What is Venture Philanthropy?

Venture Philanthropy (VP) is a high-engagement and long-term approach whereby an investor supports a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or social enterprise to help them maximise social impact. It is a type of impact investment that takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals. VP is when philanthropy meets investment.

AVPA believes in the transformative power of venture philanthropy/social investment (VP/SI) and a disciplined approach to the deployment of capital that increases transparency and accountability. Effective VP/SI can generate significant impact through different types of innovative organizations (from non-profits to social enterprises to full-fledged businesses) yielding a spectrum of financial returns, from negative (grants) to low (loans/Impact Funds) to full market rates (Private capital)