February 8, 2001 | Read Time: 2 minutes
By HARVY LIPMAN
Organizations that promote “venture philanthropy” continue to proliferate,
but many are new and thinly staffed, according to a new report.
Venture philanthropy is a movement that seeks to apply some of the techniques of venture capitalism to the nonprofit world.
The report provides a snapshot of 37 venture-philanthropy organizations, most of which were created in the past two years. It was compiled for the Morino Institute, a nonprofit organization that studies the influence of the Internet and related technologies on society, and Venture Philanthropy Partners, which works on developing information about the new field. It was prepared by Community Wealth Ventures, a consulting group in Washington that is a for-profit subsidiary of Share Our Strength, a nonprofit organization that focuses on hunger issues.
The funds varied widely in size. Twelve had less than $1-million in assets or money pledged to the organization. An additional 11 had between $1-million and $15-million, while four had more than $15-million. Ten groups said either that their asset size was confidential or that they hadn´t raised any money yet.
Most of the organizations said they had a clearly defined mission for their grant making. Those supporting education or other youth services accounted for the largest share — 17 of the 37 organizations. Six said their grants would not be focused on a particular area, while five more said they had not yet decided on their primary focus.
Eighteen of the funds said they would provide management and strategy advice to grantees. Thirteen said they would not directly assist in the management of charities they support, but 12 of those indicated that investors in the fund would fill that role.
Overall staffing levels at the funds are low: 20 of the 37 said their full-time–equivalent staff is two or fewer.
Most of the organizations said they expected to make individual grants of between $25,000 and $500,000, with support being paid out over three years.
Free copies of “Venture Philanthropy 2001: The Changing Landscape” are available at http://www.venturephilanthropypartners.org, or from the Morino Institute, 11600 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 300, Reston, Va. 20191; (703) 620-8971.
