Featuring Reality Changers
Reality Changers has long been a part of the SVP community. Over the years, our Partners have been privileged to support this organization that has become a college access institution in San Diego. In its 22-year history, the nonprofit had not yet secured a permanent location to house its services. In a moment of transition, an SVP team of Partners including Lead Dave Meader, Susanne Chakravarty, and John Fry worked closely with Reality Changers’ leadership to assess the nonprofit’s options for establishing a new home for its staff offices and programs.
Right away, the SVP team got to work to do what they do best. They listened. They learned that the nonprofit’s needs were unique. Not only did Reality Changers require offices for a large staff, but its program model also called for communal gathering space in which students ate together and participated in group lessons. Additionally, smaller rooms for individual and small group mentoring were needed. How could they find a place to call home?
SVP provided President & CEO Tamara Craver and Senior Vice President Ashley Morgan a series of tools to help evaluate leasing opportunities for the organization. These included resources to accurately estimate space needs, compare lease criteria across multiple properties, and a guide to engage the board in facilities and real estate decision-making.
Reality Changers has since been able to negotiate a new lease for a space that meets the needs of its staff, students, and families.
“…we were able to negotiate not only the current lease space but also for future expansion…the templates were the best tools for us to negotiate in a powerful way.” - Tamara Craver, Reality Changers President & CEO
SVP is thrilled to have played a role in empowering this nonprofit to not only find a location to house its programs, but a home that supports its mission.
As part of the SVP community, the work of the Reality Changers team continues to have a ripple effect. Other SVP teams are using, or plan to use, these newly developed space and lease evaluation criteria tools with the nonprofits they support.