Featuring PIQE
Taking note of the quiet that fills their home ever since their daughter left for college this fall, Mr. and Mrs. Gonzales log on to Zoom to attend the Parents for STEM Success workshop. The Gonzales have achieved their dream of having their daughter accepted to college and hope to continue to support her in her studies. They’re proud that she’s pursuing a science major at Cal State University San Marcos and can’t stop telling everyone of her success. Yet neither of them has much understanding of the technical terms their daughter now uses to describe the lectures she attends or what career pathways will be open to her in the future. The Gonzaleses are grateful to Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) for providing them the ability to advocate for their daughter as she pursues higher education.
PIQE has empowered families like the Gonzales for the past 35 years by providing them knowledge and the skills to partner with schools and communities to ensure their students achieve their full potential. Such incredible community impact doesn’t just happen, it’s built. This is where San Diego Social Venture Partners (SVP) comes in.
PIQE came to SVP in December 2020 following a successful, albeit challenging, pivot to move its parent classes to a virtual model while simultaneously supporting the often-urgent pandemic related needs of families. Their work was more important than ever as parents around the world struggled to support their children’s virtual schooling. At the same time, the organization was making a strategic pivot to increase advocacy for the populations they serve.
PIQE hoped to leverage their highly
successful, proven model to grow their vision for the future. But first, they needed to build organizational resilience and sustainability. A team of SVP Partners including lead Partner Don Wells, Diane Cox, Michael Dowlan, Leigh Johnson, Wally Klein, Paul Rosenstein, Joyce Ross, Louarn Sorkin, Scott Tritt, and Tom Watlington walked alongside them every step of the way. In a complex 18-month project, the team helped PIQE to shore up organizational processes to drive more effective operations, create a fundraising framework, develop an actionable marketing plan, and build an effective board governance committee. The engagement culminated with a three-year strategic plan reflective of the organization’s current practices with a clear vision for the future.
“Working in partnership with the SVP team has been enriching and empowering for the PIQE team and the Board. Their diverse experiences complimented the process to achieve the best results” said CEO Gloria Corral.
On the eve of their 35th Anniversary Celebration and recent organizational realignment, PIQE is poised to grow its services and give families the tools they need to take an active role in their student’s education for years to come.
SVP’s capacity-building Spark Team program demonstrates SVP’s core values of relationship building and commitment to excellence at their very best. Our model allows us to accompany organizations through complex, often inter-related and evolving challenges rather than providing a single work product bound by initial contracting as common with paid consultants.
Help us provide this integral service to more nonprofits like PIQE at an important inflection point in their growth trajectory. Amplify your giving today!