We talk to Partner Brad Kleban about how he built a community through San Diego Social Venture Partners.
How did you become involved in SVP?
My life was in a cul-de-sac. I was interacting with the same people, doing the same things, and I wasn’t satisfied with that. A friend recommended I join SVP because I’d meet a whole new group of people and have a new set of problems to solve.
Why should someone consider becoming an SVP partner?
What I like about SVP is everyone is there to help. They have a genuine interest in making the world a better place using whatever skills they have.
What have you learned by being a partner?
SVP has given me a master class in how nonprofits function. Most nonprofits are mission-first and figure out how to run it later. Eventually, you can’t run on passion. A nonprofit has to run like a business, otherwise, nothing will survive. Every nonprofit wants to put forward its best face. SVP works from the opposite perspective: Tell us where you hurt, and we can help you with that.
As a small business owner, I suffered some of the same problems as a small nonprofit. So, I’ve expanded not only my nonprofit knowledge, but also my business knowledge. My confidence in my decision-making process grew a lot after joining SVP because I learned more about how businesses work.
What else have you discovered?
When I first joined, I led the site visit to the Barrio Logan College Institute. I didn’t anticipate how impressed I would be. I ended up being a lead partner for three years and that relationship has stretched all the way to today.
I also continue to be involved with the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF), which was an SVP investee almost 10 years ago. It’s named for an SDSU student who was killed by a 14-year-old, Tony Hicks, who became the first juvenile in California to be tried as an adult. Tariq’s father and Tony’s grandfather formed a foundation to foster nonviolence and restorative justice. They do tremendous work. I like the world they want to make.
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