Here at V2, we’re passionate about supporting and working with mission-driven organizations making a positive impact on the world around us. V2 has long supported the GreenLight Fund, one such organization near and dear to our hearts.
What is the GreenLight Fund?
Founded by Margaret Hall and John Simon, the GreenLight Fund brings an innovative approach to addressing unmet local needs in cities across the country. With a national footprint and local focus in 11 different cities—including V2’s home city of Boston—GreenLight helps transform the lives of children, youth and families in high-poverty urban areas by creating local infrastructure and a consistent annual process to:
- Identify critical needs in the area not yet being addressed that matter most to residents facing systemic barriers to economic opportunity
- Search the country for the most effective models addressing those needs: nonprofits offering services, connecting with their clients and sustaining their work in innovative ways
- Select the nonprofit that is the best fit to meet the identified needs with a significant, measurable impact that can be successfully replicated
- Invest GreenLight Fund resources—including funds, time and passion—and leverage deep connections within the community and strategic partnerships to help organizations ramp up, galvanizing local support to help those programs reach and sustain impact in the new city
- Measure the growth and effectiveness of GreenLight’s investments against specific, relevant target outcomes and share those results with investors, partners and the local community
GreenLight’s mission and vision resonate with us at V2 because their approach is reminiscent of the innovative business models we see in the tech industry. Not unlike investment firms participating in fundraising rounds of innovative tech companies, GreenLight identifies successful, forward-thinking organizations that can meet identified needs and provide the funding needed to grow in a new location. GreenLight’s model shepherds innovation into local communities to drive meaningful impact.
GreenLight Fund’s Impact in Boston
Thanks to its vibrant tech scene and a local talent pool fueled by some of the nation’s leading colleges and universities, Boston is a hub for innovation. GreenLight Boston ensures innovative approaches are also applied to solving some of the city’s most pressing issues—including Boston’s poverty-related challenges that threaten to hold children and families back from success—by searching for ground-breaking solutions from around the country and bringing them to Boston.
In Boston alone, GreenLight has invested $9.8 million in 13 portfolio organizations and reached nearly 500,000 individuals and families. A sampling of these mission-driven portfolio organizations includes:
- Working on Womanhood (WOW), an in-school group-based counseling and clinical mentoring program that cultivates leadership, promotes mental health and fosters the social-emotional skills of girls and young women in grades 6-12.
- Per Scholas, which provides tuition-free technology training and professional development to help passionate, dedicated people build better lives for themselves and their families. The organization develops employer partnerships for job placements and supports alumni to advance their careers.
- CareMesssage, an intelligent cloud-based software that transforms communication for patients by providing personalized, interactive messages designed to educate, remind and motivate. It is used by community-based healthcare providers to help patients manage their chronic health conditions.
You can find V2 sponsoring a hole at GreenLight’s annual Golf for Good tournament and toasting GreenLight’s newest portfolio company to be unveiled at its fantastic Emerald Evening party this December. To learn more about the GreenLight Fund’s fantastic work in Boston and beyond, visit greenlightfund.org.