June 2016
Progress Newsletter
 
Empowerment, Enrichment, and Extracurricular Fun with the  After School Grants Program

Payton Carter, also known adoringly by his students as P-Money, is on a mission to empower youth through hip-hop. In addition to his role as a special education teacher at Oakland High School, Mr. Carter has overseen the school's Hip Hop Club for the past seven years.
Payton Carter (center) with his Oakland High School students.
The Hip Hop Club encourages students to channel their energy and hone their music and dance skills in a positive environment, thereby allowing them to feel empowered through art. Beats Rhymes and Life (BRL) , a nonprofit that uses hip-hop music and dance as a therapeutic tool for youth, also provides mentorship to the club participants. Some of the BRL young men who work with the Hip Hop Club are graduates of Oakland High, having participated in the club when they were students.
Throughout his tenure at the club, Mr. Carter has purchased sound equipment like boom boxes and microphones as well as built a state-of-the-art recording studio. To accomplish all of this, Mr. Carter has leveraged PVF's After School Grants Program , which funds after school programs in low-income public schools. The After School Grant Program is one of seven immediate-response programs we administer that provides paperless grants to Bay Area teachers with a 48-hour turnaround time. This grant program model respects teachers' time and allows them to spend their time doing what they do best - teach.
This grant program model respects teachers' time and allows them to spend their time doing what they do best - teach.
The After School Program in particular harnesses the talents and energy of teachers to oversee extracurricular activities that fulfill the unmet needs they identify while working closely with students. Throughout the After School Program's eight year lifespan, we have seen that the most successful after school programs are built on already-established camaraderie between teachers and students. These relationships provide mentoring and guidance from the people that students trust while they develop additional skills. Mr. Carter's close relationship with his students and their respect for him - as evidenced by his nickname - makes him an ideal recipient of an After School Grant. He is a dedicated advocate for his students' learning and growth via unique after school programs.

Hip Hop Club members in their recording studio at Oakland High.
After school programs allow for a unique form of learning and support outside of the classroom by providing an enriching experience for both individual students and the larger school population. Since 2008, we have awarded nearly $740,000 in grants through the After School Resource Program, with more than 12,000 Bay Area students benefitting. With the generosity of the program's donor, The Barkley Fund, we look forward to supporting the enrichment and education of many more students for years to come.
PVF's 2015 Report Now Available!



Our  2015  report is now available!  In it, w e reflect back over the last year, which marked 25  years of creative grantmaking for PVF. 2015 also marked our biggest year of giving yet - we gave out   $12,930,666 in total. Since opening our doors in 1991, we have given out more than $119 million in grants. Not bad for a team of 5. 


" From the beginning, PVF's reimagining of philanthropy has had a rippling effect on the wider philanthropic world." 

- PVF's Founder, Bill Somerville
About the Editors

James Higa
James Higa, Executive Director, brings 28 years of executive experience from Silicon Valley, working with Steve Jobs to change the face of technology. He was at the birth of the personal computer revolution as a member of the original Macintosh team and was deeply involved in the creation of many products and services at Apple over 3 decades. He has a long history of public service as a board member of Stanford's Haas Center and in grassroots relief efforts. 
 
Bill Somerville, Founder, has been in non-profit and philanthropic work for 50 years. He was the director of a community foundation for 17 years, and in 1991 founded Philanthropic Ventures Foundation where he serves as President. Bill has consulted at over 400 community foundations, on creative grantmaking and foundation operations. Bill is the author of Grassroots Philanthropy: Field Notes of a Maverick Grantmaker. 
 
About PVF

PVF is a demonstration foundation practicing unique forms of grantmaking and innovative philanthropy. Our primary interest is in the creative and significant use of the philanthropic dollar.