.by The Denver Foundation on Friday, August 13, 2010 at 11:40am.

Mark is the Founder and COO of Little Pub Company, owner and operator of 19 neighborhood bars in the Metro area. Raised in pre-boomtown Castle Rock, Mark is dedicated to giving back to the communities that have given him and the Little Pub Company so much. While he initially focused on supporting the arts & culture arena, involvement with The Denver Foundation led Mark to establish a company donor-advised fund and broaden his philanthropic interests. Now living in Capitol Hill, Mark and his wife of 17 years, Margaret, raise their four children with a special emphasis on volunteerism. When he's not "peddling" beer, playing with his kids, or helping non-profits, Mark enjoys sports, reading, and poker.

Marks favorite quote: "You're only young once, but you can be immature forever."

http://www.denverfoundation.org/donors/page/business-advised-funds

posted: August 8, 2011

posted: May 1, 2011

Brainerd and his friends in the tech world had seen the power of venture capital in transforming businesses, growing them from promising start-ups to successful pubic companies. They wondered if that model could be applied in the nonprofit sector, where the goal wasn’t bringing a product to market, but helping address social issues like education and the environment. They brought together a group of business leaders to make highly engaged investments of money, resources, and expertise in local nonprofit organizations, with the aim of developing their capacity and sustainability. They called this group Social Venture Partners (SVP).

Paul Shoemaker, formerly a worldwide manager with Microsoft, came on staff to lead SVP Seattle in 1998. He recalls that Denver was one of the earliest cities to reach out to try and replicate the model. “I still remember the first call I got from Denver, back in 1999, after someone had read about SVP in Hemispheres magazine.” That person was Marlene Casini, then-Vice President of Advancement and Communications at The Denver Foundation. She saw the model’s promise for bringing new philanthropists into the work of nonprofits and for improving nonprofit business practices.

This year, SVP Denver celebrates its 10th anniversary, still operating as a program of The Denver Foundation, and Shoemaker marvels at their success. “Denver was the second or third city to contact us about making SVP happen in their community and here they are, 10-plus years later, going strong. Over those 10 years, we’ve added 23 cities and up to 2,000 members worldwide. Denver was one of our trailblazers.” Today, SVP International has chapters in the United States, Canada, and Japan. And Denver is still one of the stars.

SVP Denver: A model for direct involvementSo how, exactly, does SVP work? It starts with the partners. In Denver, each partner contributes a tax-deductible gift of at least $2,500. Together, they select grantee organizations to invest in each year. SVP Denver supports organizations whose missions include early childhood education, K-12 education, and youth development. Once an organization is selected, partners work with the staff and board members of the organization to increase its capacity—the key to the SVP model.

The first half of the SVP model is that the Partners make investments in their grantees that build the long-term capacity of the organizations, rather than short-term projects or programs. Capacity-building investments include cash grants, skilled volunteers, professional consultants, leadership development, and management training opportunities.

The second half of the SVP model is the mobilization of a community of lifelong, informed, and inspired philanthropists. Through engagement with grantees, personal connections, and participation in education events, partners are inspired to reinvest and make new investments in organizations associated with SVP as well as more broadly. Partners also take part in running SVP Denver itself, which has only one full-time staff person.

“I got involved because I loved the idea of coming together with like-minded individuals to use our skills to help grow nonprofits,” says Bill Ryan, one of several founding partners of SVP Denver. He likes the leverage offered through the partnership model. “I recognized that if I gave $1,000, it would not be as impactful as a partnership like SVP Denver getting 20 people together to give an organization $20,000.”

Mark Berzins, another early partner and owner of the Little Pub Company, agrees. “If all of us wrote a check to our favorite charities, it would make less of a difference. Some of the best people I know in Denver I met through SVP because they are givers and do-gooders. It’s sort of like the Justice League but we don’t wear capes or ride around in invisible airplanes.”

Over the past 10 years, SVP Denver has given $576,250 in grant awards, and offered the volunteer time and talents of 200 partners like Ryan, and Berzins, to seventeen local, innovative, youth-focused nonprofits. While Denver Foundation staff members have been instrumental in the development of the program, a full-time professional executive director oversees activities and helps the partners accomplish their work.

SVP Denver partners come from a wide range of backgrounds, representing nearly every aspect of the business community, from marketing to financial services to telecommunications. A number of partners are professional women who are now home with kids. They have connected with SVP as a way of using their knowledge and capabilities for the greater good. All SVP partners know that they have more to give than money

, and the executive director helps them connect their talents and skills with nonprofits that can benefit from their help.

“The role of SVP is not one of a traditional funder where you give a grant and ask the organization what it did with the money 12 months later,” says Lisa Fasolo Frishman, previous SVP Denver executive director. “Our partners make the grant and work with the boards and staff every step of the way.

"Grantees drive the process, but we are there to help and sometimes to push them past their comfort zones. This is what makes good organizations better.”Or, as Bill Ryan says, “We not only teach them to fish, but we teach them to catch bigger fish.”

Does venture philanthropy make a difference?

To find out the impact of SVP Denver, one has only to ask the nonprofits that have received support. “We applied for a grant because we were in a growth stage and wanted help to build capacity to sustain that growth,” said Trish Thibodo, Executive Director of PlatteForum, a 2008-2009 SVP Denver grantee. Trish said that with the help of SVP partners, they developed their fundraising strategies, board, committee structures, and personnel, as well as establishing best practices. “The process matured us as an organization, and I really think that as we’ve gone through the recent downturn of the economy, our partnership with SVP has put us in a position to ride the storm and to be even more effective.”

Fasolo Frishman explains that SVPs are strong supporters of general operating grants. “We let the grantee decide how to spend the money we award, but then we hold them accountable for results. Because we are making an investment not only of financial resources, but of expertise and business practices, we help the organization to assess their needs, address them, and use the power of the Partners network to effect real change.”

Other SVP Denver grantees have included Environmental Learning for Kids, Front Range Earth Force, YouthBiz, and the Young Philanthropists Foundation.

Colorado MESA (Mathmatics, Engineering, Science, Achievement) has profited tremendously from the involvement of SVP Denver. Grants helped MESA hire a grant writer to secure more funding, which resulted in over $700,000 of additional revenue being raised. These funds have allowed MESA to hire additional staff and expand their program. SVP Denver Partners then helped MESA develop a plan to expand their program to include the health sciences.

A model for growth and expansionSVP Denver continues to grow, even expanding partner levels, during the 2008-2010 economic downturn. One reason? Metro area businesses have chosen to sponsor SVP Denver as an excellent way to involve and train up-and-coming executives in community service. “Community involvement is important to us as a firm and to the professional development of our staff members,” says Sarah Knight with Knight, Field & Fabry LLC, a Denver accounting firm. “We offered an SVP membership to our top managers as part of their compensation package. Both managers to whom we offered the membership jumped at the opportunity, knowing it was a launching pad for getting involved in the community and for meeting some of Denver’s best.” ReadyTalk, UMB Bank, Colorado Capital Bank, Occasions By Sandy, and Kaiser Permanente are among the businesses that also sponsor memberships for their executives.

Worldwide, SVP as an organization prides itself on helping partners develop as leaders and philanthropists even beyond their SVP activities. According to the most recent Report on Philanthropy Development Outcomes conducted by SVP International, 60% of SVP partners have increased their giving since joining, and 88% indicated that SVP significantly increased their community involvement.

This is certainly true in Denver. Several SVP Denver partners have served on grantee boards and other nonprofit boards as a result of their SVP service. Three SVP Denver partners, Mark Berzins, Sarah Bock, and Bill Ryan, are now members of The Denver Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Berzins chairs the Arts and Culture Grantmaking Committee; Bock chairs the Philanthropic Services Committee, and Ryan is slated to be Board chair in 2012.

“SVP offers its partners the opportunity to be part of a network, locally and internationally, of people who are trying to change the world,” says Fasolo Frishman. “These are the types of experiences that shape people’s lives, both personally and through the nonprofits we help. People don’t forget what they learn in SVP; they make lifelong friends and have experiences they’d never have anywhere else.”

As SVP Denver looks to its next 10 years, its volunteer leaders are more excited than ever about what lies ahead, and they invite new partners to join them. “As we hire a new executive director and consider the possibilities for the future, we know that nonprofits are hungry for what SVP can give, and volunteers are hungry for the training and involvement that only SVP can offer,” says Wes Butero, the current Chair of the SVP Denver board. “It’s our job to continue to bring the two together.”

posted: May 1, 2011

http://www.smallbusinessnaked.com/2011/04/18/sbn-the-little-pub-co/

posted: April 20, 2011

Through March, the company owned fifteen establishments, including stalwarts like Don's Club Tavern, the Irish Hound, The Spot, Wyman's No. 5 and the British Bulldog.

Now, Little Pub has added four more bars to its stable: the College Inn, which has held down the corner of Eighth Avenue and Birch Street for decades; Dirk's, 7500 South University Boulevard in Centennial; Gibby's, 1555 South Havana in Aurora; and Pifler's, 11353 West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood.

"It's kind of dreamy," says Little Pub founder Mark Berzins. "To have four places you know are well-run and successful. That's pretty tremendous."

Little Pub bought the four bars from the B.U.F.F. Brothers Group on April 26, and now has nineteen bars; B.U.F.F. Brothers still owns FuNuGyz in Parker.

"Our motto is, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it,'" explains Berzins, adding that he plans to keep the names and menus, as well as the kitchen and bar staffs. "We may tinker with some things as we get down the road, but we very much want to keep those places as they are."

Little Pub has opened a number of its own bars, including the Hound, Three Dog Tavern and The Elm, but Berzins says he's taking the advice of his new CEO, K.C. Gallagher, that it's a lot easier to buy a place that's already running.

"Why build when you can buy a local champion?" he asks. "Neighborhood bars are a universal need. They don't take a lot of effort if you have a good crew working in them. That's why we make the commitment not to mess with things too much."

And with that business model in place, Berzins adds, Little Pub could just as easily own thirty bars as twenty.

By Jonathan Shikes, Mon., May 10 2010 @ 12:52PM Categories: Booze News, Cafe Society, The Dish

posted: February 28, 2011

Hometown: Born in Alabama, but only because his parents had taken a brief job there. This is a Colorado boy, from Castle Rock, and is proud of it.

Resident: Denver

Education: Stanford University

Profession: Lead Dog, Little Pub Company

Status: Happily Married

Family: four children, one dog

Story by: Anne Hopper Vickstrom

Have You Met? Mark Berzins

Extending your hand to receive the sturdy handshake of Mark Berzins, the “Lead Dog” (reads his business card) of the Little Pub Company, racing through your mind is, “Where have I met this guy before?” Berzins is like that, he’s got that friendly expression, that greeting, that look that you must have grown up with him.

Berzins came to this business through a surprising route: pre-med at Stanford. “I was offered a scholarship to Stanford through football, but ended up playing rugby. “I wanted to be a doctor to help people.” After two years, he realized that wasn’t his calling and knew that majoring in Economics would be the best move to go into business.

If you attended Douglas County High School in years past you just might recognize him, but everyone feels as if they know him; this Colorado guy is one of those rare people that knows how to make everyone feel comfortable and at ease. Just ask any of his employees of the nineteen different pubs that he leads throughout the metro Denver area. Back in the beginning at Firehouse Bar & Grill, which they have since sold, “it was a big restaurant operation,” said Berzins. “What I noticed was that everyone wanted to be a bartender. (The traditional restaurant management plan) built discontent. People resented having to tip out or having a lesser position. I figured if everyone wanted to be the bartender then make everyone the bartender. If you’re worried about employee being trustworthy, trust everyone!” So, the dye was cast when they opened Spot Bar & Grill, the first of the Little Pub Company stores, where every employee is everything to every guest.

What a concept! Speaking to one of the ‘everything people,’ Amanda, who greeted me warmly at the Irish Hound, Berzins and she explained that with the exception of the cook, every employee is a bartender/waitperson/busperson/what-else-can-we-do-for-you-person. All the tips are “thrown into the same bucket” and distributed on a prorated basis, making everyone feel great about what they do. Additionally, “we don’t have seating segregation; everyone seats themselves,” said Berzins. Visit one of these nineteen establishments and you can’t help but feel at home.

If you are wondering just which pubs are part of the Little Pub Company, you’ll have to figure that out on your own. “We’re under the radar,” Mark explained. “Our competitors often are strongly branded and they get their name out there. We place zero value on that. I think neighborhood bars are timeless; you can’t say that quality service and value are in a name.”

Little Pub Company keeps their umbrella name to themselves while making neighborhood watering holes a true part of every neighborhood. Berzins and the rest of the crew don’t take their success for granted, nor keep it for themselves. Before building a pub in a neighborhood that lacks a place where the local community can gather for a refreshing drink, good meal and even a game of pool, they visit with the community and work with them so that everyone is happy to have them as new neighbors. Then after promoting the dedicated people that already care about the local community and work within Little Pub Company, they seek to hire others that live in the neighborhood. And finally, the really good stuff, together with their employees, Berzins works with vendors to follow Little Pub Company’s lead in giving generously to charitable organizations and causes.

“We only do business with companies that support our causes. When I discuss doing business with them,” Berzins said, “I tell them that I will call them to donate to groups we support, and are they willing to do this.” This includes those that supply Little Pub Company with insurance, liquor, beer, food and every other vendor with whom they deal. “It makes a huge difference, if more businesses would hold vendors to a higher standard.”

“We don’t advertise,” Berzins explained, “instead we take the money that would normally go to advertising costs and give it to chosen charities. We contribute profits into the Denver Foundation donor advised fund under Little Pub Company fund. Then it can be distributed responsibly and without our needing to hire someone to do that work for us.” Berzins enthusiastically told of the impact generous giving has on the company, employees and communities throughout the Metro Denver area, “It’s been great, employees take pride, customers feel good that through our local establishments they are being good community citizens and the Little Pub Company knows we’re doing the right thing.”

Berzins encourages employees to come up with their own ideas for giving. “For instance, the manager at the College Inn, which they have restored to its original, historic condition, decided to create a pub crawl to raise funds for cancer research. The manager at Don’s Club Tavern asked his crew if they were willing to donate a percentage of their tips that would be matched by Little Pub Company to organizations that are caring for displaced animals from the Boulder fires.

The “Lead Dog” of Little Pub Company hasn’t let the success of nineteen establishments pull him off track. He recognized the dangers of working in this industry, but has been careful to not fall into the party-mode. Berzins knows his priority in life, it is called his family.

He often mentioned his wife, an architect who has been willing to put her career on hold to be the ‘lead dog’ at home, with their four active children and their extremely active fifth child…a four-legged kid named “Axel.” Putting family first, including working with his brother, volunteering to rake leaves for seniors together as a family, and just being together in general is by far the focus of Berzins.

Get to know the Little Pub in your neighborhood!

http://www.blacktie-colorado.com/have-you-met/archive-detail.cfm?id=370

posted: February 28, 2011

Mark Berzins has 10 bars but wants more. Denver's Little Pub Company should be renamed the Big Pub Company.

"Lead Dog" Mark Berzins' empire has expanded to 10 funky neighborhood bars. And he likes the results so much, he's on his way to owning 18. His drinky domain includes the Irish Hound, the Spot, the Elm, Three Dogs Tavern, Wyman's and the upcoming Great Dane at the base area in Winter Park.

He bought Don's Club Tavern (a.k.a. Don's Mixed Drinks) in 2005 — and it's been such a hit that he wants some other mom-and-pop bars around town. He recently saved the legendary Rooster's in Broomfield after reading of its impending demise in The Denver Post. He's gonna call it the Old Man, a tribute to your dad's drinking days, with the walls filled with pics of fathers drinking cocktails while standing contentedly on shag carpeting.

"And we're working on a couple of other deals that are noteworthy," Berzins says. "We have some feelers out there, but we can't talk about them yet."

We heard that Little Pub was taking over the classic Campus Lounge. Berzins said no — he only wishes that were true. We also heard that he's expanding Don's into the space next door. He's not sure what will happen there. "I kind of like the time capsule that is Don's," Berzins says. "But in other ways, time moves on."

posted: February 28, 2011