Through examining case studies of private equity firms from several European countries, this publication explores three possible models of venture philanthropy engagement and provides examples of best practice. The PE industry is increasingly interested in becoming engaged in venture philanthropy activities. This paper identifies a number of motives for PE firms to become involved in venture philanthropy, including the desire to give back to their communities, to help employees develop skills such as judgement, resilience and social competences, and establishing them as a positive social actor.
This report gives a holistic look at the impact sourcing space within the context of the business process outsourcing industry, the current challenges the space faces, and its future outlook.
Impact investing - which helps address social and/or environmental problems while also turning a profit - could unlock substantial for-profit investment capital to complement philanthropy in addressing pressing social challenges.
This presentation, given at the inaugural Global Impact Investing Network Investor Forum, discusses the priority barriers in scaling for-impact enterprises and examples of innovative acceleration platforms currently operating within the space.
The Rockefeller Foundation was an early investor in culture and innovation to achieve equity and sustainability – in both the environmental and field-wide senses of the term – through its NYC Cultural Innovation Fund (CIF). Created in 2007, CIF has granted $16.3 million to support 99 efforts to leverage culture to achieve social innovation.
As we prepared to launch this evaluation, it became evident that, unlike many other fields, there is not a large body of evaluative literature on the effectiveness and impact of funds for the use of cultural innovation to achieve social change. This was a finding in itself – one that we identified before the evaluation even started. More evaluations have been conducted of programs that seek to support innovation in the arts for the sake of arts, but few have examined the degree to which arts innovation funds have actually brought about the intended societal level changes.
Building Capacity for Innovation and Systems Change: Innovation Fellowship Pr...The Rockefeller Foundation
Achieving The Rockefeller Foundation’s goals to build resilience and advance inclusive economies requires moving beyond traditional approaches to problem-solving. New ways
of thinking and working are needed in order to have impact at scale. The Rockefeller
Foundation Global Fellowship Program on Social Innovation was designed to enable
leaders to innovate in order to address the underlying causes of complex social and
environmental challenges. With two successive cohorts of Fellowships now complete and
a third underway, the timing is right to reflect on what the Foundation is learning about
building individual and institutional capacity to innovate and drive systems change.
Dispatches from the Frontline: Using Pro-Poor Foresight to Influence Decision...The Rockefeller Foundation
Four of the organizations in The Rockefeller Foundation Searchlight Network—the Centre for Democracy and Development in West Africa, FORO Nacional Internacional in Peru, Noviscape in Thailand, and the South African Node of the Millennium Project in Southern Africa—were recently interviewed to reflect on their work and explore the question, "how has foresight influenced policy?" Their reflections are captured in this report.
Recurrent food crises are one of the principal impediments to development in the Horn and Sahel regions of Africa. In 2011, a drought-related emergency affected over 12 million people in the Horn – the fourth such event since the turn of the millennium. Precise numbers are unavailable, but estimates indicate that hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and tens of thousands more died. A year later, 18 million people were affected by a major crisis in the Sahel – the third to hit the region in eight years.
Food crises are slow-onset disasters. They emerge over a period of months and are routinely tracked and anticipated by famine early warning systems – specialist units that monitor and forecast risk factors such as food prices, health indicators, rainfall and crop production. These systems provide governments and humanitarian actors with the chance to take early action and prevent the situation from escalating into an emergency. Cost-benefit analyses indicate that, compared with emergency response, early action offers significant cost savings in the long run.
Yet all too often the link between early warning and early action fails and the opportunity to mitigate a gathering crisis is lost. This disconnect was starkly apparent in Somalia during 2010/11, when increasingly urgent early warnings accumulated for 11 months before famine was finally declared in July. Only after that did the humanitarian system mobilize.
Beginning with the failures that allowed the Somalia famine to take place and drawing on the recent history of other early warnings, this report considers in detail the various political, institutional and organizational barriers to translating early warning of famine into early action to avert it, and makes recommendations for how these can be overcome.
In the broader context of impact investing, Program-Related Investments (PRIs) enable foundations to make investments that generate both financial return and social impact. Although PRIs have existed for more than 40 years, they are underutilized as a means of achieving development outcomes at scale. After decades of declining aid resources, there is a growing consensus among funders, philanthropists and the development community that PRIs hold great potential to significantly augment and expand the funding available to achieve more and better development outcomes for the world’s poor and vulnerable populations.
Recognizing that PRIs are a powerful tool to complement grantmaking in reaching program goals, The Rockefeller Foundation formally launched its PRI portfolio in the 1990s. Today the $25 million portfolio contains international and domestic investments in the form of loans, equity investments and guarantees. Through this growing portfolio, the Foundation enables investees to support poor and vulnerable people – by improving asset ownership, expanding access to services and creating or preserving jobs.
Recognizing the need to develop an evidence base of what does and does not work in PRIs, and as part of the Foundation’s commitment to learning and accountability, the Foundation’s Evaluation Office in collaboration with the Foundation’s PRI Team asked Arabella Advisors to evaluate the relevance, effectiveness and impact of the Foundation’s PRI Portfolio. This independent evaluation’s results draw on extensive research, field visits to investees in Asia, Africa and the US, and in-depth interviews
with experts and peer investors that have provided valuable insights, observations and recommendations aimed at strengthening the Foundation’s use of PRIs to achieve social impact.
The Foundation has learned a great deal from this evaluation. While it has been gratifying to see evidence of the benefits of many of the individual PRIs, it is sobering to see the impact limitations of a PRI portfolio that operates without an overarching strategy.
Final Evaluation: The Rockefeller Foundation's Program-Related Investments Po...The Rockefeller Foundation
In 2013, The Rockefeller Foundation funded an independent evaluation of 12 years of PRIs, including 18 transactions totaling $23.9 million deployed both domestically and internationally. The resulting report assesses the portfolio's social and financial performance, as well as opportunities to refine the PRI program strategy and align it with the Foundation's focus areas and grantmaking programs. It also considers the Foundation's contributions to the larger impact investing ecosystem.
This report gives a holistic look at the impact sourcing space within the context of the business process outsourcing industry, the current challenges the space faces, and its future outlook.
Impact investing - which helps address social and/or environmental problems while also turning a profit - could unlock substantial for-profit investment capital to complement philanthropy in addressing pressing social challenges.
This presentation, given at the inaugural Global Impact Investing Network Investor Forum, discusses the priority barriers in scaling for-impact enterprises and examples of innovative acceleration platforms currently operating within the space.
The Rockefeller Foundation was an early investor in culture and innovation to achieve equity and sustainability – in both the environmental and field-wide senses of the term – through its NYC Cultural Innovation Fund (CIF). Created in 2007, CIF has granted $16.3 million to support 99 efforts to leverage culture to achieve social innovation.
As we prepared to launch this evaluation, it became evident that, unlike many other fields, there is not a large body of evaluative literature on the effectiveness and impact of funds for the use of cultural innovation to achieve social change. This was a finding in itself – one that we identified before the evaluation even started. More evaluations have been conducted of programs that seek to support innovation in the arts for the sake of arts, but few have examined the degree to which arts innovation funds have actually brought about the intended societal level changes.
Building Capacity for Innovation and Systems Change: Innovation Fellowship Pr...The Rockefeller Foundation
Achieving The Rockefeller Foundation’s goals to build resilience and advance inclusive economies requires moving beyond traditional approaches to problem-solving. New ways
of thinking and working are needed in order to have impact at scale. The Rockefeller
Foundation Global Fellowship Program on Social Innovation was designed to enable
leaders to innovate in order to address the underlying causes of complex social and
environmental challenges. With two successive cohorts of Fellowships now complete and
a third underway, the timing is right to reflect on what the Foundation is learning about
building individual and institutional capacity to innovate and drive systems change.
Dispatches from the Frontline: Using Pro-Poor Foresight to Influence Decision...The Rockefeller Foundation
Four of the organizations in The Rockefeller Foundation Searchlight Network—the Centre for Democracy and Development in West Africa, FORO Nacional Internacional in Peru, Noviscape in Thailand, and the South African Node of the Millennium Project in Southern Africa—were recently interviewed to reflect on their work and explore the question, "how has foresight influenced policy?" Their reflections are captured in this report.
Recurrent food crises are one of the principal impediments to development in the Horn and Sahel regions of Africa. In 2011, a drought-related emergency affected over 12 million people in the Horn – the fourth such event since the turn of the millennium. Precise numbers are unavailable, but estimates indicate that hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and tens of thousands more died. A year later, 18 million people were affected by a major crisis in the Sahel – the third to hit the region in eight years.
Food crises are slow-onset disasters. They emerge over a period of months and are routinely tracked and anticipated by famine early warning systems – specialist units that monitor and forecast risk factors such as food prices, health indicators, rainfall and crop production. These systems provide governments and humanitarian actors with the chance to take early action and prevent the situation from escalating into an emergency. Cost-benefit analyses indicate that, compared with emergency response, early action offers significant cost savings in the long run.
Yet all too often the link between early warning and early action fails and the opportunity to mitigate a gathering crisis is lost. This disconnect was starkly apparent in Somalia during 2010/11, when increasingly urgent early warnings accumulated for 11 months before famine was finally declared in July. Only after that did the humanitarian system mobilize.
Beginning with the failures that allowed the Somalia famine to take place and drawing on the recent history of other early warnings, this report considers in detail the various political, institutional and organizational barriers to translating early warning of famine into early action to avert it, and makes recommendations for how these can be overcome.
In the broader context of impact investing, Program-Related Investments (PRIs) enable foundations to make investments that generate both financial return and social impact. Although PRIs have existed for more than 40 years, they are underutilized as a means of achieving development outcomes at scale. After decades of declining aid resources, there is a growing consensus among funders, philanthropists and the development community that PRIs hold great potential to significantly augment and expand the funding available to achieve more and better development outcomes for the world’s poor and vulnerable populations.
Recognizing that PRIs are a powerful tool to complement grantmaking in reaching program goals, The Rockefeller Foundation formally launched its PRI portfolio in the 1990s. Today the $25 million portfolio contains international and domestic investments in the form of loans, equity investments and guarantees. Through this growing portfolio, the Foundation enables investees to support poor and vulnerable people – by improving asset ownership, expanding access to services and creating or preserving jobs.
Recognizing the need to develop an evidence base of what does and does not work in PRIs, and as part of the Foundation’s commitment to learning and accountability, the Foundation’s Evaluation Office in collaboration with the Foundation’s PRI Team asked Arabella Advisors to evaluate the relevance, effectiveness and impact of the Foundation’s PRI Portfolio. This independent evaluation’s results draw on extensive research, field visits to investees in Asia, Africa and the US, and in-depth interviews
with experts and peer investors that have provided valuable insights, observations and recommendations aimed at strengthening the Foundation’s use of PRIs to achieve social impact.
The Foundation has learned a great deal from this evaluation. While it has been gratifying to see evidence of the benefits of many of the individual PRIs, it is sobering to see the impact limitations of a PRI portfolio that operates without an overarching strategy.
Final Evaluation: The Rockefeller Foundation's Program-Related Investments Po...The Rockefeller Foundation
In 2013, The Rockefeller Foundation funded an independent evaluation of 12 years of PRIs, including 18 transactions totaling $23.9 million deployed both domestically and internationally. The resulting report assesses the portfolio's social and financial performance, as well as opportunities to refine the PRI program strategy and align it with the Foundation's focus areas and grantmaking programs. It also considers the Foundation's contributions to the larger impact investing ecosystem.
The Future of Youth Employment report offers an in-depth look at the changing nature of work in the United States—from microwork, to new coordination and automation technologies, and beyond. It explores challenges and opportunities these changes present for poor and vulnerable youth, and suggests policies and actions corporations, governments, and nonprofits can take to ensure positive futures for them.
Equity and Inclusive Growth from a Development Perspective is essential reading for development and evaluation practitioners. It provides a concise history and critical examination of the concepts related to growth, poverty, and equity. These three foundational elements of contemporary development theory and practice are at the root of The Rockefeller Foundation’s movement toward advancing inclusive economies and building resilience.
The paper offers many insights about the measurement and evaluation of programs. It illuminates the debate surrounding ways to assess well-being beyond GDP. It covers the many ways to approach the measurement of poverty and the most commonly used indexes. Finally, it examines the important distinction between equity and equality and the policy implications of pursuing equity.
Accelerating Impact: Exploring Best Practices, Challenges, and Innovations in...The Rockefeller Foundation
Effective accelerators play many roles—educator, mentor, and funder, among others—in helping impact enterprises solve complex social problems. This report explores how accelerators and incubators support impact enterprises to better understand the barriers to sustained enterprise development and their ability to achieve scalable impact.
Over 300 stakeholders from 12 countries representing the private sector, government, training institutions, academia, philanthropy, and youth attended the Impact Sourcing (IS) Conference held on November 13th and 14th at the Polo Club in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The event was hosted by Rockefeller Foundation Africa regional office Managing Director Mamadou Biteye and the Digital Jobs Africa Team, and was officially opened by Dr. Edmund Katiti, director of the Africa Program for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
The Accelerating Innovation for Development Initiative was built on the realization that while the private sector used well-developed innovation practices to generate value and growth, these practices had yet to take hold in the social sector. The application of these same concepts effectively in the social sector could lead to products, processes, and services that could significantly advance the lives of poor and vulnerable people. It was one of the first Initiatives approved in the 2006-2007 period under the Foundation’s refreshed strategy and model.
The Initiative supported the testing, application, or scaling up of three models of innovation that produced new or modified processes, products, or services that were potentially valuable for poor and vulnerable people around the world. These three models of innovation are: open source innovation, user centered innovation, and user led innovation.
Because the Initiative was structured to test different innovation processes with major grants, the evaluation report captures learning from in-depth case studies of 6 individual key grants - 2 from each model of innovation - and their effects on the broader field of innovation.
The evaluation report features findings and case studies from site visits in four countries spanning three continents, additional interviews with funders and other individuals working in the field, as well as a literature and document review and video coverage.
This synthesis review, prepared with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation,
is a companion report to the evaluation of the Foundation’s work on African
Agriculture Resilience (AAR) and Carbon for Poverty Reduction (CPR). The synthesis
review seeks to identify lessons from a broad range of efforts to build climate resilient
agriculture and reduce poverty through carbon markets in Africa. The Rockefeller
Foundation and its grantees and partners are interested in learning not only from the
Foundation’s work but from the work of others, in order to gain a better understanding
of what constitutes successful activities for building climate resilient agriculture
and what works and does not work in carbon projects for poverty reduction in the
agricultural sector.
Agriculture continues to play a key role in the formal economies and in sustaining
local livelihoods in Africa. Climate change, in combination with widespread levels of
poverty and food insecurity, could potentially have large impacts on the well-being of
smallholder farmers and economic growth in the region. Climate resilient agricultural
development and carbon markets for poverty reduction are rapidly emerging as key
issues for development policy and practice. In ensuring that African agriculture is
resilient to the changing climate, it has become imperative to protect livelihoods and
to reduce food insecurity. At the same time, the emerging market for carbon may offer
new possibilities for agriculture to benefit from land use management practices that
sequester carbon, which could, in turn, contribute to poverty reduction.
The report first briefly introduces current debates surrounding AAR and CPR. In spite
of wide agreement about the need for AAR and CPR efforts in the region, determining
the best ways to approach them remains a contentious and uncertain challenge. The
report also examines ongoing AAR- and CPR-type work in the region, based on a rapid
desk-based screening of existing programs and projects, and on analyses available in
the public domain. Tables 1 and 2 summarize reviewed practices, key findings and
early lessons for reviewed adaptation and carbon activities, respectively.
The Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) has been a central part of The Rockefeller Foundation’s work towards advancing health and achieving universal health coverage (UHC), through our flagship health initiative, Transforming Health Systems. The vision of the JLN is one of strong leadership from country members, collaboration, shared learning and joint problem solving among high-level practitioners, staff in ministries of health and policy-makers in Africa and Asia as they progress towards UHC. During its first three years, the JLN, approach has shown tremendous value. This report captures the highlights of success to date and shares findings from a recent strategic review.
Workshop given at the Willamette Valley Development Officers Annual Conference May 17, 2012.
Helping nonprofits to think strategically using a venture philanthropy mindset
Impact investing involves “investors seeking to generate both financial return and social and/or environmental value—while at a minimum returning capital, and, in many cases, offering market rate returns or better.” The Rockefeller Foundation’s Impact Investing Initiative has sought to address the “lack of intermediation capacity and leadership to generate collective action” that was constraining the small but rapidly growing impact investing industry.
Carried out in 2011, the evaluation of the Initiative aimed to evaluate the relevance, rationale, effectiveness, influence and sustainability of the Initiative through document review, portfolio analysis, interviews with more than 90 impact investing leaders based in 11 countries, participant observation at industry events, and organizational assessment. The external evaluation team also conducted a scan of the impact investing industry’s evolution over the past four years (summarized in a companion report).
Given the rapidly changing and emergent nature of the impact investing field, the Evaluators were asked to frame their findings for the Initiative in the context of findings for the field as a whole, to help guide the recommendations for the Foundation and for leaders in the field more broadly.
Rebuild by Design has established a small global working group on the design and politics of resiliency. This group is looking at—and assisting in shaping—how cities and regions around the world incorporate design into resiliency approaches, initiatives, and policy. Its first collective task is a collection of essays addressing two questions: First, identifying how design thinking is being incorporated and translated into political processes and understanding the obstacles that prevent design insights from informing policy practices. Second, collecting ideas for improving these processes, so that design and politics might be better integrated.
This initial group will form the core of a larger network that we aim to build over the long run. Meanwhile, are engaging directly with existing programs and initiatives. We will not duplicate efforts, but instead use this global working group to ignite broader discussions and further collaborations.
The concept and the practice of Impact Investing—or the placement of capital with
intent to generate positive social impact beyond fi nancial return—have grown and
matured signifi cantly over the past fi ve years. In 2008, the Monitor Institute took stock
of the emerging industry and characterized it as being on the precipice of passing from
a stage of “uncoordinated innovation” into one of “marketplace building.” Since 2008,
the Rockefeller Foundation has sought to help build that marketplace as well as hold
it accountable for its social and environmental impact goals. We have helped to build
networks, develop social impact ratings and reporting standards, cultivate new and
larger intermediaries and contribute to research and enabling policy environments.
“Industry building” is not often the remit of foundations, but our rationale for doing
so was clear: a functioning impact investing industry has the potential to complement
government and philanthropy by unlocking signifi cant resources to address the world’s
most pressing problems and to improve the lives of poor and vulnerable people.
Four years later, and as part of our commitment to learning and accountability within
the Foundation and to our partners and stakeholders, we undertook an independent
evaluation of our work in this arena. In March 2012, we presented to our Board the
results of this evaluation, undertaken by E.T. Jackson and Associates. It highlighted
a number of early successes and remaining challenges, many of which will shape our
activities in the months and years to come. As part of its evaluation, E.T. Jackson also
undertook a global scan of impact investing activity over the past four years so that
we could assess our progress in relation to the evolution of the broader fi eld. We
believe the results of the scan will also be informative for a number of other current
and future industry participants, and we are proud to contribute it to the growing
body of evaluative knowledge and research in this fi eld.
It is clear from our evaluation and scan, and from the growing body of research on
impact investing, that there exists great momentum and inspiring leadership in this
dynamic fi eld. More signifi cantly, there are promising signs here that together we can
play an important role in bringing about a more sustainable, resilient and equitable
future for humankind. We are honored to work with all of you on this journey.
The study was based on qualitative interviews to different members of the startup community, including entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, incubators, event organizers and government officials.
The resulting report provided a comprehensive view of the state of entrepreneurship in Costa Rica including determinants such as culture, the startup community, the entrepreneur, the startup and funding.
This report highlights four critical elements of training models that lead to positive employment outcomes for trainees. First, training models should be demand-driven, meaning they are responsive to employer needs by teaching the specific skills required by industry.
This document is a rollup of over a year's worth of listening and interpreting the voices of the many New Yorkers who woke up suddenly one late fall morning to a new normal: awareness of the imminent threats of climate change to our city and the northeastern seaboard of the United States, through rising seas and the increasing severity of weather patterns.
A new millennium brought a whole set of new challenges, with extraordinary tests to our physical, emotional, and financial capacity to function and succeed. We know from our history the critical role civil society plays in city building, ensuring the broadest public interests are reflected in public policies and development decisions that support a livable and resilient city for all New Yorkers.
Venture Philanthropy in Development: Dynamics, Challenges and Lessons in the ...The Rockefeller Foundation
Rather than focus narrowly on venture philanthropy as market-driven investments that must create financial returns to be viewed as sustainable, this report takes a broader view of grantmaking and investment, one that deploys system-wide approaches, longer time-frames, higher levels of engagement, and rigorous but flexible forms of evaluation.
The Future of Youth Employment report offers an in-depth look at the changing nature of work in the United States—from microwork, to new coordination and automation technologies, and beyond. It explores challenges and opportunities these changes present for poor and vulnerable youth, and suggests policies and actions corporations, governments, and nonprofits can take to ensure positive futures for them.
Equity and Inclusive Growth from a Development Perspective is essential reading for development and evaluation practitioners. It provides a concise history and critical examination of the concepts related to growth, poverty, and equity. These three foundational elements of contemporary development theory and practice are at the root of The Rockefeller Foundation’s movement toward advancing inclusive economies and building resilience.
The paper offers many insights about the measurement and evaluation of programs. It illuminates the debate surrounding ways to assess well-being beyond GDP. It covers the many ways to approach the measurement of poverty and the most commonly used indexes. Finally, it examines the important distinction between equity and equality and the policy implications of pursuing equity.
Accelerating Impact: Exploring Best Practices, Challenges, and Innovations in...The Rockefeller Foundation
Effective accelerators play many roles—educator, mentor, and funder, among others—in helping impact enterprises solve complex social problems. This report explores how accelerators and incubators support impact enterprises to better understand the barriers to sustained enterprise development and their ability to achieve scalable impact.
Over 300 stakeholders from 12 countries representing the private sector, government, training institutions, academia, philanthropy, and youth attended the Impact Sourcing (IS) Conference held on November 13th and 14th at the Polo Club in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The event was hosted by Rockefeller Foundation Africa regional office Managing Director Mamadou Biteye and the Digital Jobs Africa Team, and was officially opened by Dr. Edmund Katiti, director of the Africa Program for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
The Accelerating Innovation for Development Initiative was built on the realization that while the private sector used well-developed innovation practices to generate value and growth, these practices had yet to take hold in the social sector. The application of these same concepts effectively in the social sector could lead to products, processes, and services that could significantly advance the lives of poor and vulnerable people. It was one of the first Initiatives approved in the 2006-2007 period under the Foundation’s refreshed strategy and model.
The Initiative supported the testing, application, or scaling up of three models of innovation that produced new or modified processes, products, or services that were potentially valuable for poor and vulnerable people around the world. These three models of innovation are: open source innovation, user centered innovation, and user led innovation.
Because the Initiative was structured to test different innovation processes with major grants, the evaluation report captures learning from in-depth case studies of 6 individual key grants - 2 from each model of innovation - and their effects on the broader field of innovation.
The evaluation report features findings and case studies from site visits in four countries spanning three continents, additional interviews with funders and other individuals working in the field, as well as a literature and document review and video coverage.
This synthesis review, prepared with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation,
is a companion report to the evaluation of the Foundation’s work on African
Agriculture Resilience (AAR) and Carbon for Poverty Reduction (CPR). The synthesis
review seeks to identify lessons from a broad range of efforts to build climate resilient
agriculture and reduce poverty through carbon markets in Africa. The Rockefeller
Foundation and its grantees and partners are interested in learning not only from the
Foundation’s work but from the work of others, in order to gain a better understanding
of what constitutes successful activities for building climate resilient agriculture
and what works and does not work in carbon projects for poverty reduction in the
agricultural sector.
Agriculture continues to play a key role in the formal economies and in sustaining
local livelihoods in Africa. Climate change, in combination with widespread levels of
poverty and food insecurity, could potentially have large impacts on the well-being of
smallholder farmers and economic growth in the region. Climate resilient agricultural
development and carbon markets for poverty reduction are rapidly emerging as key
issues for development policy and practice. In ensuring that African agriculture is
resilient to the changing climate, it has become imperative to protect livelihoods and
to reduce food insecurity. At the same time, the emerging market for carbon may offer
new possibilities for agriculture to benefit from land use management practices that
sequester carbon, which could, in turn, contribute to poverty reduction.
The report first briefly introduces current debates surrounding AAR and CPR. In spite
of wide agreement about the need for AAR and CPR efforts in the region, determining
the best ways to approach them remains a contentious and uncertain challenge. The
report also examines ongoing AAR- and CPR-type work in the region, based on a rapid
desk-based screening of existing programs and projects, and on analyses available in
the public domain. Tables 1 and 2 summarize reviewed practices, key findings and
early lessons for reviewed adaptation and carbon activities, respectively.
The Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) has been a central part of The Rockefeller Foundation’s work towards advancing health and achieving universal health coverage (UHC), through our flagship health initiative, Transforming Health Systems. The vision of the JLN is one of strong leadership from country members, collaboration, shared learning and joint problem solving among high-level practitioners, staff in ministries of health and policy-makers in Africa and Asia as they progress towards UHC. During its first three years, the JLN, approach has shown tremendous value. This report captures the highlights of success to date and shares findings from a recent strategic review.
Workshop given at the Willamette Valley Development Officers Annual Conference May 17, 2012.
Helping nonprofits to think strategically using a venture philanthropy mindset
Impact investing involves “investors seeking to generate both financial return and social and/or environmental value—while at a minimum returning capital, and, in many cases, offering market rate returns or better.” The Rockefeller Foundation’s Impact Investing Initiative has sought to address the “lack of intermediation capacity and leadership to generate collective action” that was constraining the small but rapidly growing impact investing industry.
Carried out in 2011, the evaluation of the Initiative aimed to evaluate the relevance, rationale, effectiveness, influence and sustainability of the Initiative through document review, portfolio analysis, interviews with more than 90 impact investing leaders based in 11 countries, participant observation at industry events, and organizational assessment. The external evaluation team also conducted a scan of the impact investing industry’s evolution over the past four years (summarized in a companion report).
Given the rapidly changing and emergent nature of the impact investing field, the Evaluators were asked to frame their findings for the Initiative in the context of findings for the field as a whole, to help guide the recommendations for the Foundation and for leaders in the field more broadly.
Rebuild by Design has established a small global working group on the design and politics of resiliency. This group is looking at—and assisting in shaping—how cities and regions around the world incorporate design into resiliency approaches, initiatives, and policy. Its first collective task is a collection of essays addressing two questions: First, identifying how design thinking is being incorporated and translated into political processes and understanding the obstacles that prevent design insights from informing policy practices. Second, collecting ideas for improving these processes, so that design and politics might be better integrated.
This initial group will form the core of a larger network that we aim to build over the long run. Meanwhile, are engaging directly with existing programs and initiatives. We will not duplicate efforts, but instead use this global working group to ignite broader discussions and further collaborations.
The concept and the practice of Impact Investing—or the placement of capital with
intent to generate positive social impact beyond fi nancial return—have grown and
matured signifi cantly over the past fi ve years. In 2008, the Monitor Institute took stock
of the emerging industry and characterized it as being on the precipice of passing from
a stage of “uncoordinated innovation” into one of “marketplace building.” Since 2008,
the Rockefeller Foundation has sought to help build that marketplace as well as hold
it accountable for its social and environmental impact goals. We have helped to build
networks, develop social impact ratings and reporting standards, cultivate new and
larger intermediaries and contribute to research and enabling policy environments.
“Industry building” is not often the remit of foundations, but our rationale for doing
so was clear: a functioning impact investing industry has the potential to complement
government and philanthropy by unlocking signifi cant resources to address the world’s
most pressing problems and to improve the lives of poor and vulnerable people.
Four years later, and as part of our commitment to learning and accountability within
the Foundation and to our partners and stakeholders, we undertook an independent
evaluation of our work in this arena. In March 2012, we presented to our Board the
results of this evaluation, undertaken by E.T. Jackson and Associates. It highlighted
a number of early successes and remaining challenges, many of which will shape our
activities in the months and years to come. As part of its evaluation, E.T. Jackson also
undertook a global scan of impact investing activity over the past four years so that
we could assess our progress in relation to the evolution of the broader fi eld. We
believe the results of the scan will also be informative for a number of other current
and future industry participants, and we are proud to contribute it to the growing
body of evaluative knowledge and research in this fi eld.
It is clear from our evaluation and scan, and from the growing body of research on
impact investing, that there exists great momentum and inspiring leadership in this
dynamic fi eld. More signifi cantly, there are promising signs here that together we can
play an important role in bringing about a more sustainable, resilient and equitable
future for humankind. We are honored to work with all of you on this journey.
The study was based on qualitative interviews to different members of the startup community, including entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, incubators, event organizers and government officials.
The resulting report provided a comprehensive view of the state of entrepreneurship in Costa Rica including determinants such as culture, the startup community, the entrepreneur, the startup and funding.
This report highlights four critical elements of training models that lead to positive employment outcomes for trainees. First, training models should be demand-driven, meaning they are responsive to employer needs by teaching the specific skills required by industry.
This document is a rollup of over a year's worth of listening and interpreting the voices of the many New Yorkers who woke up suddenly one late fall morning to a new normal: awareness of the imminent threats of climate change to our city and the northeastern seaboard of the United States, through rising seas and the increasing severity of weather patterns.
A new millennium brought a whole set of new challenges, with extraordinary tests to our physical, emotional, and financial capacity to function and succeed. We know from our history the critical role civil society plays in city building, ensuring the broadest public interests are reflected in public policies and development decisions that support a livable and resilient city for all New Yorkers.
Venture Philanthropy in Development: Dynamics, Challenges and Lessons in the ...The Rockefeller Foundation
Rather than focus narrowly on venture philanthropy as market-driven investments that must create financial returns to be viewed as sustainable, this report takes a broader view of grantmaking and investment, one that deploys system-wide approaches, longer time-frames, higher levels of engagement, and rigorous but flexible forms of evaluation.
Introduction to Venture Capital and Private Equityguest89b446
I was invited to speak at the HR College of Commerce in Mumbai today as part of their "Corporate Dialogue" lecture series. This deck introduces freshman and sophomore students in commerce, economics and finance to venture capital, private equity and entrepreneurship. It also presents a primer on career options in finance for college graduates in India.
Strategies for Foundations: When, Why and How to Use Venture PhilanthropyAshley Metz
This paper investigates the venture philanthropy strategies of foundations. We identified six strategies of foundations engaging in venture philanthropy and explain them through case studies of four foundations based in four European countries. We find that there is a spectrum of engagement models for foundations and that even the same foundation may employ various strategies to fit their individual needs and goals. To most foundations, VP serves as a complement to existing practices and only in one case as an alternative.
This research – based on 100+ survey responses, 12 depth interviews, and analysis of nearly 200 other Hubs – provides the starting point for understanding Europe’s Creative Hubs. It sets out who they are, what they do, and what support they need.
THE IMPACT INVESTOR’S HANDBOOK Lessons from the World of MicrofinanceIDIS
A CAF Venturesome: Market Insight Series Publication
February 2011, First Edition
The UK social investment market has now reached a critical juncture. Although there is some evidence of coordinated market-building efforts, the market remains
fragile. By reviewing the development of the global microfinance industry, this handbook aims to equip practitioners in the social investment market with some of
the analytical tools and insights for making the tactical and strategic decisions which may systematically advance our sector.
Liability Driven Investment Europe 2011Rosa Cortez
Managing pension funds towards a liability efficient frontier in an uncertain global economic environment.
After a one year gap, Finance IQ’s Liability Driven Investment Europe 2011 brings together the entire institutional investment chain including plan sponsors, pension trustees, regulators and carefully selected asset management organisations to discuss cutting edge strategies to mitigate pension fund risk through LDI.
The conference will cover the latest insights into asset – liability matching, strategic asset allocation and upcoming European regulations to educate plan sponsors on building an optimal LDI pension strategy.
The Social Innovation Generation program at MaRS (SiG@MaRS) has been offering programs and services for social innovators and social entrepreneurs for over a year now.
Find out what has been done; what programs and services are available to help you advance your social purpose efforts, and join SiG@MaRS in planning for the future of the program.
More information: http://www.marsdd.com/mars/About-MaRS/Partners/sig.html
2009 Canada to UK Study Tour: Slide Deck PresentationJoanna Reynolds
In March 2009, a group of Canadian leaders went to the UK to learn about common practices in Social Enterprise and Social Innovation. This Slide Deck is part of the report back.
Social Finance Ontario is a working constellation of the Ontario Nonprofits Network. This slide presentation provides a brief description of policy in the UK, US and Canada that supports social enterprise. Along with a brief description of some community investment funds and models.
Similar to A Guide to Venture Philanthropy for Venture Capital & Private Equity Investors (20)
Currently pi network is not tradable on binance or any other exchange because we are still in the enclosed mainnet.
Right now the only way to sell pi coins is by trading with a verified merchant.
What is a pi merchant?
A pi merchant is someone verified by pi network team and allowed to barter pi coins for goods and services.
Since pi network is not doing any pre-sale The only way exchanges like binance/huobi or crypto whales can get pi is by buying from miners. And a merchant stands in between the exchanges and the miners.
I will leave the telegram contact of my personal pi merchant. I and my friends has traded more than 6000pi coins successfully
Tele-gram
@Pi_vendor_247
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what is the future of Pi Network currency.DOT TECH
The future of the Pi cryptocurrency is uncertain, and its success will depend on several factors. Pi is a relatively new cryptocurrency that aims to be user-friendly and accessible to a wide audience. Here are a few key considerations for its future:
Message: @Pi_vendor_247 on telegram if u want to sell PI COINS.
1. Mainnet Launch: As of my last knowledge update in January 2022, Pi was still in the testnet phase. Its success will depend on a successful transition to a mainnet, where actual transactions can take place.
2. User Adoption: Pi's success will be closely tied to user adoption. The more users who join the network and actively participate, the stronger the ecosystem can become.
3. Utility and Use Cases: For a cryptocurrency to thrive, it must offer utility and practical use cases. The Pi team has talked about various applications, including peer-to-peer transactions, smart contracts, and more. The development and implementation of these features will be essential.
4. Regulatory Environment: The regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies is evolving globally. How Pi navigates and complies with regulations in various jurisdictions will significantly impact its future.
5. Technology Development: The Pi network must continue to develop and improve its technology, security, and scalability to compete with established cryptocurrencies.
6. Community Engagement: The Pi community plays a critical role in its future. Engaged users can help build trust and grow the network.
7. Monetization and Sustainability: The Pi team's monetization strategy, such as fees, partnerships, or other revenue sources, will affect its long-term sustainability.
It's essential to approach Pi or any new cryptocurrency with caution and conduct due diligence. Cryptocurrency investments involve risks, and potential rewards can be uncertain. The success and future of Pi will depend on the collective efforts of its team, community, and the broader cryptocurrency market dynamics. It's advisable to stay updated on Pi's development and follow any updates from the official Pi Network website or announcements from the team.
Falcon stands out as a top-tier P2P Invoice Discounting platform in India, bridging esteemed blue-chip companies and eager investors. Our goal is to transform the investment landscape in India by establishing a comprehensive destination for borrowers and investors with diverse profiles and needs, all while minimizing risk. What sets Falcon apart is the elimination of intermediaries such as commercial banks and depository institutions, allowing investors to enjoy higher yields.
Latino Buying Power - May 2024 Presentation for Latino CaucusDanay Escanaverino
Unlock the potential of Latino Buying Power with this in-depth SlideShare presentation. Explore how the Latino consumer market is transforming the American economy, driven by their significant buying power, entrepreneurial contributions, and growing influence across various sectors.
**Key Sections Covered:**
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4. **Workforce Statistics:** Gain insights into the role of Latino workers in the American labor market. Review statistics on employment rates, occupational distribution, and the economic contributions of Latino professionals across various industries.
5. **Media Consumption:** Understand the media consumption habits of Latino audiences. Discover their preferences for digital platforms, television, radio, and social media. Learn how these consumption patterns are influencing advertising strategies and media content.
6. **Education:** Examine the educational achievements and challenges within the Latino community. Review statistics on enrollment, graduation rates, and fields of study. Understand the implications of education on economic mobility and workforce readiness.
7. **Home Ownership:** Explore trends in Latino home ownership. Understand the factors driving home buying decisions, the challenges faced by Latino homeowners, and the impact of home ownership on community stability and economic growth.
This SlideShare provides valuable insights for marketers, business owners, policymakers, and anyone interested in the economic influence of the Latino community. By understanding the various facets of Latino buying power, you can effectively engage with this dynamic and growing market segment.
Equip yourself with the knowledge to leverage Latino buying power, tap into their entrepreneurial spirit, and connect with their unique cultural and consumer preferences. Drive your business success by embracing the economic potential of Latino consumers.
**Keywords:** Latino buying power, economic impact, entrepreneurial contributions, workforce statistics, media consumption, education, home ownership, Latino market, Hispanic buying power, Latino purchasing power.
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how can i use my minded pi coins I need some funds.DOT TECH
If you are interested in selling your pi coins, i have a verified pi merchant, who buys pi coins and resell them to exchanges looking forward to hold till mainnet launch.
Because the core team has announced that pi network will not be doing any pre-sale. The only way exchanges like huobi, bitmart and hotbit can get pi is by buying from miners.
Now a merchant stands in between these exchanges and the miners. As a link to make transactions smooth. Because right now in the enclosed mainnet you can't sell pi coins your self. You need the help of a merchant,
i will leave the telegram contact of my personal pi merchant below. 👇 I and my friends has traded more than 3000pi coins with him successfully.
@Pi_vendor_247
If you are looking for a pi coin investor. Then look no further because I have the right one he is a pi vendor (he buy and resell to whales in China). I met him on a crypto conference and ever since I and my friends have sold more than 10k pi coins to him And he bought all and still want more. I will drop his telegram handle below just send him a message.
@Pi_vendor_247
how to swap pi coins to foreign currency withdrawable.DOT TECH
As of my last update, Pi is still in the testing phase and is not tradable on any exchanges.
However, Pi Network has announced plans to launch its Testnet and Mainnet in the future, which may include listing Pi on exchanges.
The current method for selling pi coins involves exchanging them with a pi vendor who purchases pi coins for investment reasons.
If you want to sell your pi coins, reach out to a pi vendor and sell them to anyone looking to sell pi coins from any country around the globe.
Below is the contact information for my personal pi vendor.
Telegram: @Pi_vendor_247
how to sell pi coins at high rate quickly.DOT TECH
Where can I sell my pi coins at a high rate.
Pi is not launched yet on any exchange. But one can easily sell his or her pi coins to investors who want to hold pi till mainnet launch.
This means crypto whales want to hold pi. And you can get a good rate for selling pi to them. I will leave the telegram contact of my personal pi vendor below.
A vendor is someone who buys from a miner and resell it to a holder or crypto whale.
Here is the telegram contact of my vendor:
@Pi_vendor_247
What price will pi network be listed on exchangesDOT TECH
The rate at which pi will be listed is practically unknown. But due to speculations surrounding it the predicted rate is tends to be from 30$ — 50$.
So if you are interested in selling your pi network coins at a high rate tho. Or you can't wait till the mainnet launch in 2026. You can easily trade your pi coins with a merchant.
A merchant is someone who buys pi coins from miners and resell them to Investors looking forward to hold massive quantities till mainnet launch.
I will leave the telegram contact of my personal pi vendor to trade with.
@Pi_vendor_247
Introduction to Indian Financial System ()Avanish Goel
The financial system of a country is an important tool for economic development of the country, as it helps in creation of wealth by linking savings with investments.
It facilitates the flow of funds form the households (savers) to business firms (investors) to aid in wealth creation and development of both the parties
What website can I sell pi coins securely.DOT TECH
Currently there are no website or exchange that allow buying or selling of pi coins..
But you can still easily sell pi coins, by reselling it to exchanges/crypto whales interested in holding thousands of pi coins before the mainnet launch.
Who is a pi merchant?
A pi merchant is someone who buys pi coins from miners and resell to these crypto whales and holders of pi..
This is because pi network is not doing any pre-sale. The only way exchanges can get pi is by buying from miners and pi merchants stands in between the miners and the exchanges.
How can I sell my pi coins?
Selling pi coins is really easy, but first you need to migrate to mainnet wallet before you can do that. I will leave the telegram contact of my personal pi merchant to trade with.
Tele-gram.
@Pi_vendor_247
A Guide to Venture Philanthropy for Venture Capital & Private Equity Investors
1. EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION
A GUIDE TO
VENTURE
PHILANTHROPY
FOR VENTURE CAPITAL
AND PRIVATE EQUITY
INVESTORS
ASHLEY METZ CUMMINGS AND LISA HEHENBERGER JUNE 2011
3. PART 3: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 46 PART 4: CONCLUSION 54
Choosing SPOs and Sectors Motivations
Choosing Geographies Models of engagement
Providing Financial Capital Final words
Providing Intellectual Capital SOURCES 58
Providing Social Capital
A GUIDE TO
VENTURE
PHILANTHROPY
The EVPA Knowledge Centre is
kindly sponsored by
Natixis Private Equity
FOR VENTURE CAPITAL
AND PRIVATE EQUITY EVPA is extremely grateful to
INVESTORS
Fondazione CRT, Impetus Trust
Invest for Children and
Noaber Foundation for their
generous support
EVPA is kindly sponsored by 3i Group PLC, Barclays Private Equity and Pantheon Ventures (UK) PLC
ASHLEY METZ CUMMINGS AND LISA HEHENBERGER JUNE 2011
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
4. 4 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
LETTER FROM
SERGE RAICHER,
EVPA CHAIRMAN
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
5. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 5
“THE FIRST DAY (OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE)”
This is the title of a song written in the late 90s. For me this title also symbolises how, at a
certain time, philanthropic engagement can become an integral part of one’s life.
I wonder when the “first day of the rest of my life” might have been.
Could it be when Doug Miller talked me into co-founding EVPA? Or when, on the eve of
my 45th birthday, I moved on from 20 years of private equity (PE) investing to focus on
philanthropy? Or was it perhaps much earlier, when, on the back of a personal tragedy, I
realised that there was more to life than increasing one’s spending power?
Certainly, philanthropic engagement is more than a reflection of where we stand on
Maslow’s pyramid of needs. In the venture capital and private equity industry, I have met
many people whose societal conscience is worthy of admiration, irrespective of their age
and achievements.
In fact, when we started EVPA I was immediately struck by the wholehearted support we
received from the financial community at large, and the PE industry in particular. From
my partners at Pantheon to our friends at Barclays, 3i, Natixis, or KPMG, many lined up
alongside the co-founders with start-up money for EVPA. From the European and national
venture capital (VC) associations to a wide range of PE firms, we received vital and
comforting moral support, as well as genuine interest for our endeavour.
There are many reasons why VC or PE professionals are engaging in social investing and
venture philanthropy. Among them three stand out:
Giving back: The awareness of being blessed with access to higher level education, and
first class careers which are extremely rewarding, leaves many of us feeling like we should
“give back” for causes which we deem appropriate.
Applying our skills to the social sector: Support to entrepreneurs is the foundation of
success in VC and PE. Venture philanthropy applies many of the principles that we use in
our professional life, such as investing in people, building value or focusing on medium-
term results.
Leading and federating: Most private equity firms are referred to as partnerships, which
they are. Some have funded in-house charitable vehicles involving the whole team, from
junior to senior professionals. It is relatively usual to see such a vehicle share a project with
a portfolio company, or with the “grant arm” of a foundation that is also a limited partner
of the fund.
There are many reasons why you might want to engage in philanthropy, and when doing
so you may consider many ways to do it. EVPA is here to give you access to the networks
and provide a platform to share our experiences.
You have taken the time to read these lines. This might be a sign that you, too, have had
“the first day (of the rest of your life)”.
So let us now focus on action.
Serge Raicher, EVPA Chairman
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
6. 6 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
7. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 7
The philanthropy and social investment sectors are undergoing profound changes. “IN OUR COLLECTIVE
These changes are occurring as new stakeholders, such as the venture capital (VC) RESPONSIBILITY TO GIVE BACK,
and private equity (PE) community, approach philanthropy more actively, and existing
WE SHOULD APPLY THE SAME
stakeholders, including foundations and wealthy individuals, investigate new strategies.
Venture capitalists and others from the business world have begun to take a more BUSINESS PRINCIPLES THAT
engaged interest in philanthropy, bringing along skills and techniques, contributing to DRIVE PRIVATE EQUITY ITSELF:
the development of new models of giving and using the term ‘venture philanthropy’ (VP) HARD WORK, VALUE-ADD TO
to describe them. The number of grant-making bodies1 run by the largest private equity
ENTREPRENEURS AND LONG-TERM
firms in Europe has more than doubled in the past five years.2, 3 Additionally, individuals
from the PE community have started many4 of the existing European VP organisations. ENGAGEMENT.”
JEREMY COLLER, FOUNDER AND
The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) defines venture philanthropy
as a methodology that works to build stronger social purpose organisations by PARTNER, COLLER CAPITAL6
providing them with both financial and non-financial support in order to increase
their societal impact. As venture philanthropy spreads globally, specific practices may be
adapted to local conditions, yet it maintains a set of widely accepted, key characteristics.
These are: high engagement, tailored financing, multi-year support, non-financial support,
organisational capacity-building and performance measurement. Venture philanthropy
can support many types of social purpose organisations (SPOs), from charities and non-
profit organisations to socially driven businesses.
The objective of this paper is to provide a practical guide for individuals and firms in the
PE industry to get involved in VP. It could also be a useful resource for VP professionals and
organisations seeking partners in the PE industry. The paper is a compilation of insights
from numerous interviews and email questionnaires with executives from PE firms and
VP organisations, as well as comprehensive desk research. The paper is structured in
four parts. It begins with an introduction, including the purpose of the document, an
overview of venture philanthropy, and how VC and PE are similar to, yet different from
venture philanthropy. Then we go through each of the three models we have identified
for firms engaging in VP, using examples of PE firms employing each strategy. Finally, we
provide some general considerations for PE firms regarding getting involved in venture
philanthropy before concluding the paper.
Motivation to become involved in philanthropy
Three main motivations for PE firms to become involved in philanthropy are altruism, staff
motivation and development, and public and investor perceptions.5
1
Defined in terms of funds raised in the last 10 years.
Altruism – Many firms and individuals feel the desire to give back to their communities. 2
Lewis, T. (2009) “Philanthropy climbs higher up
Active financial and in-kind support are ways to do this in line with in-house resources and private equity agenda”, Private Equity News.
capabilities. 3
The first four include 3i Group, Charterhouse,
Doughty Hanson and Terra Firma. The new five
Staff motivation and development – Working with Social Purpose Organisations can include Bridgepoint, Apax Partners, Cinven, Permira
and IK Investment Partners.
help employees develop skills like judgment, resilience and social competences and may 4
Around 17% according to a survey by JPA Europe
foment a better working atmosphere within the PE firm. Limited, Existing Venture Philanthropy Funds
Characteristics: A Preliminary Overview (2008).
Public and investor perceptions – Consumers and investors increasingly pay attention 5
Motivations have been altered to fit the VP
to environmental and social factors when choosing service providers. Involvement in VP context. They originally appeared in a list of 10
motivations and drivers for change from the report
can establish PE firms as positive social actors. “The Role of Private Equity in Social and Sustainable
Development,” The Young Foundation & Arbor
Square Associates, March 2008.
6
Coller, J., Founder and Partner, Coller Capital (March
25, 2011), Email to EVPA.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
8. 8 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
VENTURE PHILANTHROPY AND VENTURE CAPITAL/PRIVATE EQUITY
In addition to the general motivations to become involved in philanthropy, PE firms are
particularly attracted to the VP approach because of similarities with the way they work
within a for-profit context. They are convinced that the VP approach is the best way to
make the biggest societal impact. Venture philanthropy shares a number of similarities
with commercial venture capital. Traditional VC methodologies can be applicable in a VP
context, particularly to investments in revenue-generating social enterprises and socially
driven businesses. However, differences remain in several key areas:
• Expectations of Returns: VP investments are assessed primarily in terms of societal
returns
• Incentives aligned with societal focus: Social impact is often the driver of
compensation for VP executives
• Deal Selection: Investee organisations supported are often less prepared than in a VC
investment
• Risk: The financial risk is often higher than in PE funds
• Novelty of concept: VP entails a higher degree of flexibility in dealing with
unforeseen issues and longer timeframes of support
• Culture, perspectives and language differ: Social sector reality is different and the
VC approach cannot be directly applied
• Exit: Approach to exit varies depending on funding instrument used but is related to
financial and operational resilience rather than achievement of financial return
• Governance differences: Reliance on mutual respect and trust rather than legal
rights
• General context: Empathy is necessary and focus on enhancing social impact
The degree of willingness to adapt to VP should be in line with the model of involvement
in VP chosen. A PE firm should think realistically about the amount of time and effort they
are able to devote to getting involved in philanthropy and choose a model that helps
them fulfil their goals without overextension.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
9. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 9
MODELS OF ENGAGEMENT “SUPPORTING SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEURS IS A NATURAL
Throughout the paper, we use short case studies of PE firms from different European
countries to illustrate how firms can engage in the VP methodology. Our research allowed FOLLOW UP OF WHAT I HAVE BEEN
us to identify three general models used by PE firms to engage in venture philanthropy. DOING FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS.
Within each model, there are significant variations and opportunities to tailor the choice USING OUR SKILL-SET TO CREATE
to a firm’s context. We will discuss their appropriate uses and limitations throughout the POSITIVE SOCIETAL IMPACT IS
document. The models identified are:
PRIVATE EQUITY’S COLLECTIVE
1. Directly support Social Purpose Organisations (SPOs) through hands-on RESPONSIBILITY”
engagement
GONZAGUE DE BLIGNIÈRES,
This engagement model means that the PE firm itself supports selected social purpose CHAIRMAN, BARCLAYS PRIVATE
organisations with financial resources and/or non-financial support, employing some
EQUITY7
form of the VP methodology. This strategy can be used when the firm wishes to establish
stronger ties with the local community, and when the firm is better able to leverage
intellectual and social capital as opposed to financial capital. To make the strategy work,
it helps to have passionate individuals in local offices that can spearhead involvement,
as well as senior management support. The strategy requires a certain amount of
organisation and initiative on the part of the firm. 3i is an example of a PE firm using this
strategy.
2. Invest in or co-invest with a Venture Philanthropy Organisation (VPO) through
financial or in-kind support
PE firms can invest money and human capital in a VPO that assures that resources
are allocated efficiently and effectively with a reduction in management costs, and time
and resources spent on due diligence of SPOs and transaction costs. Many VPOs rely on
assistance from professional services firms and offer a convenient and rewarding way
for PE firms to get involved. This engagement model is appropriate for firms lacking in-
house social sector knowledge, wishing to support the VP concept without investing the
resources in setting up their own initiative, or as a first step towards setting up a separate
entity. Examples of PE firms using this strategy are Natixis Private Equity and CVC Capital
Partners. The vehicle for investment may be a separate foundation. Apax Partners is an
example of a firm that invests directly in VPOs through its foundation, and TowerBrook
Foundation co-invests with a VPO.
3. Found or co-found a separate VPO to address an unmet need
Setting up a new VPO is an appropriate strategy for firms that are able to make a
significant commitment of time and resources, including full-time staff dedicated to
VP, and for firms that are looking to do something bigger with unique visibility involving
the firm as a team. When adding a VP arm to the PE firm, care should be taken to make
a clear separation between mission, remuneration schemes, return expectations and
investment process of both entities. Investindustrial, Permira, IK Investment Partners and
Ferd are examples of PE firms that have set up separate VPOs, either independently or in
partnership with others. BonVenture, Bridges, Business Angels des Cités, Citizen Capital,
Oltre Venture and Noaber Foundation are examples of initiatives that include venture
capital funds with a social mission.
7
de Blignières, G., Chairman, Barclays Private Equity
(March 21, 2011), Email to EVPA.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
10. 10 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
“I THINK THE PRIVATE EQUITY The table below summarises the engagement models identified in the study:
INDUSTRY HAS THE SKILLS AND
THE RESOURCES TO TURN SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTO A Model of When Why How PE firm
engagement examples
MAINSTREAM ACTIVITY AND
SOCIAL INVESTMENT INTO AN 1. Directly support Firm would like Proximity to Tap firm’s 3i, Permira
SPOs to work locally, charities offers in- social capital/
ASSET”. and is unable to kind benefits and professional
contribute much can attract other network and
SIR RONALD COHEN, CO-FOUNDER capital - can help funders, increasing identify local
more with pro impact and sharing champions at
OF APAX PARTNERS, CHAIRMAN OF bono services financial costs regional offices
BRIDGES VENTURES 8 2. Invest in or co- Firm is lacking Contribute Choose VPO based Natixis, CVC,
invest with a VPO in-house social resources on firm’s criteria TowerBrook
sector knowledge without incurring and develop a Foundation
and prefers to management longer-term
use a trusted costs, while partnership,
intermediary using reducing risk and contributing
a VP approach transaction costs financial resources
and pro-bono
support
3. Found or co- Firm is able to Focus new VPO on Add a dedicated Investindustrial,
found a separate make a significant areas of importance VP arm to PE firm Permira,
VPO commitment of not adequately to complement IK Investment
time and resources, addressed existing business Partners
such as full-time elsewhere with a or pool resources
staff, investment focus on societal in a new initiative
in social sector issues to draw diverse
knowledge and a resources and
long-term plan achieve greater
scale
8
Cohen, Sir Ronald, Private Equity News, via Ashoka
Arab World: http://ashokaarabworld.wordpress.
com/2009/09/17/social-entrepreneurship-and-
private-equity-should-it-always-sound-like-an-
oxymoron/ (Accessed February 2011).
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
11. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 11
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
12. 12 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
PART 1
INTRODUCTION
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
13. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 13
“The fact that our system takes care of its economic and financial consequences, but not “THE VENTURE CAPITAL INDUSTRY
its social consequences means that there is a massive need for a powerful social sector HAS BUILT ITS SUCCESS ON
to operate alongside the government. Unless we can create that, maintaining social
INVESTING IN ENTREPRENEURS,
cohesion and the sense of equity in our society is going to be extremely difficult.”
– Sir Ronald Cohen, Co-Founder of Apax Partners, Chairman of Bridges Ventures9 SHARING VALUES AND HARD
WORK. IT IS NORMAL THAT
VENTURE PHILANTHROPY
PURPOSE OF THE DOCUMENT RESONATES TO US.”
Today, the philanthropy and social investment sectors are undergoing profound changes. JEAN BERNARD SCHMIDT,
These changes are occurring as new stakeholders, such as the VC and PE community, FOUNDER, SOFINNOVA PARTNERS14
approach philanthropy more actively, and existing stakeholders, including foundations
and wealthy individuals, investigate new strategies. Venture capitalists and others from
the business world have begun to take a more engaged interest in philanthropy, bringing
along skills and techniques, contributing to the development of new models of giving
and using the term VP to describe them. The number of grant-making bodies10 run by the
largest PE firms in Europe has more than doubled in the past five years.11, 12 Additionally,
individuals from the PE community have started many13 of the existing European venture
philanthropy (VP) organisations.
The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) defines venture philanthropy
as a methodology that works to build stronger social purpose organisations by
providing them with both financial and non-financial support in order to increase
their societal impact. EVPA purposely uses the word societal because the impact may
be social, environmental or artistic. As venture philanthropy spreads globally, specific
practices may be adapted to local conditions, yet it maintains a set of widely accepted,
key characteristics. These are: high engagement, tailored financing, multi-year support,
non-financial support, organisational capacity-building and performance measurement.
Venture philanthropy can support many types of social purpose organisations (SPOs),
from charities and non-profit organisations through to socially driven businesses.
To enable the development of venture philanthropy in Europe, five individuals from the
private equity community established the European Venture Philanthropy Association in
2004: Luciano Balbo, Stephen Dawson, Michiel de Haan, Doug Miller and Serge Raicher.
The original sponsors were all from this field as well: 3i, Barclays Private Equity, KPMG, 9
Cohen, Sir Ronald, EVPA Annual Conference 2010
Pantheon Ventures and Natixis Private Equity. The association supported new and Luxembourg, EVPA Interview.
emerging VP organisations and had 124 members as of March 2011. EVPA is now working 10
Defined in terms of funds raised in the last 10
to establish standards and guidelines to define the industry and further support its years.
development. 11
Lewis, T. (2009) “Philanthropy climbs higher up
private equity agenda”, Private Equity News.
12
As this industry takes shape, information-sharing across sectors is vital to the The first four include 3i Group, Charterhouse,
Doughty Hanson and Terra Firma. The new five
development of all components of the social investment landscape. The EVPA Knowledge include Bridgepoint, Apax Partners, Cinven, Permira
Centre aims to provide practical information for those wishing to learn more about the and IK Investment Partners.
venture philanthropy practices that may be applicable to their organisations.
13
Around 17% according to a survey by JPA Europe
Limited, Existing Venture Philanthropy Funds
Characteristics: A Preliminary Overview (2008).
This paper is the third of a three-part series from the EVPA Knowledge Centre. The first 14
Schmidt, J-B., Founder, Sofinnova Partners, (April
aimed to capture practical insights for those wishing to set up a venture philanthropy 11, 2011), Email to EVPA.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
14. 14 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
organisation15. The second was directed at foundations wishing to incorporate VP
practices or learn more about how other foundations are using venture philanthropy16.
This third paper attempts to categorise different strategies for PE firms to become
involved in VP. We would like to thank the firms that participated in this study, for taking
the time to answer our questions and reviewing the final text. We are also ever grateful
to David Carrington, James Mawson, Doug Miller and Nat Sloane for providing helpful
comments.
The objective of this paper is to provide a practical guide for individuals and firms in the
PE industry to get involved in VP. It could also be a useful resource for VP professionals and
organisations seeking partners in the PE industry. The paper is a compilation of insights
from numerous interviews and email questionnaires with executives from PE firms and
VP organisations, as well as comprehensive desk research. The paper is structured in
four parts. It begins with an introduction, including the purpose of the document, an
overview of venture philanthropy, and how VC and PE are similar, yet different from
venture philanthropy. Then we go through each of the three models we have identified
for firms engaging in VP, using examples of PE firms employing each strategy. Finally, we
provide some general considerations for PE firms regarding getting involved in venture
philanthropy before concluding the paper.
“Private equity firms that back us find it rewarding to apply their commercial skills for
social and environmental purposes, and that they consider it rewarding for their teams
both to know that their firm is supporting Bridges Ventures, and to get involved with
our portfolio companies or help us think through strategic questions that we face. It is
interesting to note that the private equity firms that have supported us from the outside
are also showing leadership in responsible investment within their own activities, and we
hope that their involvement with us complements that activity.”17 – Michele Giddens, one
of Bridges Ventures’ Executive Directors
ESSENCE AND ROLE OF VENTURE PHILANTHROPY18
Venture philanthropy (VP) provides a blend of performance-based development finance
and professional services to social purpose organisations, helping them to expand their
15
Balbo, L., Hehenberger, L., Mortell, D., &
societal impact. This is a high-engagement, partnership approach, analogous to the
Oostlander, P. (2010), “Establishing a Venture practices of venture capital in building the commercial value of young companies. VP
Philanthropy Organisation in Europe”, EVPA in its modern form developed originally in the US in the mid-1990s, took hold in the
Knowledge Centre Research Paper.
16
UK from 2002 and has since expanded into continental Europe19. Presently, the venture
Metz Cummings, A. and Hehenberger, L. (2010),
“Strategies for Foundations: When, why and how to philanthropy movement is being expanded into Asia with the formation of the Asian
use Venture Philanthropy”, EVPA Knowledge Centre Venture Philanthropy Network which will be headquartered in Singapore.
Research Paper
17
Giddens, Michele, Executive Director, Bridges
Ventures (February 7, 2011), Email to EVPA.
18
Balbo, L., Hehenberger, L., Mortell, D., &
Oostlander, P. (2010), “Establishing a Venture
Philanthropy Organisation in Europe”, EVPA
Knowledge Centre Research Paper.
19
John, R. (2006) “Venture Philanthropy: the
evolution of high engagement philanthropy in
Europe”, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship,
Said Business School, University of Oxford.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
15. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 15
Definition of Venture Philanthropy “EVCA WELCOMES THE RISE OF
The definition adopted by EVPA is set out below: VENTURE PHILANTHROPY AND
Venture philanthropy works to build stronger social purpose organisations by THE INCREASED INVOLVEMENT OF
providing them with both financial and non-financial support in order to increase VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE
their societal impact. EVPA purposely uses the word societal because the impact may EQUITY PROFESSIONALS AT ALL
be social, environmental or artistic. Venture philanthropy can operate across a spectrum
LEVELS OF SENIORITY. THE EVCA
of organisational types, from charities and non-profit organisations through to socially
driven business. The diagram below sets out the range of organisational types that may BOARD HAS FORMALLY ENDORSED
have a social mission in one form or another. Those that are typically considered for EVPA’S WORK SINCE INCEPTION
investment by VP organisations will generally fall into the Charities, Revenue Generating AND WISHES THE ASSOCIATION
Social Enterprise and Socially Driven Business categories, collectively referred to as Social
WELL”
Purpose Organisations (SPOs) in this paper:20
DÖRTE HÖPPNER, SECRETARY
Primary Primary GENERAL, EVCA21
driver is Organizations can create ‘blended’ social and financial value driver is
to create to create
social value financial value
SOCIAL PURPOSE ORGANISATIONS [SPO’s]
Socially
Traditional
Charities Revenue Generating Social Enterprises Driven
Business
Business
Grants only; Trading Potentially Breakeven all Profitable Profit CSR Company Company Mainstream
no trading revenue and sustainable income from surplus distributing allocating Market
grants >75% trading reinvested socially driven percentage to Company
trading charity
revenue
Impact Only Impact First Finance First
Venture Philanthropy
SocialVenturing
EVPA’s definition of social investment refers to funding that may generate a financial
return, but where the societal impact comes first; so-called Impact First strategies.
Grant funding on the other hand is defined by EVPA as the provision of non-repayable
donations to the social purpose organisation supported; an Impact Only strategy.
Venture philanthropy is not appropriate for all SPOs, just as venture capital is not the best
form of financing for commercial businesses at all stages of their lifecycle. In general, VP
is best suited to SPOs that require an injection of capital to achieve a ‘step change’ in their
operations. For some, this may mean providing financial support which enables the SPO
to replicate their operating model in a new, or much more broadly defined, target market.
For other more established SPOs, VP funding may be appropriate in instances where the
organisation is under-performing and seeking to re-design its core strategy or restructure
operations.
As venture philanthropy spreads globally, specific practices may be adapted to local
conditions, yet it maintains a set of widely accepted, key characteristics. These are:
• High engagement: venture philanthropists have a close hands-on relationship with 20
Adapted from John Kingston, CAF Venturesome,
the social purpose organisation they support, driving innovative and scalable models by Pieter Oostlander, Shaerpa
of social change. Some may take board seats at these organisations, and all are more 21
Höppner, D., Secretary General, European Private
intimately involved at strategic and operational levels than in many other forms of Equity and Venture Capital Association (April 4,
2011), Email to EVPA.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
16. 16 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
philanthropy, significantly reducing the number of organisations supported to around
Social Purpose Organisations22
10-15 for the average VP organisation.
The following types of organisation
will fall under the banner of SPOs: • Tailored financing: as in venture capital, venture philanthropists take an investment
approach to determine the most appropriate financing for each organisation.
• Charity, non-profit, not-for-profit, Depending on their own missions and the ventures they choose to support, venture
foundation, association, company philanthropists can operate across the spectrum of investment returns. Some offer
limited by guarantee, (having no non-returnable grants (and thus accept a purely social return), while others use loans,
trading activities, or where trading equity, mezzanine or quasi-equity finance (thus blending risk-adjusted financial and
is of marginal importance)
social returns).
• Social enterprise, Community
Interest Company, (having trading • Multi-year support: venture philanthropists provide substantial and sustained
as a significant or exclusive part financial support to a limited number of organisations. Support typically lasts three
of their operations). Some do to five years, although timescales may become longer as VP in Europe develops. The
not make any financial returns VPO’s objectives will include helping the organisation to become financially self-
to investors (or cap returns),
sustaining by the end of the funding period.
but reinvest surpluses into the
organisation. Even within social • Non-financial support: in addition to financial support, venture philanthropists
enterprise there are several provide value-added services such as strategic planning, marketing and
different models.
communications, executive coaching, human resource advice and access to other
• Socially driven business – profit networks and potential funders.
distributing businesses, but with
clear and stated social objectives • Organisational capacity-building: venture philanthropists focus on building
the operational capacity and long-term viability of the organisations in their
The term SPO captures the entire
spectrum of organisations whose portfolios, rather than funding individual projects or programmes. They recognise
primary purpose is to create societal the importance of funding core operating costs to help these organisations achieve
value, rather than shareholder value, greater social impact and operational efficiency.
including non-profit organisations
and social enterprises. The • Performance measurement: venture philanthropy investment is performance-
terminology for these different kinds based, placing emphasis on good business planning, measurable outcomes,
of organisations varies enormously achievement of milestones, and high levels of financial accountability and
across countries and jurisdictions. management competence.
Origins and European Expansion23
The term ‘venture philanthropy’ can be traced back as far as the 1960s in the US, but it was
only during the 1990s that the term gained popularity and stimulated a debate on new
forms of highly engaged grant making by foundations. An influential Harvard Business
Review paper by Letts, Ryan and Grossman24 challenged foundations to employ tools
from venture capital to invest in the organisational, rather than the programmatic, needs
of social purpose organisations. In the UK, considerable interest in innovations in social
investment, including high engagement models, began to develop in 2001.
While there were several historical examples of VP-like activity, it was not until 2002 that
22
the UK’s first VP Organisation (VPO), Impetus Trust, was launched. In continental Europe,
Balbo, L., Hehenberger, L., Mortell, D., &
Oostlander, P. (2010), “Establishing a Venture there has been a slow, but steady arousal of interest in social investment and high-
Philanthropy Organisation in Europe”, EVPA engagement models of philanthropy, but it is only in the last four or five years that new
Knowledge Centre Research Paper.
23
organisations or models have emerged. EVPA, formed in 2004, is the primary vehicle for
IBID
24
encouraging the development of the VP model throughout Europe.
Letts, C., Ryan, W. and Grossman, A. (1997),
“Virtuous Capital: What Foundations Can Learn from
Venture Capitalists”, Harvard Business Review.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
17. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 17
Venture philanthropy in Europe has strong links to the private equity community, giving “UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT
it opportunities to influence the corporate social responsibility of a set of major players OF SOCIAL ORGANISATIONS IS A
in Europe’s financial services industry. The hedge fund industry also has a number of
KEY FACTOR TO PHILANTHROPIC
initiatives including ARK and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation in Europe and
the Robin Hood Foundation in the US. Meanwhile, foundations are increasingly interested GIVING. THE RESULT-DRIVEN
in the VP approach as an additional tool in their philanthropy toolbox. VPOs can benefit PRIVATE EQUITY MINDSET IS
from foundations’ extensive social sector knowledge by co-investing and collaborating, an CONSISTENT WITH THIS. THIS IS
example being the Reducing Reoffending initiative that involves Impetus Trust and Esmee
ONE OF THE REASONS BEHIND
Fairbairn Foundation among others.25 VP in its current form is evolving at the intersection
between the for-profit and the non-profit sector involving professionals and practices CHARITY RATING WHICH I
mainly from private equity, philanthropy and the corporate sector. LAUNCHED IN 2005.”
MIKAEL AHLSTRÖM, FOUNDING
PARTNER, PROCURITAS29
VENTURE PHILANTHROPY AND VENTURE CAPITAL/PRIVATE EQUITY
Areas of overlap between VP and VC/PE26, 27
• Proactive, high quality management
• Identification and coaching of managers
• Clear objectives and targets with regular reporting
• Performance culture
• Optimising leverage
• Search for synergies and access to partners including lawyers, auditors, etc.
• Long-term engagement
• Research and negotiating partnerships
“I think actually it’s more the mindset and the approach than the activity that is being
referred to when one says the two [venture philanthropy and venture capital] are similar...
So the inspiration came from the venture capital industry, which said that just giving
money to organisations that are trying to grow, whether business or social organisations,
is less effective than providing them with a combination of money and managerial talent.
So I am not just being philanthropic in the sense of giving money away, I am investing
time and effort in making sure that organisations like Bridges Ventures and Social Finance
and the Portland Trust actually develop scale and sustainability and social impact. In that 25
Metz Cummings, A. and Hehenberger, L. (2010),
“Strategies for Foundations: When, why and how to
sense the inspiration of venture philanthropy is indeed very deeply rooted in the hands- use Venture Philanthropy”, EVPA Knowledge Centre
on approach of venture capitalists.” – Sir Ronald Cohen, Co-Founder of Apax Partners, Research Paper.
Chairman of Bridges Ventures28 26
Thauron, X., Directeur des Risques, Natixis Private
Equity (2010), “NPE et la Venture Philanthropy”,
PowerPoint Presentation, EVPA Petit déjeuner.
27
Dunne, P., Group Communications Director, 3i.
(March 11, 2011), Email to EVPA.
Venture philanthropy shares a number of similarities with commercial venture capital. 28
Cohen, Sir Ronald, Interview at EVPA Annual
Some VC methodologies can be applicable in a VP context, particularly to investments in Conference, (2010), Luxembourg.
revenue-generating social enterprises and socially driven businesses. Thus, for a PE firm, 29
Ahlström, M., Founding Partner, Procuritas (March
21, 2011), Email to EVPA.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
18. 18 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
“EVPA’S HIGH PROFILE EVENTS AND the VP approach is in line with PE experience and values; and a good fit for sponsorship
MEMBERS, AND THEIR PASSION money. However, several important distinctions remain:
FOR SOCIAL IMPACT, HAVE • Expectations of returns: VP investments are assessed primarily in terms of societal
INSPIRED OUR THINKING AND return (financial return will invariably be either zero or below-market) – this is
ENGAGEMENT IN PHILANTHROPY. inherently a more difficult indicator to quantify and assess.31 In cases where financial
return is expected, the societal return should always be the main motivation.
EVPA STIMULATED OUR FIRST
INVESTMENT IN A SOCIAL VENTURE • Incentives aligned with social return to maintain social focus: In some cases,
INITIATIVE”. investment proposals include social impact indicators or milestones that are targeted
by the company. If the SPO management reach the target, some VPOs apply carried
PAUL DE RIDDER, PARTNER, interest. Investors are also rewarded when social goals are met in order to preserve
HALDER30 the social focus of the VPO.
• Deal selection: VC firms have a different approach to deal selection than a VP
organisation would. VCs spend a great deal of time looking for high quality teams
with proven business models. However, VPs often need to support a young SPO prior
to investment, including training management and helping with business plans,
which are often incomplete or insufficient.32 The VP approach may take longer and
include more constraints for a much smaller investment size than in VC/PE.
• Risk: VPOs investing in revenue-generating social enterprises or socially driven
businesses tend to have a higher appetite for financial risk than PE funds.
• Relatively new concept: Since the VP approach is still relatively new (especially
from an SPO perspective), VPOs should incorporate a higher degree of flexibility and
a longer timeframe into their investment decision-making processes than their VC
counterparts. However, more mature VPOs need not necessarily take more time than
a VC.
• Culture and language differ across the two environments. Although venture
philanthropists have imported many terms from VC to the social sector – including
investee, portfolio management, etc. – other terms need to reflect the reality of the
social sector. The mix of professionals from the for-profit and non-profit sectors in VP
has created a unique culture that includes ingredients from both.
• Exit clearly has fundamentally different connotations for VP investments.33 The
approach to exit will vary based on the funding instrument used (grants versus other
funding instruments), and the extent to which the SPO is financially self-sustaining.
Financial exit by the VPO can create uncertainty, particularly for SPOs with little or
no earned income, or for those that have undergone significant growth during the
period of the VPO’s investment. Depending on the profile of the next investor in
30
De Ridder, P., Partner, Halder (March 28, 2011), line, issues such as potential social mission drift of the investee have to be taken into
Email to EVPA. account. An exit in VP can imply providing the SPO with the necessary fundraising
31
Balbo, L., Hehenberger, L., Mortell, D., & capabilities to be able to continue working towards its social mission without further
Oostlander, P. (2010), “Establishing a Venture
Philanthropy Organisation in Europe”, EVPA VPO involvement.
Knowledge Centre Research Paper.
32
Blokhuis, Matthijs, Investment Manager, Noaber • Governance differences: Although VPOs often seek board representation in the SPOs
Ventures. (February 4, 2011), EVPA Interview. they invest in, the relationship is subtly different - governance rules and traditions
33
Balbo, L., Hehenberger, L., Mortell, D., & require greater reliance on mutual respect and trust than legal rights.
Oostlander, P. (2010), “Establishing a Venture
Philanthropy Organisation in Europe”, EVPA
Knowledge Centre Research Paper.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
19. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 19
• Different context: The social purpose organisations supported often operate in
difficult conditions and their success or failure may have implications on the
lives and well-being of thousands of beneficiaries. VPOs must have empathy and
consider that the ultimate goal of their activity is to generate social impact.
“The fact is that you are working differently [in venture philanthropy rather than VC]. Fees
applied in VC funds cannot be applied in social investments. A typical management fee is
2-3% for VC, which is not sufficient for VP. You have to invest a lot of time and sometimes
hire external experts even before you make the investment. You have to put in much more
effort for less money, and a lower capital contribution. Per euro contribution, your costs
are much higher. If you can only apply a 2-3% management fee, you can’t work that way.
You’d turn into a VC fund, picking the good deal flow because you can’t afford the time
and cost required to help the initiatives that really can make a difference, but need your
support to do that.” – Matthijs Blokhuis, Investment Manager, Noaber Ventures34
It is evident; therefore, that VC skills, systems and processes require a degree of adaptation
in order to be applied within the social sector. Therefore, the degree of willingness to
adapt to VP should be in line with the model of involvement in VP chosen. A firm should
think realistically about the amount of time and effort they are able to devote to getting
involved in philanthropy, and choose a model that helps them fulfil their goals without
over-extension. Miscalculation could be detrimental for the social sector organisations
involved if support has to be withdrawn.
34
Blokhuis, Matthijs, Investment Manager, Noaber
Ventures. (February 4, 2011), EVPA Interview.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
20. 20 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
PART 2:
PE FIRMS’ VP
ENGAGEMENT
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21. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 21
VC/PE FIRMS AND PHILANTHROPY “VP AS A TOOL WAS APPEALING
TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY. IT
A report by the Young Foundation and Arbor Square Associates recommends for private
equity firms to, “Work with the Venture Philanthropy sector to evaluate what models and COULD ATTRACT NEW MONEY TO
methods could be applied to achieve social impact. Private equity skills and resources are PHILANTHROPY AND IMPROVE THE
highly valued within the charitable sector and there is a desire to collaborate to develop IMPACT OF SOME OF THE EXISTING
new initiatives and innovative approaches.”35 FUNDING.”
SERGE RAICHER, CHAIRMAN, EVPA39
“There have always been a number of individuals in the private equity world who give
generously, but the process is now beginning to become institutionalised. The behaviour
of the generous individuals is now being reflected by the firms they work for.” – Susan
Mackenzie, Philanthropy UK36
Many private equity and venture capital firms have a history of involvement in
philanthropy whether through organizing charity events, fundraisers or financially
supporting social purpose organisations and foundations. With the increasing attention
to venture philanthropy in recent times this involvement is changing. Charity events are
increasingly supporting venture philanthropy organisations and firms are bringing their
PE ideology to their engagement in philanthropic projects. PE firm Campbell Lutyens has
enjoyed organising marathons and other long distance running events as a vehicle for
raising money, principally for children’s causes. In 2000, the Island Race on 4,200km of
UK coastline raised £1.25m. The 2010 issue of the Marathon of Marathons drew together
250 PE professionals and raised £1.7m for children’s charities including The Private Equity
Foundation and Impetus Trust, both VPOs in the UK.37 John Campbell, a Senior Partner
at Campbell-Lutyens noted, “So much investment activity today takes into account
obligations of social responsibility. It has been really heart-warming to see this translated
into serious charitable giving, and perhaps even more importantly, into an engagement
between the manager of the money and the underlying companies in which the manager
invests.”38 Campbell also highlights the growing interest of PE firms in matching their core
investments to social responsibility.
The EVPA founders had been involved in numerous charity events before deciding
to start actively facilitating this type of growth in venture philanthropy by starting an
association. In fact they made the decision while on a charity fundraising trip: “In January
2001, my wife and I led a group of 27 men and women, primarily from the private equity
industry, on a bike trek through Vietnam. We raised money for a variety of charities, but
35
particularly for the Mines Advisory Group, a Nobel prize-winning, UK-based charity that The Young Foundation & Arbor Square Associates.
(2008), “The Role of Private Equity in Social and
clears landmines and unexploded ordnance in countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Sustainable Development.”
Iraq and Angola. Among the group was Luciano Balbo, founder of B&S Electra Italy and 36
Dey, I. and Pfeifer, S. (2006), “The Low-Key Rise of
Serge Raicher, former secretary general of EVCA and a partner at Pantheon Ventures. the Smart Trousered Philanthropist”, The Telegraph.
37
Throughout the trek, we had numerous discussions about our experiences with charities, Marathon of Marathons website: http://www.
marathonofmarathons.org/home.aspx (Accessed
and about more effective ways of giving. It was during this time that we came up with January 2011).
the idea of a European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA). Those conversations 38
Campbell, J., Senior Partner, Campbell-Lutyens,
have now borne fruit – EVPA became a reality this summer. Its founders include Michiel (February 7, 2011), Email to EVPA.
39
de Haan, founder of Atlas Venture, Luciano Balbo, Serge Raicher, Stephen Dawson, former Raicher, S., EVPA Chairman, (April 18, 2011), EVPA
Newsletter.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
22. 22 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
PART 2: PE FIRMS’ VP ENGAGEMENT
“ALL OF US AND ALL COMPANIES partner of ECI UK, and me. We are all involved with a European venture philanthropy (VP)
SHOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO fund – each with a different mission and geographic focus.” – Doug Miller, co-founder and
first Chairman of EVPA41
DONATE 1% OF OUR NET INCOME
TO CHARITY. IF ON TOP THAT
IS DONE IN A PROFESSIONAL
Other firms such as MVision, Apax Partners and LDC have organised similar fundraisers
WAY, THE INDUSTRY WILL for charity, some of which are focused on the venture philanthropy approach, such
BENEFIT GREATLY. IT IS THE DUTY as the Apax Foundation’s support of Ashoka, Bridges Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund and
AND RESPONSIBILITY OF OUR INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Initiative. Another new initiative is that of EVPA member
Wellington Partners, a pan-European venture capital company, which has started an Air
GENERATION TO MAKE THIS
Miles programme where individuals can donate air miles to social entrepreneurs around
HAPPEN.” the world so they can attend trainings in Europe. The programme is an easy way to invest
CARLO U. BONOMI, FOUNDER, in the education of these entrepreneurs, helping to build strong social sector managers.
An interesting initiative is the 1% Club, promoted by Invest for Children, a Foundation
INVESTINDUSTRIAL ADVISORS40
established by private equity firm Investindustrial.42 They believe that the success of
PE firms and portfolio companies comes with social obligations and propose that all
participants (including sponsors, management teams and portfolio companies) in the 1%
Club donate:
• Industrial Companies: 1% of net profit
• Financial Companies: 1% of capital and profit gains
• Private Individuals: 1% of net income per annum
Additionally, social and environmental issues have attracted increasing attention from
private equity and venture capital communities over the past decade43. During this time,
the concept of social businesses offering sustainable solutions to social problems has
grown - a model which attracts the private equity skill set and experience.
From our research, we found three main motivations for PE firms to become involved
in philanthropy, including altruism, staff motivation and development, and public and
investor perceptions.44 Firstly, many firms and individuals feel a desire to give back to
their communities. Financial and in-kind support are options for this which fit well with
in-house resources and capabilities. Secondly, working with Social Purpose Organisations
(SPOs) can help employees develop skills like judgment, resilience and social skills45.
Another motivation for engaging in venture philanthropy is that consumers and investors
increasingly look for attention to environmental and social factors in choosing service
providers. Involvement in VP can establish PE firms as positive social actors. We will
develop these motivations further in the conclusion of the paper. In addition to these
more general reasons to engage in philanthropy, many PE firms and professionals get
40
Bonomi, C., Founder, Investindustrial Advisors,
(March 29, 2011), Email to EVPA.
involved in VP specifically because they see the VP approach as the most efficient way to
41
Miller, D. (2003), “Give something back”, Real Deals.
make the biggest social impact on a cause they feel strongly about.
42
Understanding Diversity and Working Toward
Integration” Invest4Children, PowerPoint available
online: http://www.investforchildren.org/
powerpoint.asp, (Accessed December 2010).
43
The Young Foundation & Arbor Square Associates.
(2008), “The Role of Private Equity in Social and
Sustainable Development.”
44
IBID.
45
IBID.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
23. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 23
MODELS OF ENGAGEMENT IN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY EVPA resources that can
In what follows we will provide an overview of three models we have identified for PE/ facilitate your engagement in
VC firms to engage in venture philanthropy. Throughout the paper, we use short case venture philanthropy
examples of PE firms from different European countries to illustrate how firms can engage • Review publications on VP at the
in the VP methodology. We have selected these cases to serve as examples, though there EVPA Knowledge Centre on
are many other firms contributing in different ways to venture philanthropy and other www.evpa.eu.com to familiarize
forms of philanthropy. Within each engagement model, there are significant variations your firm with the concepts
and opportunities to tailor the choice to a firm’s particular context. We will discuss • Meet other PEs and VPOs
their appropriate uses and limitations throughout the document. The models we have working directly with SPOs, in
identified are: order to develop understanding
of process. EVPA resources and
1. Directly support Social Purpose Organisations through hands-on engagement events facilitate networking and
from PE firm knowledge sharing www.evpa.
eu.com
2. Invest in or co-invest with a Venture Philanthropy Organisation (VPO) through • Search EVPA members on
financial or in-kind support www.evpa.eu.com to find VPOs in
your area
3. Found or co-found a separate VPO to address an un-met need
• Contact VPOs directly or email
info@evpa.eu.com for help with
engaging with a VPO
MODEL 1: DIRECTLY SUPPORT SOCIAL PURPOSE ORGANISATIONS
Hands-on
Social Purpose
PE Firm engagement and
Organisation
financial support
One way to engage in venture philanthropy is to directly support social purpose
organisations through hands-on engagement from the PE firm. This approach involves
acting as a VPO directly and employing some or many of the characteristics of VP: high
engagement, tailored financing, multi-year support, non-financial support, organisational
capacity-building and performance measurement. It can be a longer-term and involved
approach or one-off collaboration with a local SPO, depending on the strategy of the firm
and the needs of its partner SPOs. Many firms donate money to local charities, but few
have a close working relationship with them.
a) Invest directly in SPOs from PE firm level
SPOTLIGHT: 3i46
3i is an international investor with over 400 employees in 12 countries, over 60 years of
experience and £13 billion in assets under management.47 They are also active corporate
46
citizens with a corporate and social responsibility programme and several charitable Dunne, P., Group Communications Director, 3i
(January, 28, 2011), EVPA Interview.
engagements including the Enterprise Education Trust (EET), a charity focused on 47
3i Website: http://www.3i.com/about3i.html,
increasing young people’s knowledge of business. 3i not only had the idea for this charity http://www.3i.com/about3i/key-facts.html
(Accessed December 2010).
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
24. 24 A GUIDE TO VENTURE PHILANTHROPY FOR VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
PART 2: PE FIRMS’ VP ENGAGEMENT
but has provided funding for over thirty years. Additionally, 3i was a founding investor
3i VP Engagement48, 49
in Bridges Ventures (a VPO and social investor), and a founding member of the European
• Supports selected charities with a Venture Philanthropy Association and the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network.50 With
VP approach on the basis of their philanthropy, 3i takes an active and engaged approach to supporting charities in
impact and effectiveness proximity to local offices. They currently support The Passage, Goonj, Community Links
• Encourages staff to individually and Historic Royal Palaces. For these organisations, the firm uses a venture philanthropy
become involved in charities and approach including multi-year support, non-financial support, organisational capacity-
social enterprises and make use building and performance measurement.
of 3i resources, knowledge and
networks to increase impact As a publicly listed company, 3i had to be cautious about the scale of their charitable
• Focused on young people, support. They are not able to establish a foundation and donate a percentage of income,
education and the disadvantaged as other PE firms may be. Instead, they use this constraint to define their strategy. The
in the communities near local budget is funnelled to support SPOs in select communities near 3i offices, which makes
offices in-kind support of skills and office space convenient. 3i also harnesses its vast network to
• Funding: £407,490 in charitable help charities increase their reach and raise funds from others. 3i has supported most of its
giving for the year to 31 March charity partners with marketing support, helping to bring their names to a wider audience
2010 and the attention of more donors and pro bono helpers in the business community. Of
• Financial Strategy: Invest 3i’s involvement with EET, Patrick Dunne, Group Communications Director of 3i, said: “On
in specific projects; match top of providing funding every year since formation, we have helped with branding and
employees’ fundraising networking; a number of 3i people were involved.”51
• Funding comes from budget as 3i
is a listed company. Of another charitable involvement with In Kind Direct, which re-distributes donated
products to third sector organisations, Dunne added: ”We have a guy from 3i on the
fundraising committee; we helped them build their website and we provide support and
strategic input.”52
3i plan to continue working directly with SPOs and supporting other philanthropic efforts.
When asked about any interest in a finance-first social fund, 3i commented that backing
Bridges Ventures was their way of backing the concept. “That’s what 3i people do – find
talented people with a good business and back them,” said Dunne.
CONCLUSION FROM MODEL 1
For firms looking to become involved in venture philanthropy, engaging directly with an
SPO can be a useful way to establish ties with the local community. This is an especially
good option for firms that may like to leverage intellectual and social capital more
heavily than financial capital, such as publicly listed firms with less freedom of action. To
make the partnership work, it helps to have passionate individuals in local offices that
can spearhead involvement. This model does require a certain amount of organisation
and initiative on the part of the PE firm, which will need to be encouraged by senior
management in order to flourish.
48
3i Corporate Responsibility Report (2010).
49
Dunne, P., Group Communications Director, 3i
(January, 28, 2011), EVPA Interview.
50
3i Website: http://www.3i.com/about3i.html,
http://www.3i.com/about3i/key-facts.html
(Accessed December 2010).
51
Dunne, P., Group Communications Director, 3i
(January, 28, 2011), EVPA Interview.
52
IBID.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
25. MARTA MARETICH AND MARGARET BOLTON JUNE 2011 25
“I AM DELIGHTED THAT MY
Model 1: Directly support Social Purpose Organisations
PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO
When Why How PHILANTHROPY IS SHARED
Firm would like to work Proximity to charities Tap firm’s social capital – THROUGHOUT OUR FIRM.
locally, potentially offers in-kind benefits or professional network
DOUGHTY HANSON’S
developing a long-term like use of office space, for providers of pro bono
relationship with SPO in which can also make up for and financial support PHILANTHROPIC ENGAGEMENT
community, or potentially financial constraints STARTED MORE THAN TEN YEARS
because no VPOs exist in AGO WITH THE CREATION OF OUR
the area
CHARITABLE FOUNDATION AND
Firm unable to contribute Direct involvement from Identify local champions
CONTINUES THROUGH MANY
much capital, such firm can attract other at regional offices
as publicly listed firm, funders, increasing impact who are passionate OTHER INITIATIVES INCLUDING IN
can help more with pro and sharing financial costs about local issues, and THE FIELD OF EDUCATION, SOCIAL
bono services and other encourage philanthropy INVESTMENT.”
proximity advantages as a personal choice,
maintaining an informal NIGEL DOUGHTY, CO-FOUNDER
structure AND CO-CHAIRMAN, DOUGHTY
HANSON & CO.54
MODEL 2: INVEST IN OR CO-INVEST WITH A VPO An Example: Apax Foundation
invests in VPOs55, 56
• Formal channel for Apax Partners
to support VP and VP-related
Venture projects
Philanthropy Hands-on • Financial strategy: Receives a
Social Purpose
PE Firm Organisation engagement and percentage of the firm’s profits
coordinates Organisation
financial support and carried interest
assistance
• Funding: The foundation donated
nearly £1m in 2009 and has over
£20m in assets (2011)
• Funds VPOs Ashoka and Bridges
Investing in a VPO involves offering professional services and potentially financial support Social Entrepreneurs Fund,
to VPOs to help them conduct their operations. These relationships are typically ongoing Impetus Trust & The Private Equity
and VPOs rely on PE firms as partners to conduct due diligence, advise portfolio SPOs on Foundation
strategic issues, or conduct other related tasks. VPOs such as Impetus Trust have reported • Also makes grants to related
positive feedback from employees of partner PE firms, noting that pro bono projects are initiatives and SPOs
sometimes highly sought after and used as reward for high performance employees.53 • Matches employee donations 2:1
To formalise involvement in philanthropy, a firm may wish to establish a foundation and
specify a percentage of profit to finance the foundation each year. The foundation can be 53
“Do pro bono consultants care less about their
used to invest in VPOs, or co-invest in SPOs with VPOs. This model allows the PE firm to be work than paid partners?” (June 2010), Session
Notes, EVPA Site Visit to Impetus Trust.
more connected to the initiative they are funding and enables them to participate in the 54
Doughty, N., co Founder and co Chairman,
investment process if they wish, while outsourcing due diligence and administration to a Doughty Hanson &co (March 21, 2011), Email to
VPO. Many firms have set up foundations including Apax Foundation, Doughty Hanson & EVPA.
Co., TowerBrook Foundation, Terra Firma Charitable Trust and Cinven Foundation. 55
Apax Foundation website: http://www.apax.com/
en/1717.html , (Accessed December 2010).
Additionally, PE firms may find supporting VPOs through financial support to be a good 56
Englander, P., Chief Executive, Apax Partners
(February 11, 2011), Email to EVPA.
EUROPEAN VENTURE PHILANTHROPY ASSOCIATION KNOWLEDGE CENTRE