lot of time
We need to recognize and factor into our implementation timelines the reality that transformative change takes a lot of time—individual investment partnerships will need better paced implementation, sharpened clarity, and milestones better aligned to the most critical needs of the investment partner organization.

We need to add value across the various stages of the relationship. We also learned a lot about the shaping of our team. Specifically, our own partners (individuals that lead VPP’s efforts with our investment partnerships) and our investment team must add value across the various stages of an investment partnership. This requires demonstrated executive leadership and understanding by individuals who grasp, as line executives, what is involved in building and transforming organizations, and who have the accountability, rigor, and sensitivity required to be true partners in the management of our investment partner relationships. Additionally, the role requires political understanding and savvy to navigate the political, governmental, and jurisdictional systems on behalf of our investment partners, and to be able to understand and contend with the highly politically savvy nature of good executive leaders of nonprofit organizations.

Investment criteria must be rigorously and consistently applied.
Our experience and feedback from the assessment has taught us that our investment selection criteria must be rigorously and consistently applied. These criteria include: demonstrated performance; a bold vision for high impact to improve the lives of children and youth; potential for true partnership; strong leadership; prospects for financial strength and sustainability; products and services capable of scaling in quality and reach; and, readiness and willingness to embrace change.

One thing we have learned for certain—no matter how well an organization stacks up against the above criteria, the investment will be unsuccessful and leave both parties disillusioned if an organization does not embrace change—substantively and emotionally—and show the readiness and willingness such change requires. Beyond that, we need to better navigate the change process with the organization while respecting and supporting its culture. And we need to be more considerate of the type, stage, and culture of organizations and characteristics of the leader to ensure that the potential for partnership, investment approach, and team skill set will benefit our investment partners.

Summary
As a result of the assessment, we—VPP and our investment partners—have a better appreciation for the importance of partnership as an essential foundation for VPP’s strategic investing approach. We have learned that developing true partnership is difficult and, for most, very different from what is typical in the field. As one investment partner noted, “The transparency and openness of VPP’s process is not something we are used to in our other funding relationships.”

There is also an inherent power imbalance when one party is the provider of funding and the other the recipient, and that imbalance, by its very nature, impedes open and honest dialogue between nonprofits and the investors or donors supporting them. To sum it up, true partnership takes a lot of time and effort on the part of both parties.

The good news is that, to the extent that a strong relationship exists or gets built, it creates a multiplier effect in the value generated. Alternatively, the impact of lots of time, lots of money, and lots of effort is lost if the foundation of partnership doesn’t exist or isn’t strong enough. When it works, VPP and our investment partners are changed by the relationship. And both parties emerge with new ways of thinking, new behaviors, a different view of the world, and a greater understanding of each other.

-Mario Morino

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Announcing Investment Partnership with Friendship Public Charter School

VPP announces its investment partnership with Friendship Public Charter School (FPCS), considered to be one of the largest and most successful public charter school networks in the country.

Over the next five to seven months, VPP will help FPCS develop a comprehensive multi-year plan and engage leading experts in the fields of strategic planning, outcomes design, and finance. During this phase, VPP will provide funding of up to $500,000 and strategic assistance for the development of the business plan, which will guide FPCS toward achievement of their aspirations to strengthen their operating systems and processes, open two new innovative charter schools that will be the first of their kind in the District of Columbia, and substantially expand current enrollment. FPCS's current enrollment of 3,000 students represents approximately 19 percent of the total charter school population in Washington, DC.

Founded by Donald L. Hense in 1998, FPCS is the largest and one of the highest performing charter school networks in the District of Columbia. Many of its 3,000 students are from families with low incomes. FPCS is composed of four campuses (all in formerly vacant DC public school buildings): Chamberlain Elementary (grades K-5), Woodridge Elementary (grades K-6), Junior Academy at Blow Pierce (grades 6-8), and Collegiate Academy at Carter G. Woodson (grades 9-12). FPCS has invested more than $30 million to turn these buildings into safe, attractive, technology-filled places of learning where children and teens feel valued and supported. Ninety percent of FPCS graduates attend college, and FPCS is the first high school in the District to offer an "early college program" enabling its talented students to obtain college credit and attend college well before their senior year.

FPCS's current scale, history of student success, strong leadership, proven educational model, and bold aspirations provide an excellent opportunity for VPP's investment. FPCS wants to focus its efforts administratively and in service delivery. Administratively, efforts will be targeted toward financial management and planning, developing new sources of private funding, enhancing its organizational and board development, and improving its change management. In terms of service delivery, the focus will be on new schools program design and implementation, building state of the art technology systems, and tracking and management of student, teacher, and organizational outcomes. VPP's investment will provide support for further FPCS expansion in Washington, DC to meet its goal of serving 3,000 additional students.

Donald Hense, CEO and Chairman of FPCS, spoke about his interest in providing a quality education for more of the District's children saying, "We are determined to extend our impact with 3,000 more students and provide the very best education anywhere. By working in partnership with VPP we are absolutely confident we will realize this goal and provide an innovative and exceptionally high quality education to the children in this city who need it the most. Given the success we've had with our four campuses, we see where we can go and what we can do. The investment partnership with VPP will open up new opportunities for us, provide the rigor of a planning process, help strengthen our current organization, and introduce two new innovative charter schools in Washington, DC."

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AALEAD Youth Compete in Dragon Boat Festival 2005

Thanks to Wilhelmina Tsang, High School Program Coordinator, and Tony Yih, Deputy Director, for this update.

Students in Asian American LEAD’s High School Program launched the first ever Asian American youth Dragon Boat team in Washington, DC. Organized by several lead students and composed of their peers, the AALEAD Argonauts competed in the 4th Annual Washington DC Dragon Boat Festival on May 28, 2005. Starting only in March, students successfully rose to the challenges of motivating the team, organizing boat practices in Anacostia, and raising enough money to cover registration, food, and t-shirts. The Argonauts eventually raised over $1,500 through car washes, solicitations, and sponsorships.

The Argonauts competed valiantly against teams from the region, Philadelphia, New York, Taipei, and other cities. Faced with competitors with far more experience, preparation, and money, the Argonauts placed a surprisingly close third in their heat. Minh Phan, youth member of AALEAD's Board of Directors and Argonaut drummer said, "The race was intense. Everything was quick-paced. It was a long preparation process which took a lot of commitment, but it paid off."

The Argonauts will compete again next year. Wilhelmina Tsang, High School Program Coordinator, said, "It was quite a learning experience for all of us. We have already scheduled Dragon Boat practice into our summer program and will have more time to prepare for next year's competition."

BGCGW Re-Opens Camp Brown

Thanks to Tanzi West, Director of Communications for this update.

Thanks to more than $300,000 raised from foundations, corporations, and individual donors, a total of 1,000 at-risk DC area youth will be able to get out of the city this summer to attend the re-opened Camp Brown, a 168-acre Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (BGCGW) facility located along the Potomac River in Scotland, MD, near Point Lookout in St. Mary’s County. The summer camp program was shuttered last year due to lack of funding.

Established in 1937, Camp Brown has provided several thousand DC area youngsters the opportunity to escape the bustle and heat of the city to enjoy a weeklong adventure in the countryside. The trip to Camp Brown is often the youths’ first experience in traveling outside of the immediate DC area. Campers experience a relaxing, waterfront setting and engage in a wide range of structured programs and activities. The Camp Brown curriculum covers a variety of topics that promote greater self-awareness, self-esteem, character development, and constructive decision-making.

William C. Eacho, acting CEO of BGCGW, said, “Camp Brown has a rich heritage of providing a positive summer experience for generations of Washington residents, including a number of our leading business, sports, law enforcement, religious, and other community leaders. We want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the many generous donors who stepped up to make the re-opening of Camp Brown a reality for the summer of 2005.”

The week-long Camp Brown experience starts on July 11 and slots are still open to qualifying youth. Groups of roughly 160 youths will participate in Camp Brown over a period of six weeks. The cost for children to participate in Camp Brown is $100, with discounts available for families with more than one child attending and scholarships are available. For more information about attending Camp Brown, contact (202) 397-CLUB.

CFNC Targets Two Locations for Expansion

Thanks to Executive Director Barbara Fox Mason for this update.

The Child and Family Network Centers (CFNC) made significant progress on expansion plans during May. Senior managers met with Arlington Housing Corporation (AHC), the Department of Human Services, and the Recreation Department to determine the best locations to administer its programs. Thus far, AHC’s Harvey Hall property and the Arlington Mill Community Center have been selected, based on location, facilities, and needs of neighborhood residents.

Both sites are located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of South Arlington, which has the highest concentration of families living in poverty in Arlington County. Most families in these neighborhoods are headed by recent immigrants who, according to census 2000, earn less than $18,000 per year. Poverty is the number one indicator of school failure and there are still hundreds of children in Arlington and Alexandria who are at serious risk of failure in school from the very beginning.

CMHS Hosts Domestic Violence Conference

Thanks to Ricarda Dowling, Director of Development, for this update.

The Center for Multicultural Human Services (CMHS) will convene a day-long conference on cross-cultural perspectives in addressing domestic violence on Friday, June 17, at the Fairfax County Government Center. Speakers include Sujata Warrier and Olga Trujillo.

College Summit Selects New Regional Site, Moves Headquarters, and Gears Up for Workshop Season

Thanks to Omar Garriott, Senior Coordinator, Marketing Strategy and Public Policy, for this update.

After a year-long national competition, College Summit has selected St. Louis as the site for its next office launch. The organization's National Board of Directors formally approved the launch of College Summit-St. Louis at the end of April, and on May 10, St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) Superintendent Creg Williams and the school board closed the deal.

St. Louis's bid was led by SLPS leadership and included commitments from a broad set of community leaders encompassing the school district, community-based organizations, higher education, foundations, corporations, and the local government. "This has been a real community partnership of business and higher education leaders," noted William Carson, Executive Director of the Vashon Education Compact. "The goal of our organization is to close the gaps that separate students from success, and the gap between those who attend college and those who don't is widening. If we can give students the necessary tools to reach higher education, we will begin bridging that gap both for them and for future generations of their families."

The College Summit national headquarters and DC/Metro offices moved back “home” to the Adams Morgan community in northwest Washington, DC—only a few blocks away from where Founder and CEO J.B. Schramm effectively launched the organization at a teen center over a decade ago. The new address is 1763 Columbia Road, NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20009, and phone is (202) 319-1763.

College Summit will run 30+ summer workshops on college campuses around the country in 2005, representing a 50% increase over last year. New college partners this summer include state flagships like the University of California-Berkeley, University of Illinois-Springfield, Ohio State University, Arizona State University, New York University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and the University of South Carolina.

Heads Up Kicks Off Summer Program

Thanks to Executive Director Darin McKeever for this update.

Hundreds of DC public school students will spend another safe and rewarding summer of learning with Heads Up this year. Full days of academic instruction, hands-on cultural activities, and service projects help participating children to read well, to get more engaged in school and learning, and to open their eyes to opportunities in their community and beyond. The season starts to heat up in June when more than a hundred local college students serving as Heads Up AmeriCorps members will kick off a year of service with an intensive two-week training. Heads Up is the largest part-time AmeriCorps program in DC and its members co-teach summer classes with the support of DC public school teachers and supervision by Heads Up's own professional staff.

In May, Heads Up received the "Excellence in Partnership Award" from Getting Connected for its "exemplary school-community partnerships benefiting the students of the DC Public Schools." Getting Connected is a collaboration of DC Public Schools, the Kimsey Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, and the DC Children & Youth Investment Trust Corporation, and its goal is to promote strategic, successful partnerships to improve student achievement.

LAYC Heats Up in Maryland

Thanks to Gabriel Albornoz, Maryland Coordinator, for this update.

The Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) is pleased to announce that it has officially opened its offices and started programming in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties in Maryland . LAYC’s own Gabriel Albornoz, formerly the director of Advocacy and Public Policy, was promoted in April to Maryland Coordinator and is responsible for managing LAYC’s expansion efforts. Its two addresses in Maryland are: Montgomery County: 815 Silver Spring Ave., Silver Spring MD 20910, phone: 301- 565-9333 ext. 18, and Prince George’s County: 8020 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 114, Langley Park, MD 20783.

LAYC has kicked off its programs in Maryland by partnering with the Democracy Collaborative of the University of Maryland and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington to offer a summer enrichment camp for 150 students at Nicholas Orem Middle School in Hyattsville, MD. The camp will feature activities such as creative writing and spoken word, digital media production, gardening, and opportunities to make over the school through murals and other artistic mediums.

In addition to its summer camp, LAYC was recently notified that it was selected by the Montgomery County Youth Employment Division to carry out a work skills initiative for 100 youth residing in the county. The program model is based on LAYC’s Youth Opportunities program in Washington, DC. The LAYC will serve 60 out-of-school and 40 in-school youth through this initiative.

LAYC has been working with community members, community-based organizations, the police department, policy makers, school officials, and many others to ensure that it is serving community needs. The LAYC looks forward to strengthening these relationships and collaborating on future project and initiatives.

LAYC is excited about its future in Maryland. “We have been received very warmly by the community and we look forward to helping improve the lives of youth and families through high quality programs now and for many years to come” says Gabriel Albornoz. For more information regarding LAYC plans in Maryland, please visit the LAYC website and click on Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers.

Mary’s Center Opens New Site in Ward 4

Thanks to David Bender, Vice President, Business Development and Communications, for this update.

Mary's Center announces the Grand Opening of its new site at 508 Kennedy Street, NW, in the District's Ward 4 on June 25.The event will be held from noon to 4 pm and all are invited!

Through this new site, Mary's Center will expand supports for needy families in the metropolitan Washington area. Services offered will include Family Medicine, Social Services, Dental Services, Home Visiting, and Mental Health Services.

Come join government officials, community leaders, neighbors, friends, and supporters for the opening of the first primary care clinic in Ward 4, featuring prizes and free health screenings. Telemundo, Telenoticias 64, and DC Chartered Health Plan will join Mary's Center to celebrate our Grand Opening and host a Community Day. In addition, pitcher Luis Ayala of the Washington Nationals is scheduled to appear.

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Now, as part of a nationwide House Party campaign to bring family, friends and neighbors together across America, a free DVD with four dramatic stories from THE NEW HEROES is available to anyone interested in hosting a gathering to watch some of the stories.

All the materials and tools needed are available at The New Heroes website, where you can order a free DVD and access a complete House Party Tool Kit that includes a party invitation to email, sample party agendas, and discussion questions to promote lively dialogue about the stories.

THE NEW HEROES on PBS (premiering June 28) and THE NEW HEROES House Party campaign have been funded by the Skoll Foundation.

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Children’s Partnership Releases New Report

The Children’s Partnership has released a report on its year-long research project, Measuring Digital Opportunity for America's Children: Where We Stand and Where We Go From Here.

This new research and action plan are designed to help educate the public about how technology can be harnessed to improve the lives of children. More specifically, the report analyzes whether and how the Internet and other technology tools are impacting outcomes for US children with regard to educational achievement, health, workforce skills, and community participation.

This is the first time that this information has been gathered in one place and analyzed across these areas as well as by income, race and ethnicity. The data show some positive outcomes for many children—and also the increasingly significant “digital opportunity gap” for low-income and ethnic minority children.

In addition to the analysis, the Partnership has developed an index to begin to measure how the United States is doing disseminating these tools to the nation's children in ways that enhance outcomes for them. An extensive set of materials is available on the Digital Opportunity Measuring Stick (DOMS) website.

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