SVP Boston February Insider 2026

Dear Partners, Grantees, and Supporters,

I am energized about what SVP Boston and our nonprofit partners can accomplish together in 2026.

We bring experienced professionals together to help local nonprofits thrive, and we give our partners insight into the sector’s challenges and impact so they can practice informed philanthropy.

Recognizing the importance of cultivating future volunteers and donors, I am thrilled to announce the launch of our NextGen Philanthropists program. This new initiative is designed to educate young professionals on how to invest in their communities in ways that are wise, meaningful, and impactful.

In the same spirit of growth and sustainability, we’re introducing leadership mentoring across our engagement teams to support emerging leaders and ensure continuity during natural transitions in our volunteer community.

We are also excited to present a robust Lunch & Learn Series this year to help strengthen nonprofit capacity across Greater Boston.

I invite you to read more in this newsletter and welcome the opportunity to connect by phone, Zoom, or over coffee.

In gratitude,

Karin Cassel Mitterando, CEO

2026 Engagement Team Leadership

In 2026, each of our four engagement teams will be led by two partners in a shared leadership model. Thank you to all of our team leaders for taking on this important role.

Susan Simmons, Senior Lead

Wes Goldburg, Junior Lead

Bill Asher and Andrew Kirkwood

Co-Leads

Monica Noether and Wendy Warring

Co-Leads

Harvy Simkovits, Senior Lead

June Dong, Junior Lead

Lunch & Learn: March 18, 2026

Don't Plan for Succession, Plan for Success

David Harris, Managing Partner of Interim Executive Solutions

The Lunch & Learn Series is free and open to the public.

This session will focus on relatively small changes that staff and board leaders can make that can strengthen the culture, build capacity, and ultimately increase resilience, a key element to enabling smooth transitions. Peter Drucker famously said that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Nowhere is that more important than in nonprofits, especially when planning for continuity of operations, leadership, and impact.

Lunch & Learn: April 8, 2026

Leader Assessment 101: Interviewing for Impact

Greig Schneider, a partner at Egon Zehnder.

The Lunch & Learn Series is free and open to the public.

Assessing a leader (interviewing) – be it for a hiring decision, or to support development, to determine who gets a critical job, or for many other purposes – is an important skill. It is a skill that is rarely taught, yet it is one which many people assume they have mastered. The goal of this lunch and learn is to provide some basic “tips and tricks” that can help make interviews more effective.

Look for these Lunch & Learns coming soon:

Amy Meneely & Wendy Price: Nonprofit Storytelling

Justin Allen: Developing an 'Accelerator' Mindset to Drive Impact

Kate Bennis: Communicating with Sway: Cultivating the Skills and Techniques of Great Communication

Janet Lawn: Planning a Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign: Samaritans' Experience

Karin Mitterando: How to Build Events That Actually Scale

All previous Lunch & Learn sessions are available In our Knowledge Hub - and we have an amazing library! Topics include cybersecurity, fundraising, leveraging AI, and more!

NextGen Launches

A newly formed group, the NextGen Philanthropists, kicked off in February with a mission to create opportunities to nurture the next generation of philanthropists. The group is being led by Cameron Marshall and Patrick Wallace and supported by 5 other SVP partners. They have aligned on a handful of priority initiatives for 2026, including developing a speaker series, identifying candidates for the sponsored catalyst program, and organizing in-person networking events. Stay tuned!

Learn more: svpboston.org