John Pepin on future trends in venture philanthropy
Howard Lake | 29 March 2005 | News
“The venture philanthropy movement is evolving out of the incubation phase into a mature and increasingly accepted practice”, says John Pepin in his analysis of the future of venture philanthropy or “high engagement giving” in the UK.
John Pepin’s research acknowledges that venture philanthropy activity in Europe is still on a smaller scale to that in the USA, with just a small number of dedicated funds, such as Impetus Trust. However, “its influence can be felt in a larger number of venture philanthropy-like organisations, such as Futurebuilders and Diageo’s corporate citizenship initiatives.”
Pepin’s report highlights six key trends in the development of venture philanthropy in the UK:
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- increased financial capital and expertise in the movement
- the leverage of the movement will be felt throughout the sector, for example with traditional grantmakers adapting some of the principles of the movement
- the model will involve, with venture philanthropists increasing their understanding of the charity sector
- new capital structures will be developed, such as “recipient-driven captive funds” and “diverse blended fund portfolios”
- charities will change their behaviour, for example with fundraisers adopting a more strategic approach to matching capital
to needs - the impact of venture philanthropy will start to be felt in the larger charities
Pepin concludes from his research that venture philanthropy will result in an increased diversity of funding, and not just in venture philanthropy, leading
to more sustainable and less vulnerable charitable organisations. It will also yield improved evaluation techniques within the sector, leading to improved techniques for achieving social goals.
Pepin’s paper includes a useful appendix which summarises the main venture philanthropy models, together with a series of case studies.
You can download the paper from UK Fundraising in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF).
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.