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Venture philanthropy is an approach to charitable giving that involves the provision of advice and other capacity-building support in addition to financing.
Many ‘new philanthropists’ are attracted to venture philanthropy in part because the approach resonates with their own experience as business entrepreneurs or investment professionals. It is a form of highly engaged philanthropy that takes a formal, structured approach which purposely incorporates the core principles of venture capital investment to its grant-making. Key characteristics include multi-year support, 'investing' in core costs and capacity-building, providing non-financial support such as marketing advice and networking, and performance measurement.
The type of 'investment' provided by venture philanthropists is bespoke to each organisation it supports, and can include, but is not limited to, grants or risk-based financing; executive coaching; strategic planning; marketing, legal or technical advice; as well as networking.
The following questions can prove helpful when considering whether venture philanthropy investment is appropriate for your organisation.
- Does our organisation need to build its capacity to deliver on our mission?
- What support do we need over and above straight grant funding?
- Do the venture philanthropist’s skills and experience match our needs?
- Is our senior leadership team, including our trustees, open to working with a highly engaged funder?
- Do we have the organisational capacity to manage a highly engaged relationship with a funder?
- Is our organisation comfortable with measuring our performance and impact?
- What are the venture philanthropists like to work with day-by-day, and can we establish a positive personal relationship built on mutual trust?
- Are we clear what commitments will be required – from both ourselves and the funder?
To learn more about this emerging approach to grant-making as well as what VP funds operate in the UK, visit our Venture Philanthropy resource on this website.
