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Social Venture Partners names nonprofit ChangingGears as its newest grant recipient


Social Venture Partners Cincinnati (SVP) has selected ChangingGears as its newest recipient of grant funds and professional consulting worth thousands of dollars.
ChangingGears drives change through car donations by providing affordable, restored vehicles to people working their way out of poverty. 

Experts agree that one of the main factors driving poverty in the Cincinnati region is limited access to private transportation. Offering a hand up rather than a hand out, clients of ChangingGears buy restored cars at half the price with a no-interest loan so they can take ownership of their dreams.

SVP will partner with ChangingGears to scale capacity to grow and expand the number of clients who achieve access to affordable, private transportation. Private transportation allows clients to find jobs not limited by bus system’s routes and schedules, save time getting to work, dropping off kids to childcare and accomplishing other daily tasks, and experience empowerment through earned ownership of their vehicle.
 
SVP brings together a unique combination of investor dollars and donated skills and talent to help support its investee organizations. To date, SVP has invested in seven local, nonprofit organizations since its inception in 2007.  ChangingGears is the organization’s eighth investee. 

Click image to go to Website to donate

Click image to go to Website to donate

 
ChangingGears will receive $60,000 over a three-year period from SVP, along with hundreds of hours of donated consulting from the organization’s professional partners/members.  It includes subject matter experts in the fields of finance, marketing, management, governance and other areas. 
 
ChangingGears was selected through a competitive process that included a written application, site visits and a presentation to the SVP member partners.
 
“It was the vision and potential of ChangingGears that attracted our partners.  Innovation was our focus area this year and ChangingGears’ approach to poverty in the Greater Cincinnati region is ambitious and necessary. We want to help ChangingGears bring its ideas to reality and scale,” said Sandy Hughes, chair of SVP. 
 
SVP partner Glenn Bitzenhofer will lead the effort to coordinate SVP resources with ChangingGears.  Bitzenhofer noted, “ChangingGears has an innovative plan with data-driven goals.  With SVP’s help, they will be able to expand their vision and serve more people in our community.”

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Joel Bokelman, President of ChangingGears, states, “ChangingGears is truly honored to be selected as the 2017 investee partner by Social Venture Partners. Both of our organizations focus on the betterment of our community and transforming the quality of lives in our region.  We are ready to expand our impact with the support and expertise of SVP partners.”
 
Since its inception in 2007, SVP Cincinnati has invested more than $1,000,000 in grants and in-kind support to seven local nonprofits: the Civic Garden Center, Gorman Heritage Farm, Imago for the Earth, Whole Again, Family Nurturing Center, Lawn Life and Skyward – LiveWell NKY.

Social Venture Partners is Greater Cincinnati’s home for engaged philanthropists.  We are part of an international network of 3,500 partners who collectively invest time, talent and grant money in innovative ways to strengthen local nonprofits.  Our purpose is simple:  to enable our investees to make the Cincinnati region a stronger and more vibrant community. 


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