Agency for Change : A Podcast from KidGlov

Changemaker Danette O’Connell, Director, Social Venture Partners New York City

• KidGlov • Season 1 • Episode 265

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In this episode, Lyn welcomes back a familiar voice, Danette O’Connell, Director of Social Venture Partners New York City and Founder of The Nonprofit Cooperative.

Danette shares exciting news about the launch of SVP New York City, a powerful new giving circle designed to strengthen underfunded nonprofits and drive equity-centered change. Lyn and Danette explore how this model combines philanthropy, mentorship, and community collaboration to amplify the impact of small nonprofits, the organizations doing critical, hands-on work across our communities.

Learn why 85% of U.S. nonprofits operate on under $1 million a year, how SVP’s trust-based philanthropy approach changes the game, and how anyone can make a bigger impact by giving both time and treasure.

If you’re passionate about supporting small nonprofits, this conversation will leave you inspired and ready to act.

Welcome to the Agency for Change podcast.

Connect with Danette and Social Venture Partners New York City at: 

·       Nonprofit Cooperative website: https://www.thenonprofitcooperative.org/

·       SVP NYC website: https://www.svpnyc.org/

Danette O'Connell: 0:00

Make an impact, invest in small nonprofits.

Announcer: 0:05

Welcome to Agency for Change, a podcast from KidGlov that brings you the stories of changemakers who are actively working to improve our community. In every episode, we'll meet with people who are making a lasting impact in the places we call home.

Lyn Wineman: 0:30

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Agency for Chain Podcast. This is Lyn Wineman. I am the President and Chief Strategist at KidGlov. Today's guest, Danette O'Connell, is no stranger to this podcast. She has joined us before to share her expertise on the Nonprofit Cooperative. And today she is back with some big news. On November 13th, 2025, Danette and her team will launch Social Venture Partners New York City. This is a bold new initiative designed to strengthen underfunded nonprofits and spark equity-centered change across the city. In this conversation, we are going to explore what this launch means, how it connects to a global movement, and why it has the power to transform the future of philanthropy. Danette, welcome back to the podcast.

Danette O'Connell: 1:34

Thank you, Lyn. Thanks for having me today. I'm really excited to be here.

Lyn Wineman: 1:38

Absolutely. You are our first three-time guest, Danette. And I know we're going to have you on more in the future. But while this isn't the main thing we're going to talk about today, I'd love to have you for perspective, just share a quick overview of the Nonprofit Cooperative and the work you're doing with this organization to help support nonprofits.

Danette O'Connell: 2:02

Wonderful. So the Nonprofit Cooperative is a membership organization where we provide free resources to nonprofits. And those resources can be training, collaboration, social network. We have our own social network networking. So there's a lot of different resources. But one of the main resources that we do is vet our members. So all of our businesses that serve nonprofits become members of our organization and we vet them. So when the nonprofits are looking for a vendor, they know we've already vetted them for them. That's one thing. That's one of the things that really sets us apart. The other thing that sets us apart is we never charge nonprofits. Everything we do is free to nonprofits. And there's not an organization out there that does that that I know of.

Lyn Wineman: 2:56

Danette, KidGlov is very proud to be a vetted member of the Nonprofit Cooperative. And I will say from being on your board, I know that everything is free for nonprofits. I also know you just hit a big milestone. You hit 8,000 nonprofit members. Congratulations.

Danette O'Connell: 3:16

We did. That is so exciting for us. We're trying to hit 10,000 by the end of the year. But 8,000 has been wonderful to serve that many nonprofits across the United States and globally. 5% of our members are international. So we're excited to have them all. Any way that we can help them, we're here to give them any uplift we can do.

Lyn Wineman: 3:41

That's amazing. Danette, that is really exciting and I know we have a lot of nonprofit listeners so if you are listening and you are not a member, go to the nonprofitcooperative.org. Am I getting that website right? 

Danette O'Connell: 3:59

It's right above my head. Oh, yeah. So it's the nonprofitcooperative.org. Thank you. And if you go under nonprofits, it's that's where you would register as a nonprofit. And when you register for the Nonprofit Cooperative, you will hear about open grants at the Nonprofit Collective Foundation, SVP New York City.

Lyn Wineman: 4:22

All right. Well, that's the perfect transition, Danette, because today, even though we wanted to start that way, we're going to really focus on something new and exciting. And that is your recent announcement of the launch of Social Venture Partners New York City. The official launch is happening November 13th. But can you tell us more about this and why it's an important moment for nonprofits in New York?

Danette O'Connell: 4:51

So SVP New York City is an affiliate of a global organization called SVP International. And so we started one up in New York. And what that is, is to sum it up, it's a giving circle. It's where people invest into nonprofits. So they become a partner, and not only do they give money, but they also give time. So they'll sit on a committee, they'll volunteer at a nonprofit, but they're also providing funding. And what we do with that funding is we give it to nonprofits. So what we do is we pull everybody's money together, and then we have a grant application. It's a video grant application that nonprofits can apply. And then we, you know, choose which ones that you know we want to give. We have nine categories, so we give one grant per category, and we try to give more. Depends on how much we raise, and this year depends on how much we give out. And we don't know that till the end of the year. So the grant applications will open up in November and then they'll be open for 10 days. All of our nonprofits that are signed up through the Nonprofit Cooperative will receive an email. We do not make this public, it's only for our members at the cooperative. So our nonprofit associates is what we call them. So if you're a nonprofit that you register for free, you'll hear about our grants. That's the only way that people hear about our grants.

Lyn Wineman: 6:26

That's amazing. And a point of clarification, Danette, can it be any of the nonprofit members, or does it have to be a nonprofit based in New York?

Danette O'Connell: 6:35

No. So the Nonprofit Collective Foundation is a national organization. And then we have a program called SVP New York City. So the grants are split nationally and locally to New York City. And then we provide extra events and in-person events in New York. But we have money for national and local.

Lyn Wineman: 7:00

That's amazing. I can't think of a better time than right now for nonprofits to get things. So not only are you advocating for nonprofits to have everything free, you're also advocating for them to have some outside services paid for, which I really, really love, Danette. I was reading over before we got started, I was reading over the press release that you issued with this announcement. And it noted that 85% of nonprofits nationwide operate on less than $1 million annually, yet they're really doing critical work in communities. So can we talk a little bit more about how SVP New York City is going to address these challenges and help strengthen these organizations? We talked about the grants a little bit, but what else is on the horizon?

Danette O'Connell: 7:56

So just to put things in perspective, there's 1.6 million nonprofits in the US, and that's 501c3s. And 85% of them are under a million dollars. Now that's okay, that's big. That's 85%. That's a lot of nonprofits that are under a million, but the here's the issue: 2.3 million dollars trillion dollars go to nonprofits every year, and 90% of that money goes to that other 15%, the large nonprofits over a million. So what happens is the smaller organizations only receive 10% of that $2.3 trillion. And the 15%, the small nonprofits under a million, they are on the front lines. They're the ones that are helping everyday people. You know, they could be homeless shelters, they could be, you know, an organization that is making you aware of different diseases or heart conditions, whatever the case shall be, but also, you know, giving out wigs to cancer patients who have lost their hair, you know. So they're doing all of the community-based needs that are really needed in the community. These are the smaller nonprofits under a million, but they make up majority of the nonprofits. So what we want to do is really rally around these smaller nonprofits and help them with resources, with funding, with training. So we don't ever give money away unless we help you with your training. How do you run an organization? And that's from strategic planning all the way to hiring, right? So we help you with that training. And you may know, but you know what? If you learn one thing in one of our classes, then you're then you're ahead, right? So you know that's really important to us to make sure like that we help those organizations with that funding and really rally around them and help them also with collaboration. So, you know, we do find that there is a lot of nonprofits out there. So if they can collaborate with each other, that could be in a program, you know, do a program, a joint program with another nonprofit. You could apply for a grant jointly and help get a larger amount of money for two organizations or even merge together. So to kind of cut down on the number of nonprofits that we have doing the same thing.

Lyn Wineman: 10:43

You know, Danette, I read that one of the key principles of SVP is that the work that they do is transformative and not transactional. And I love that phrase, but I'd also like, would you explain what that looks like in practice for the nonprofits you'll support through SVP?

Danette O'Connell: 11:05

Yeah, so when we bring in on a partner, which is an investor, right? So they come in and they invest into the organization. And then they are in the they'll sit on a committee, but then they could go and mentor a nonprofit, right? So it goes all the way down, you know, to the nonprofits, let's collectively do this, right? And so in most organizations, like they just give the funding and say thanks, have fun, report back to us in you know, six months and let us know what you did with the money. And with SVP, it's a different model where people will invest and give their time. Time and money is so precious to nonprofits. So if they could get an extra hands at an event or some mentoring, you know, that's wonderful that the investors are, you know, the funders are looking to do that. And we call them partners because they're true partners. They come in, they'll sit on a committee, they'll help vet, they'll, you know, go put feet on the ground to a nonprofit locally in New York City and say, let us help you. You have a gala, we'll help you, right? You need to hire someone, let us help you, right? Because they all have different expertise because they're individuals who, you know, they could work on Wall Street, they could work at a big corporation. You know, if they work for a big corporation, we're trying to get them to have other employees within our organization volunteer. You know, nonprofits could always use more and more volunteers. So we'll have, even if it's how do I do my finances, let you know, they'll find, you know, they'll volunteer to help them do a budget or you know, some kind of a project that you know they would not ordinarily have, you know, someone to help them do that. So, you know, it has to be a small project. It can't be something like come and be my CFO for a while. But you know, come in and help me do a budget or help us set our gala or that kind of stuff. Or how do I be a better leader? Right. So, you know, so many nonprofits are started out of passion. Something has happened in someone's family and they started the organization out of passion, but once sometimes they don't realize that a nonprofit is a business and it has to be run like a business to be successful. So if we can help, you know, if our partners can come in and help them do that, you know, that's a win-win for everybody. It's a win for the nonprofit. They'll be able to raise more money, they'll be able to grow, right? So, which is more impact on the ground.

Lyn Wineman: 13:43

Yeah, you know, Danette, something I have heard you say many times is nonprofit is a tax status. I mean, nonprofits still have to pay their bills, they still have to keep the lights on, they still have to have a budget, they still have to make a payroll, they still, if they have employees, have to follow HR laws, they still have to do marketing and branding and all of the things. So I really love the idea of for-profit and nonprofit partnerships that you are bringing together in this model as well. I know one other thing I read about SVP is that the SVP model also emphasizes community-led change and trust-based partnerships. I love both of those phrases so much. And I'm curious, how do you really ensure that those closest to the challenges, like we were just talking, are truly centered in this process?

Danette O'Connell: 14:41

So one of the things is you know, when we bring on a nonprofit for funding, you know, they go through their own betting process and bring them in, and then you know, we'll connect them. The first thing we do is connect them with a mentor, right? So we connect them with the mentor, then we give them the funding, we give them the training, and now we can give them the volunteering.

So we're adding some more layers onto our organization to be able to do that. And you know, you know, they're excited to come in and be able to help, right? I want I want to see where my money is going towards and how can we rally and collaborate with them. So and then there's a whole process that we have to ensure that all of this goes smoothly and then everybody is collaborating the way that we need it to.

Lyn Wineman: 15:37

Yeah. So Danette, I understand that globally, because SVP is a global network of which SVP New York City is part of. Is it true globally? They're already moving more than $90 million in mostly unrestricted funds, plus giving, you know, hundreds of volunteer hours. Is that correct?

Danette O'Connell: 16:04

That is true. So SVP in the US, everybody helps each other. This is what's so wonderful about SVP is there's different affiliates throughout the United States. And you can see that map if you want to socialventurepartners.org. And all of us work together as one, and we really lean on each other. How do you do this? How do I do that? Right. Like we share how we move forward, and that really helps build that whole network together. So then you add the international piece to that, which is the biggest affiliate, is India. So I think they have, yeah, like they're very large, they're almost as large as the US. So they run, I mean, so if you take all of these affiliations together, like we're doing really great in the world, right? And we're really moving, and we all do unrestricted funds. Nobody does restrictive funds. That's the glory of social venture partners, right? So we're able to tap into our own resources and tap into them. So yeah, that's a lot of the transformal, right? So like we can tap in. I could, you know, call Sierra and say, Sierra, how did you do this? Or, you know, and all of the different affiliates, especially India, you know, like they have really, since we've launched uh social venture partners in New York City, they have really like taken me under their wing. And it has been so wonderful. I'm actually meeting one of the founders of SVP here in Seattle as I'm sitting here. So I and yeah, the people in India and you know, Sierra and Jason, they have been absolutely wonderful, just helping us, you know, move this forward.

Lyn Wineman: 17:55

That's fantastic. Well, just zeroing in a little bit on New York City, nonprofits in New York City employ over 1.3 million people and generate nearly 97 billion in wages. I mean, sometimes we don't really think about our nonprofits as like workforce development and employment, but those are some really big numbers. And yet they do that while typically remaining underfunded. I mean, I don't think in the many years I've done nonprofit work with many, many nonprofits, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say, we have more money than we know what to do with, right? Like that's just not a thing. What do you see as the biggest opportunities for philanthropy to shift the landscape in both New York City and nationally, since you really are looking at it as a national level?

Danette O'Connell: 18:52

So I just want to clarify that number in New York City, you have to remember there's a lot of universities and hospitals and research centers. So that's why New York City has those kind of numbers. So I just wanted to clarify. Like they are very big numbers. And I wish that money trickled down to the small nonprofits, but let me tell you, they do not. They do not.

Lyn Wineman: 19:17

University funding is very different from your typical 501 funding.

Danette O'Connell: 19:23

Exactly, exactly. And those are that 10% that um you know that are getting a lot of the bigger funding. So because of that. So I just wanted to clarify that point. And so sorry, what was the main question?

Lyn Wineman: 19:38

Uh well, the main question was what do you see as the biggest opportunities for philanthropy to kind of shift the landscape for nonprofits?

Danette O'Connell: 19:48

So there's two things to that. So shifting the landscape is shifting the mindset, right? And that mindset is make your funding unrestricted. Right. Or increase, if you want to put it towards programs, increase the 10, 15 to 25%. It's really hard to run a business, right? Which a nonprofit is, off of 10 to 15 percent of unrestricted funds that you get on a program grant. So we're trying to shift the landscape that if you are going to, you know, you know, if you can't give completely all, you know, it's called trusted, untrusted philanthropy or unrestricted funds, is which what we call it. It's trust-based uh philanthropy. So which means we're gonna give you the money unrestricted and we're gonna trust that you're gonna do it with what you say that you're going to do it with, right? But we're not going to restrict it. Right. So either way, people are starting to shift the mindset of going towards that. Give them the freedom to do what they need to do it with, you know, and if you still want to have the reporting, trust-based philanthropy is that we're going to trust you and we don't want you to report back to us. We don't have you report back to us either, other than we just want to know, you know, how else we can help you. So I check in with everyone that we have funded on a quarterly basis just to say, you know, how are you doing? Are you going to the trainings? You know, things like that. And then we ask them at the end of the year, can you let us know how the funding impacted your organization? Right. And so we ask for an impact statement. That should be good, right? Like having them do miles and miles, you know, mounds of paperwork isn't serving anybody. Right. Right. It's taking up their time that they could be spending on, you know, serving their mission.

Lyn Wineman: 21:46

Right. When you have to spend a certain percentage of that grant or hire a person or a consultant to track the results, that's really not going directly to that program need that you're wanting to serve. Likewise, the world is changing so fast, right? That that you could give restricted funds, but the need a few months down the road could be in a completely different place. So really appreciate what you're saying and doing. 

Danette O'Connell: 22:18

And then the other thing is that also, you know, we are like a giving circle. To sum it up, very easy. That is the best way to put your money, right? Not only are you giving money at SVP, but you're also giving your time, which is how wonderful is that, right? But you're also putting your money in a pool of funds to be able to give to these nonprofits. One of the things that the Nonprofit Collective Foundation does is we have a giving tank. And that it's just like Shark Tank, but for nonprofits. So we also give you advice on how you could do things bigger, better, and faster in your organization. So we're giving advice, we're giving funding. So, what a better way of you know donating money is through, you know, an organization like this, if it's in New York or, you know, Charlotte or Tucson, you know, it doesn't matter. Like you're giving your time and your money and you're pulling it together to be able to make a bigger impact, right? Have your money make an impact, but also have you, right? So you could be giving, because people will say, well, why can't I just give directly and volunteer? You could, but when you pull your money together, we could take your 5,000 and make it 10,000 to give it to that nonprofit, right? So if you want to give directly, you can. Giving it to you know an organization like SVP or the Nonprofit Collective Foundation is where you know you can make your money make a larger impact by pulling it together.

Lyn Wineman: 24:03

You know, I think particularly too when you think about these smaller nonprofits that haven't invested a lot in marketing or awareness, you're not you may not even be aware that this, you know, particular mission exists. And it takes a lot of time to research and vet all of the different nonprofits. And you are already doing that for people as well. And I think that way, not only does your money go farther, but your time can be spent not researching and vetting, but actually in the process doing the work. 

So, Danette, you have been a long time advocate for capacity building and cross-sector collaboration. I'm curious what to bring this full circle, what lessons from the Nonprofit Cooperative are you carrying towards this next chapter with SVP?

Danette O'Connell: 25:01

So the Nonprofit Cooperative and SVP and the Nonprofit Cooperate or Collective Foundation, we all work very, very close together. We have a partnership agreement between the organizations because our training is done on the cooperative side for the foundation side, right? So it's a very close relationship and it will be a very close relationship with SBP in New York. So because our members and our partners over at the cooperative will help us do the boots on the ground in New York City.

Lyn Wineman: 25:38

Got it. Got it. So we've mentioned a couple of websites today, but just to kind of get this all together, for listeners who want to learn more, be more involved, maybe become a founding partner of SVP New York City, what's the best way for people to connect with you and get involved?

Danette O'Connell: 25:57

They can go to svpnyc.org.

Lyn Wineman: 26:03

Okay. Svpnyc.org. We will have that in the show notes on the KidGlov website as well as the link to the Nonprofit Cooperative website. Fantastic. All right, Danette, I'm gonna put you on the hot seat, which since you've been on the podcast before, you know what I'm gonna ask you. I know, I am looking for an original motivational quote to inspire our listeners. It's your third time around, but I'd love you to share a few words of wisdom related to this topic.

Danette O'Connell: 26:40

Yeah, invest in a small nonprofit. Your impact is amplified and recognized. And if you do a if you invest in a large nonprofit, you're a big fit, you know, you're a little fish in a big, big pond.

Lyn Wineman: 26:54

So I love it.

Danette O'Connell: 26:56

Make an impact, invest in small nonprofits.

Lyn Wineman: 26:59

I love it. Make an impact, invest in small nonprofits. You are the ultimate champion of small nonprofits, Danette. And I think this is a good time to ask as we wrap up our time together today. What is the most important thing you would like our listeners to remember about the work that you're doing?

Danette O'Connell: 27:22

Everything is free for nonprofits. Everything we do. So spread the word. It's free, it's impactful, it helps with their mission. There's so many things that we do from training to collaboration to funding, like we hit it all. 

Lyn Wineman: 27:44

So if you're a nonprofit and you're not a member yet, go check out that link, become a member, it's free, and there's lots of good stuff out there for you. Danette, I fully believe the world needs more people like you, more organizations like the Nonprofit Cooperative and SVP New York City and the Nonprofit Collective Foundation, all of those great organizations that are working together. Thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to talk with us.

Danette O'Connell: 28:17

Thank you for having me, I really, really appreciate it.

Announcer: 28:22

We hope you enjoyed today's Agency for Change podcast. To hear all our interviews with those who are making a positive change in our communities, or to nominate a changemaker you'd love to hear from, visit kidglov.com at k-i-dg-l-o-v.com to get in touch. As always, if you like what you've heard today, be sure to rate, review, subscribe, and share. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.