Venture Philanthropy Partners is based, as its name suggests, upon a partnership approach. When we initiate an investment in a high-potential nonprofit organization, we call that organization an “investment partner” rather than a “grantee,” because we aspire to develop a close, long-term relationship. We are not naïve enough to believe that the power differential between grantmaker and grantseeker magically disappears, but we do make every effort to build trust between the parties, share risks, and structure the relationship so that our success is directly predicated on their success.

VPP’s investment team benefits from the expertise of a much broader community of support, made up of our investors, board members, strategic advisors, and a score of high-quality consulting firms. Our investment partners can tap any part of the VPP community for help in areas ranging from recruitment and real estate to public policy and strategic planning.