Venture Philanthropy Guide

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Path: Main Street : Online Resources : Venture Philanthropy Guide
VenturePhilanthropyGuide.org

Introduction
VenturePhilanthopyGuide.org is a navigational map which charts the Who, What, Why, When and Where to the world of venture philanthropy.

A web search for "venture philanthropy" results in thousands of returns. The aim of this site is to provide an easily navigable map of the sometimes uncharted and confusing landscape of venture philanthropy, strategic philanthropy and, in part, its close ally social entrepreneurship. Hopefully, along the way of our journey we can help to build a bridge between the two worlds of traditional and venture philanthropy.

Media Hype
"Both traditional and emerging ways of giving have something to offer," says Tom Reis, Program Director at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and author of "Unleashing New Resources and Entrepreneurship for the Common Good." "The dichotomy between "old" and "new" philanthropy is at least partly the result of media hype surrounding venture philanthropy."

The twist behind the media hype tends to be "out with the old" and "in with the new," naturally raising the hackles of many from the traditional nonprofit world.

Critics
Unfortunately the side result of this reaction has been a tendency to foster skeptics who dismiss venture philanthropy as a passing fad or even "misguided hubris."

Other critics say concepts which work well in the business world don't always translate seamlessly into the nonprofit sector.

Proponents of venture philanthropy enjoy a position of stirring up and challenging the traditional and established world of philanthropy. Thomas Billitteri, writing "Venturing a Bet on Giving" in the Chronicle of Philanthropy says "many advocates promote venture philanthropy as an antidote to what they see as the failings of mainstream philanthropy."

No Time to Waste
Given the state of our society, there's no more time to waste taking hard line positions about old or new practice. Change is happening. As Tom Reis of W.K. Kellogg Foundation says, "There are program directors at traditional foundations practicing venture philanthropy via their own portfolios, they just don't get the attention and hype."

For Fundraising Practitioners

Venture philanthropy may still be an experiment but there can be no doubt it is a sit-up-and-take notice phenomenon which no professional fundraiser can afford to ignore. For professional fundraisers caught in the midst of this "sea-change," hopefully VenturePhilanthropyGuide.org will serve as a map to explore the world of venture philanthropy, and its partner social entrepreneurship.

Venture philanthropy reflects the spirit of our times, or zeitgeist. It offers a viable edge to those practicing the art and science of fundraising.

Let's take a tour of this brave new world which requires us to question existing practices. We welcome your feedback. Please send an e-mail with your comments and suggestions. I would like to thank Maggie Leithead, Vice President of CharityVillage for providing the vehicle to launch this guide to venture philanthropy.

Natasha van Bentum, CFRE is a professional fundraising campaigner, based in Canada, specializing in gift planning and major gifts for the international environmental group Greenpeace. VenturePhilanthropyGuide.org is the second in her series of practical guides for fundraising practitioners, following on the success of SeniorsInCyberspace.org.

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Path: Main Street : Online Resources : Venture Philanthropy Guide : What is it?

What is venture philanthropy?

"The venture philanthropy field is so diverse and unsettled it resembles the Wild West." -- Mario Morino, Morino Institute

Venture philanthropy has several definitions. It's commonly assumed to take the principles of venture capitalism and apply them to philanthropy.

* "Venture philanthropy means funding organizations that support enterprising nonprofits and social entrepreneurs with not only financial resources, but also management and technical support as well. This support is focused on enabling nonprofits to build greater organizational capacity and infrastructure via long term, engaged relationships with investees." Social Venture Partners

* "Combining the passion and commitment of the nonprofit world with the efficiencies and advantages of the New Economy."

* "It's all about supporting and building capacity."

* Peninsula Community Foundation claims to have first used the term "venture philanthropy" back in 1984.

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But before looking at what more people say venture philanthropy is, let's see what venture philanthropy is NOT, according to Mario Morino, a leading advocate of venture philanthropy.

"We are not a venture capitalist's answer to philanthropy. Venture capitalism is, for the most part, a mercenary business. It is focused on fast investment and even faster returns, and it imposes dramatic consequences for failing short of either. Venture capitalism serves its purpose. But it is not our purpose.

"Our purpose is to boost the capacity of the nonprofit sector to provide services that enrich people's lives. We seek a real, long-term commitment that marries the passion and commitment of the nonprofit world with the efficiencies and advantages of the New Economy. Both sides can learn. Both sides can benefit."

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Here is a classic definition of venture philanthropy from one of the earliest practitioners of venture philanthropy, the Peninsula Community Foundation and its Center for Venture Philanthropy. "Venture Philanthropy refers to the nonprofit sector's application of certain practices used by venture capitalists when investing in new business ideas. There are 5 key elements of venture philanthropy:

* a managing partner relationship
* investments in long-term (3-6 yr.) business plans
* an accountability-for-results process
* provision of cash and expertise
* an exit strategy

Investors make long-term funding commitments, closely monitor performance objectives through predefined measurement tools and problem solve jointly with the nonprofit team on a regular basis." Center for Venture Philanthropy, Peninsula Community Foundation, Founder Sterling Speirn says, "Venture philanthropy invests in social entrepreneurs who have developed programs that produce significant social return."
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According to the major report "Unleashing New Resources and Entrepreneurism for the Common Good" venture philanthropy is motivated by the following values and beliefs:

* outcomes/impact thinking
* market concepts as a driver for designing social products and services
* investment is more effective than charity
* wealth creation should be balanced with public responsibility
* sustainability of social change needs to be supported through philanthropic and earned income.

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A case study on venture philanthropy by Melinda Tuan and Jed Emerson can be found at Roberts Enterprise Development Fund's web site.
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"What is needed is not new solutions to social problems but new ways to find and support succesful nonprofits so they can grow and build on their success." Mario Morino

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Path: Main Street : Online Resources : Venture Philanthropy Guide : Why Venture Philanthropy?

Why venture philanthropy?

"It is ironic that in a time of unprecedented prosperity and wealth creation, there is still chronic poverty and significant income inequality. The already large gap between rich and poor has widened even more dramatically. However there is a convergence of broader forces at work that have set the stage for a fundamentally different approach to philanthropy, one that learns from the past while drawing upon the best practices of today and the New Economy: venture philanthropy." -- Venture Philanthropy Partners

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Sociologist Paul Schervish, Director of the Social Welfare Research Institute at Boston College is best noted for his report "Millionaires and the Millennium: New Estimates of the Forthcoming Wealth Transfer and the Prospects for a Golden Age of Philanthropy" which estimates the wealth transfer over the next half century to be between $41 trillion and $136 trillion."

His paper, written with John J. Havens, "The New Physics of Philanthropy: The Supply-Side Vectors of Charitable Giving" (PDF format) provides insight into the zeitgeist of new philanthropy.
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Weakness of Traditional Foundations

* Venture philanthropy advocates say most traditional foundations are too program and project driven and that they wrongly view the long-term needs of their grantees as extraneous overhead.

* Foundations, they say, don't do enough to help charities recruit and train qualified staff members, improve their computer and accounting systems, or develop sophisticated tools to track the results of social service programs.

* As a result, critics of traditional philanthropy say many nonprofit groups that rely on foundation money - even organizations with good leaders, worthy missions, and vast potential - are chronically undercapitalized and often struggle to survive.

* Proponents of venture philanthropy also content that typical foundation grants are too short-term to help struggling charities get on a sound footing.

* They say social impacts are not being realized using traditional methods.

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Stereotypes held by members of both Business and Nonprofit worlds

"Business groups often assume the nonprofit sector is dysfunctional, but that's not true. There are good executives and managers in the nonprofit sector. They lack support. Conversely, the nonprofit assumes the business guy is going to come in and just apply all the business rules and therefore break their mission, break their spirit, and break their soul. And that's not true either."

"Many nonprofits struggle with insufficient resources. Nonprofits are chronically undercapitalized. They have been compassionate and committed service providers but inattentive institution builders, focusing most of their energies and resources externally rather than building and supporting their own capacity." Morino

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Traditional funders tend to tie donations to programs that directly impact 'clients', leaving it to the nonprofits to find money to keep the lights on. But operational effectiveness is as important to the venture philanthropist as an innovative program." Peter Delevett, Bizjournals.com, "Venture Philanthropists Hope to Tap New Wealth"
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In their comprehensive report "Assessing Venture Philanthropy," written by three former students in the Harvard Business School course on social entrepreneurship. authors Christopher Capers, Michael Collins and Shahna Gooneratne write:

"Although today venture philanthropy is currently a small share of all giving, it is a significant trend. There are three reasons why venture philanthropy has the potential to significantly change today's nonprofit world:

* there is a generation of young self-made wealthy that dislike traditional philanthropy. . . .
* primary sources of operating funding are evaporating. . . . . Government's role is reduced, resources of the United Way are declining in many areas. . . .
* there is an emerging hybrid sector "nonprofit for-profit organizations" that run as revenue-generating businesses which pursue a social mission."

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The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation say success in using venture philanthropy would result in at least four conditions:

1. A marked increased in the output and productivity of the field as a whole and of several significant institutions in it.
2. Some organizations in the field, either intermediaries or significant front-line organizations achieve the status of bell-weathers or 'great institutions', whose activities lead and publicly represent the field.
3. More revenue-generating capacity - and probably more revenue - in the field as a whole.
4. Significantly better means of measuring quality, production and outcomes.

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"A sea change in philanthropic giving, an unprecedented wealth creation of the New Economy and an Internet-enabled transformation in organizational effectiveness are converging to create an extraordinary opportunity to work in new and different ways to meet society's most vexing and long-standing social problems." -- Venture Philanthropy Partners
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The article by Diane Gingold in FORTUNE, May 2000 "New Frontiers in Philanthropy" details the workings of venture philanthropy. Diane says,

"In the past, the majority of philanthropists relied on established organizations to identify problems and deliver solutions, but now the Internet is allowing the public to renegotiate its relationship to the social sector.

"Today individuals who wish to be personally involved in social change can turn to the Internet for a communications link and virtual global arena where they can convene with similar individuals or groups seeking to impact specific social problems without the assistance of an intermediary organization."

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Harvard Business School professor James Austin has written a new book "The Collaborative Challenge" (Jossey-Bass). In it he quotes John Whitehead, former chairman of Goldman Sachs, who says: "Don't think this is some kind of charitable thing where you will be rewarded in heaven. You get rewarded right away because you'll be known as a company that is conscious of its social responsibility; you'll attract better quality employees; your stock will sell at a higher multiple; and all sorts of good things will come out of it."

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Path: Main Street : Online Resources : Venture Philanthropy Guide : Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship & venture philanthropy organizations

"Perhaps the growth of social entrepreneurism is the most important reason for adopting the venture philanthropy approach." -- Assessing Venture Philanthropy

A remarkable number of organizations are devoted to social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy. Many of their web sites have sections on how these new initiatives work in practice. Many have all too similar-sounding names and for someone looking in from the "outside," trying to make sense of them all is a challenge and can be frustrating.

Tim Draimin of Tides Canada Foundation has written a good definition of social entrepreneurship.

Here is a listing of just some of the groups:

* Ashoka: Innovators for the Public: Supports individuals engaging in social entrepreneurship with three-year fellowships.

* BC Technology Social Venture Partners: Employs a venture philanthropy approach to supporting positive social change. Participants hope to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of not for profit organizations by investing not only money but also time and expertise.

* Benetech Initiative: A nonprofit venture which aims to provide social benefits by harnessing the power of technology. Benetech focuses the efforts of technology and technologists to solve important problems facing society.

* Canadian Business for Social Responsibility: A business membership organization that works to support, promote and advocate responsible business policies and practices that benefit employees, communities, the economy and our environment.

* Canadian Centre for Social Entrepreneurship: University of Alberta School of Business. "Just as business entrepreneurs employ leadership and innovation to seize opportunities to create economic value, social entrepreneurs use these qualities to capitalize on opportunities to meet critical social needs and to create social value."

* Center for Venture Philanthropy: An initiative of the Peninsula Community Foundation (Silicon Valley) and a "forum for community donors to collaborate and catalyze for social change."

* Community Wealth: An online collection of case studies, models, tips and news about well-known and little-known entrepreneurial efforts to generate resources to promote social change.

* Echoing Green: A foundation operating on the venture philanthropy model and providing fellowships for social entrepreneurs.

* Enterpreneneurs Foundation: Has a mission to change the culture of the entrepreneurial sector in the Silicon Valley/Bay Area so they incorporate community involvement as a core element of their company. Make the community stronger by applying venture capital principles to scale-up successful non-profit organizations.

* Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2): An American national community of professionals and business people who believe in protecting the environment while building economic prosperity.

* Institute for Social Entrepreneurs: A social entrepreneur is any person who uses earned income strategies to pursue social objectives, simultaneously seeking both a financial and social return on investment. The Institute provides education and training for social entrepreneurs in the US and abroad and draws upon a virtual community of social entrepreneurs and others to collaborate on specific projects.

* Kirsch Foundation: Steve Kirsch has written extensively about venture philanthropy and is a venture philanthropist himself.

* National Center for Social Entrepreneurs and the International Centre for Social Entrepreneurs: The mission of both organizations is to encourage entrepreneurship throughout the nonprofit sector and to help individual nonprofits think and act in an entrepreneurial manner.

* Nonprofit Enterprise and Self-sustainability Team (NESsT): An international nonprofit organization with offices in Budapest, Hungary and Santiago, Chile dedicated to developing new strategies for financing civil society through entrepreneurship.

* New Profit Inc.: A nonprofit venture philanthropy firm committed to the practice of venture philanthropy and the evolution of a new market for social change. Their goal to effect large-scale social change by applying venture capital practices to philanthropy.

* Pioneer Human Services: Involved in social enterprise programming for more than 30 years.

* Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures: Yale University has established a Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures, funded with $4.5 million from the Goldman Sachs Foundtion and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The partnership has launched an online resource centre featuring research and business tools for nonprofits pursuing commercial ventures.

* Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF): An initiative of the Roberts Foundtion, REDF is a senior player in the venture philanthropy world, and describes itself as a social venture fund working with social entrepreneurs.

* Robin Hood Foundation: Robin Hood has a single objective: end poverty in New York City. It has a straightforward approach. Invest in good organizations. Give them top notch management support. Hold them accountable. Learn from their results. Duplicate their success.

* School for Social Entrepreneurs, U.K: SSE is both a school running a national program for social entrepreneurs and an action learning network to support local and regional social entrepreneurs' programs around the UK

* SeaChange: Creating the entrepreneurial nonprofit marketplace for sustainable social change. Builds alliances with social entrepreneurs, social investors and business leaders to facilitate the exchange of expertise and capital. Also developing an online learning community, nonprofit venture fairs and local chapters.

* Social Entrepreneurs Network: An Australian organization which offers practical advice, technical support and access to expertise for communities wanting to think and act entrepreneurially.

* Social Venture Network: Social Venture Network is a community of leading business and social entrepreneurs engaged in building a socially just and environmentally sustainable economy through our enterprises." See innovative Hollyhock Institute program.

* Social Venture Partners: Founded by former Aldus president Paul Brainerd. "Building a dynamic connection between entrepreneurial energy and grassroots innovation, SVP links business professionals and nonprofit organizations to make a hands-on difference." The SVP International web site links to local affiliates throughout Canada and the United States.

* Social Venture Partners Calgary: Seeks to develop philanthropy and volunteerism to achieve positive social change in the Calgary region. Using the venture capital approach as a model, SVPC is committed to giving time, money and expertise to create partnerships with non-profit organizations.

* Tides Canada Foundation: Offers a full set of national services for individual and institutional donors interested in putting their resources to work in supporting social, economic and environmental causes. Tides Canada Foundation is a new organization and could serve as a model on the philanthropy scene in Canada.

* Venture Philanthropy Partners: An initiative of the Morino Institute. An informational and philanthropic organization dedicated to assisting grassroots entrepreneuers.

* world in need: Provides seed funding to social entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom and supports these investments with a blend of skills, advice and networking.

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Path: Main Street : Online Resources : Venture Philanthropy Guide : Gift Planning

Gift Planning

Venture Philanthropy and its close ally Social Entrepreneurship present both challenges and opportunities for gift planners, particular in today's roller coaster economic environment. This is new territory and we welcome your contributions if you know of gift planners working creatively with venture philanthropists and social entrepreneurs.

"Many successful entrepreneurs are scorning the big bureaucratic nonprofits," states Forbes magazine in an April, 2000 article "They Want Your Founder's Stock." "Many are setting up their own foundations or working with startup charities. Similarly, many new tech companies are donating pre-public offering stock to those community foundations that have agendas different from those of traditional charities."

Pioneering Gift Planners
Two senior gift planners doing innovative work with entrepreneurs are Peter J. Ticconi, Jr., senior planned giving advisor, Johns Hopkins University, and Malcolm Burrows, planned giving director, Toronto's Sick Children's Hospital Foundation and member of the board of directors of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners.

Malcolm Burrows - Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
In October, 2000 Malcolm Burrows launched the "Options Campaign For The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation" which is the first of its kind in Canada.

Burrows offers details of the innovative campaign in an article entitled "Gift of Stock Options by Corporations."

Peter Ticconi - Johns Hopkins University
Peter Ticconi's paper "Gift Partnering with Entrepreneurial Donors" published in the Journal of the National Committee on Planned Giving was the first of its kind on the topic. Peter writes, "Today's entrepreneurs and venture capitalists represent the wealth of tomorrow. Yet conventional gift acceptance procedures do not always fit these individuals unconventional gift proposals. To work with them, you often have to think like they do." The paper is not available online but Peter has kindly offered to provide a copy if you contact him at pticconi@jhu.edu.

Peter's work was also cited in the Forbes article "They Want Your Founder's Stock." "When asking for a conventional gift, these prospects might say they are not in a position to make a present commitment because they are using their assets to build value in their venture (business or partnership) and they need all available capital to make this happen. So a conventional gift does not happen.

"In these situations, the gift planning conversation can be moved ahead to the future event when wealth is anticipated. The actual gift transfer is intended to be in the future rather than today.

"The advantage is that the donor need not make a commitment for a dollar amount, since the anticipated growth in not clear. Instead, committing a percentage or a specific number of shares makes sense. When gift planning happens from a donor's perspective, the best gift planning can happen for these charitably minded people."

Peter has developed a brochure for Johns Hopkins' Whiting School of Engineering with sample gift partnerships as a well as several gift examples. Contact Peter Ticconi for more information.

"I could have bought a bigger house, a fancy car," says Joseph Pistritto, one of Peter Ticconi's entrepreneur donors. "But if a student makes a discovery based on my grants, it would be worth a lot more than me driving a faster car over the speed limit."

Canadian Research
Fundraisers Guy Mallabone, vice-president of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (Calgary), and Tony Myers, associate director of development at the University of Alberta (Edmonton), have published some preliminary findings from their master's thesis in Philanthropy and Development at Saint Mary's University. The duo are reasearching what motivates entrepreneurs and you can find their preliminary findings in the NewsWeek Archive at CharityVillage.

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Path: Main Street : Online Resources : Venture Philanthropy Guide : Articles and Reports

VenturePhilanthropyGuide.org

Articles and reports

If you know of a helpful article that should be included here, please e-mail Natasha at nvbentum@yvr.greenpeace.org.

Key articles:

"Assessing Venture Philanthropy," by Christopher Capers, Michael Collins, Shahna Gooneratne.

Comprehensive paper prepared for Professor James Austin's Harvard Business School course on "Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector".

"New Social Entrepreneurs: The Success, Challenge and Lessons of Non-Profit Enterprise Creation," Jed Emerson and Melinda Tuan. Roberts Enterprise Development Fund, 1996.

Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) President Jed Emerson is also Bloomberg Senior Resident Fellow in Philanthropy at Harvard University. He and REDF Managing Director Melinda Tuan prepared a case study on REDF for Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, analyzing REDF and its work with nonprofit organizations. REDF's web site has numerous resource links.

"Unleashing New Resources and Entrepreneurship or the Common Good" by Tom Reis, Program Director at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Stephanie Clohesy.

"Venture Philanthropy: Landscape and Expectations". Report prepared by Community Wealth Ventures for Morino Institute.

This report outlines some of the opportunities and challenges of venture philanthropy.

"Virtuous Capital: What Foundations Can Learn from Venture Capitalists," Christine Letts, William Dyer, Allen Grossman. Harvard Business Review, March-April 1997.

Key article published in 1997. In this pioneering report authors say the way foundations make investments could yield better outcomes if venture capital practices were studied and applied. The article says foundations have traditionally been reluctant to fund "capacity building" within nonprofits. As a result capacity building is neglected and nonprofits suffer accordingly.

Other recommended articles and reports:

* "A New Philanthropy For the New Economy," Mario Morino, Chairman, Morino Institute, May 2000.
* "A Women's Venture in Philanthropy," (about Catherine Murther, Three Guineas Fund), by Kendra Mayfield, WiredNews.
* "A New Way of Giving," Karl Taro Greenfeld, TIME Magazine, July 24, 2000.
* "But Is It Smart Money? Nonprofits Question the Value of Venture Philanthropy," Neil F. Carlson, NCRP Quarterly, Spring 2000.
* "Evolution or Extinction: A Strategy for Nonprofits in the Marketplace," Edward Sklott, Executive Director, Surdna Foundation. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, vol. 29 (June 2000): p. 315-24.
* "Gift Partnering With Entrepreneurial Donors," Peter J. Ticconi, Jr., Senior Planned Giving Advisor, Johns Hopkins University, writing in National Committee on Planned Giving (NCPG) Journal. Contact Peter Ticconi.
* "Gift of Stock Options by Corporations," Malcom D. Burrows, The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation.
* "Giving Back the Silicon Valley Way," Peter de C. Hero, Community Foundation of Silicon Valley.
* "Helping Art Museums Get on the Venture Philanthropy Boat," Rachel Orlins Bergman's assessment of the potential for museums to access venture philanthropy funding.
* "If Pigs Had Wings," Bruce Sievers' critique of venture philanthropy.
* "Major Philanthropists in Technology," Steve Kirsch, Kirsch Foundation.
* "Mapping the Future of Philanthropy," Worth Magazine interview with Tom Reis, Program Director, W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
* "New Physics of Philanthropy: Supply Side Vectors of Donor Dynamics," Paul G. Schervish, Social Welfare Research Institute, Boston College.
* "New Frontiers in Philanthropy," a comprehensive report by Diane Gingold, FORTUNE May 2000.
* "Open-source fund shuts down," about the deminse of the Centre for the Public Domain by Todd Cohen, Nonprofitxpress, March, 2002.
* "Philanthropy's New Agenda: Creating Value," Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, Harvard Business Review, 1999.
* "Prophets for non-profits?" a look at the merits of venture philanthropy by Nicole Etchart and Lee Davis, Allavida, Alliances for voluntary initiatives and development
* "Radical Philanthropist, The," Quentin Hardy's cover page article in Forbes, May 2000 about eBay founders Pierre and Pamela Omidyar.
* "Social Entreprise Meets Venture Philanthropy," Alison Buttenheim, Center for Nonprofit Management.
* "Social Venture Partners: Engaging a New Generation of Givers," Brainerd, Paul, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 28 (4): 502-507, Dec. 1999.
* Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs: Enhancing the Performance of Your Enterprising Nonprofit, J. Gregory Dees, Peter Economy, Jed Emerson, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
* "Venture Philanthropy 2001: The Changing Landscape," by Community Wealth Ventures, Inc. for the Morino Institute. This research paper provides a comprehensive look at the state of venture philanthropy in the U.S. today.
* "Venture Philanthropy," Murray M. Coffey, Business2.0, June 01, 1999.
* "Venture Philanthropy 2001: The Changing Landscape," a report jointly produced by the Morino Institute, Community Wealth Ventures and Venture Philanthropy Partners .
* "Venture Philanthropy - A New Model for Corporate Giving," Jay Kominsky, Fund Raising Management,, August 1997.
* "Venture Philanthropy Hopes to Tap New Wealth," Peter Delevett.
* "Venture Philanthropy: Leveraging Compassion with Capacity in the National Capital Region," speech by Mario Monino, founder Morino Institute.
* "Venturing a Bet on Giving," Thomas J. Billitteri, Chronicle of Philanthropy, June 2000.
* "What's the best way to do good?," by Lucy McCauley and Christine Canabou, Fast Company, Issue 41, December 2000.

Path: Main Street : Online Resources : Venture Philanthropy Guide : Venture Philanthropy Critics
Natasha van Bentum, CFRE

Venture Philanthropy Critics

Amid the hoopla about the potential for successful venture philanthropy, there are also some who challenge its premises, approaches, and potential for long-term success. As we find more articles from this viewpoint, we will continue to add them here.

* "If Pigs Had Wings," Bruce Sievers, Foundation News & Commentary, November/December 1997.

* "Will 'Venture Philanthropy' Leave a Lasting Mark on Charitable Giving?," Mark R. Kramer, Chronicle of Philanthropy, May 2, 2002.

Other resources, groups and organizations

If you know of a helpful article that should be included here, please e-mail Natasha at nvbentum@yvr.greenpeace.org.

* AddVenture Network Inc., Richard Steckel."Remember nonprofit is an IRS classification, not a management style!" Richard Steckel is also co-author of "Making Money While Making a Difference," with Robin Simons, Jeffrey Simons and Norman Tanen. High Tide Press.

* "Assessing Venture Philanthropy," by Christopher Capers, Michael Collins, Shahna Gooneratne, prepared for Professor James Austin, Harvard Business School course on "Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector".

* Association of Fundraising Professionals: (new name for former National Society of Fundraising Executives). Professional association for fundraising practitioners.

* CAGP --- Canadian Association of Gift Planners*Association Canadienne des Professionnels en Dons Planifies: Supports philanthropy by fostering the development and growth of gift planning in Canada.

* Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy: A charitably registered, independent ethics centre which encourages organizations to take into account the ethical dimension in making their business decisions and developing their policies and practices.

* Changemakers.net: A web guide to the rapidly growing profession of social entrepreneurship. Changemakers.net provides resources, inspiring ideas and opportunities for social entrepreneurs and those interested in learning more about innovative social change.

* GeekCorps.com: co-founder Ethan Zuckerman calls GeekCorps a "dot-org," an effort proposals, grants and rigid multiyear project plants. We want to use venture capital interface creativity with businesses, and take ideas to market in six months." GeekCorps.com sends tech workers to developing nations to build ecommerce systems, teach Java to coders who work in Cobol, and deliver other tech know-how.

* Harvard Business School's Initiative on Social Enterprise: Has been a leading force in the venture philanthropy/social enterprise movement. "The Collaborative Challenge" is a new book by Professor James Austin, Harvard University. Professor Austin documents more than 15 strategic alliances between U.S. businesses and nonprofit organizations. Jossey-Bass.

* IMPACS: The Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to help build strong communities by providing communications training and education to Canadian nonprofit organizations.

* National Center of Nonprofit Enterprise: Works to adapt business principles so nonprofits can make wise economic decisions. See article by CEO Dennis R. Young.

* National Committee on Planned Giving (NCPG): professional association for gift planners.

* Nonprofit Genie: A helpful series of FAQs about social entrepreneurism from CompassPoint Nonprofit Services.

* Real Assets: See Deborah Abbey's article on "Social Investing and Shareholder Action" Real Assets is dedicated to providing information about socially responsible investing.

* Renewal Partners: An innovative company based in Vancouver, B.C., this is a seed capital fund investing in companies that embrace the idea of a "triple bottom line" which measures social, environmental and financial results. Founded by Joel Solomon, who is also a founding member of Social Venture Network and Tides Canada Foundation.

* Social Ecology: Operates as a web-based information (IT) provider offering software and services. Social Ecology seeks to promote effective uses of technology among nonprofits. "By providing software and services on a subscription basis we can help nonprofits stay head of their IT needs without diverting attention and creativity from the needs of their constituents," says founder Michael Gilbert, C.E.O.

* Social Venture Partners: has many links to articles and resources on venture philanthropy on their web site.

* Tides Foundation U.S.A.: founded by Drummond Pike, Tides Foundation in the United States partners with donors to increase and organize resources for social change. The foundation facilitates effective grant making programs, creates opportunities for learning and builds community among donors and grantees.

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Our growing collection of Canadian charities and nonprofits with web sites. Search for a specific organization or browse by category.

Online list of Canadian Registered Charities
If you are looking for contact information for a specific Canadian charity and can't find a link in our Nonprofit Neighbourhood, visit the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's web site for a searchable list of all 78,000+ registered charities across the country. We also have links to lists of commercial charity directories in our Marketplace section.

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Path: Main Street : The Library

The Library

The Library at CharityVillage has a great selection of practical articles and useful resources for your organization. Find links to:

* Research Section: Here are hundreds of how-to articles in more than 50 subject areas covering nonprofit management, fundraising, philanthropy and volunteerism. Have fun!
* Book Reviews: Sherry Rodney Kushner, CFRE, and Maggie Leithead, tell you what they think about the current crop of books written especially for the sector.
* Resource Publications: Helpful print and electronic publications on a wide range of nonprofit issues.
* Print Periodicals
* Print Directories
* Other Publications
* Free (and almost free) Publications!
* Online Publications: Dozens of newsletters, journals and reference publications for the nonprofit sector, all available online.
* Online Resources: Links to a huge collection of Canadian and international resource web sites and dissussion lists.

* Bookstore: If you can't find something online, consult our bookstore. We've selected more than 1,400 publications and categorized them into interest areas. They're all available through our affiliate programs with Amazon.com and Chapters.ca.

* News Archive: More how-to and feature articles written by our contributors, as well as a weekly compendium of news that's relevant to those working in the sector.

* Frequently Asked Questions: Want to know more about Canada's charitable sector, CharityVillage, or a host of other nonprofit oriented subjects? Try our FAQ section.

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Path: Main Street : Charity Village Learning Institute

Learning Institute Areas

* CharityVillage In-House Workshops
* CharityVillage Online Courses and Learning Modules
* Conferences and Seminars for Nonprofit Professionals
* Career Development
* Nonprofit Management and Fundraising
* American Nonprofit Management Programs
* Volunteer Management Programs
* Special Events Management Programs
* Other Relevant Programs
* Tutorials About How to Use the Internet

The CharityVillage® Learning Institute
Welcome to the CharityVillage® Learning Institute (CVLI), the place to start when you're looking for educational programs or professional development opportunities as a nonprofit professional in Canada. We offer information about our own workshops and online tutorials, as well as links to dozens of courses available across the country.

Do you know of an ongoing educational program that we should include in our listings? If so, please let us know about it by e-mail to maggie@charityvillage.com or by fax, phone or post.

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CharityVillage In-House Workshops
Click here for information about customized workshops for your team, focusing on high priority personal development and team development needs.

* Introduction
* Workshop Themes
* Contact Us

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CharityVillage® Online Courses and Learning Modules
Here's a quick collection of free web-based tutorials that walk you through some of the basics of using the Internet in your organization.

* Community Connections: Using Technology to Further Your Mission
* What's out there for Nonprofits?
* Discussing Nonprofit Issues Online
* Lowering the Fog Index --- A Glossary of Terms

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Conferences and Seminars for Nonprofit Professionals
Our current calendar of workshops, conferences and seminars, listed by date.

* Coming Events

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Career Development
Two useful tools to help you plan your career strategies and start marketing yourself for a position in the nonprofit sector.

* Career Assessment
* Mounting an Effective Job Search
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Fundraising and Nonprofit Management
Academic programs offered by colleges and universities across the country.

Canadian programs:

* The Banff Centre Leadership Development: Public Leadership Development Programs and Aboriginal Leadership and Management Programs
* British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT): Fundraising Management Certificate Program
* Canadian Society of Association Executives: Association Management Education (AME) program
* Centennial College: Non-Profit Board Governance & Management Certificate Program
* Concordia University: Graduate Diploma in Administration
* Conestoga College: W. E. Hobbs Fundraising Institute
* Dalhousie University: Non-Profit Sector Leadership Program
* Fanshawe College: Certificate in Fund Development
* Georgian College: Fundraising & Resource Development Program - Online Distance Education Part-time Studies
* Georgian College: Fundraising & Resource Development Program - Full-time studies
* Humber College: Fundraising and Volunteer Management Post-Graduate Certificate - Full-time studies
* McGill-McConnell Program: Master of Management for National Volunteer Sector Leaders
* Mount Royal College: Bachelor of Applied Nonprofit Studies
* National Program in Fundraising Education
* Queen's University: Public Policy and the Third Sector
* Ryerson Polytechnical University: Certificate in Interdisciplinary Studies in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Management
* Schulich School of Business: Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program
* Simon Fraser University: Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program
* Vancouver Community College: Nonprofit Sector Management Certificate Program

American programs:

* American Nonprofit Management Education Programs includes a full list of colleges and universities offering noncredit, continuing education, undergraduate, and graduate degree programs in nonprofit management across the U.S. Please note, at this time, the schools are only listed and no links to individual program information is available.
* The Certified Fund Raising Executive International Credentialing Board (CFREICB) is the wholly independent, internationally recognized certifying agency responsible for administering the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) professional designation program. The CFRE is available to professionals in Australia, Canada and the United States.
* Colleges and Universities with Graduate Programs about Nonprofits includes links to college sites and basic information about degrees offered.

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Volunteer Management
Academic programs offered by colleges across Canada.

* Conestoga College: Volunteer Management
* Confederation College: Volunteer Management
* Grant MacEwan College : Voluntary Sector Management
* Humber College: Volunteer Management
* Mohawk College:Volunteer Management
* Niagara College:Volunteer Management
* Red River College: Volunteer Management
* Sheridan College: Volunteer Management
* St. Clair College: Volunteer Management
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Special Event Management
Academic programs offered by colleges across Canada.

* Algonquin College: Festivals/Community Events Management
* College of the Rockies: Event Management Program
* George Brown College: Sport and Event Marketing - Post Diploma
* Niagara College: Post-graduate Certificate in Special Event Management

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Other Relevant Programs

* George Brown College: Community Worker Diploma Program
* Grant MacEwan College: Bachelor of Applied Human Service Administration Degree Program
* Nova Scotia Community College: Human Services Diploma
* Seneca College: Social Service Worker Diploma Program
* Sheridan College: Community Worker/Human Services Administration/ Social Service Worker
* University of St. Michael's College: Certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility
* University of Toronto at Scarborough: Co-operative Programme in Arts Management
* University of Waterloo: Cultural Management Institute
* University of Windsor: PhD in Sociology with a specialization in Social Justice
* University of Victoria: Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education (CACE)
* University of Victoria: Cultural Resource Management Program

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Other Online Tutorials About the Web
Looking for more information about the Internet in general? Start with either of these free online tutorials to learn more.

* The Roadmap Workshop --- an old but still very useful tutorial about the Internet, created by Patrick Crispen.
* Learn The Net -- a good primer to help you find your way around online.

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Path: Main Street : Quick Guides

QuickGuides -- Subject-based Indexes

If you're looking for an introduction to all of the information we have in a particular topic area, QuickGuides are the place to begin.

Just pick a general area of interest below and we'll take you to a wide collection of articles, resource sites, online publications, books, print periodicals, online discussions, educational opportunities, associations, consultants, services and just about anything we know about that area. Now, it's all just one click away!

To date, we have developed two of these areas, but more are on the way. If you have an idea for a Quick Guide that you think we should develop, please let us know by sending e-mail to help@charityvillage.com.

* Volunteers -- for volunteer managers
* Fundraising
* Management and Nonprofit Administration
* Starting a nonprofit or charity
* Career Development
* Communications
* Technology
* Donors/Grantmakers

Welcome to the Village Detective Office
If you're looking for a specific article, mention of your organization, job listing or resource, the Village Detective will help you find you way to the information quickly and easily.

Search the entire site, or just one particular sub-section. Click the relevant link below, then key in the words you're looking for and our detective will bring back a list of the top resources on our site.

If you have any questions, try our Search Tips section or e-mail help@charityvillage.com and we'll be happy to lend a hand.

Search:

* All of Charity Village: Scour the thousands of pages on our site by any keyword
* Current job openings: All recruitment listings
* Marketplace: Our directory of services and suppliers to the nonprofit sector.
* Nonprofit Neighbourhood: Our collection of links to hundreds of Canadian charities and nonprofits in dozens of categories
* Research Section: Find hundreds of articles in more than 55 subject areas -- something to suit almost any interest.
* News Archives: All previous weekly news and feature stories
* NewsByte Archives: All short news items
* Cover Story Archives: All feature stories about trends and happenings in the nonprofit world
* Spotlight Archives: All feature stories about the people behind the organizations
* Books: If you're looking for any book relating to the nonprofit sector, you can look for it here

Path: Main Street : Charity Village Contacts

The Charity Village Post Office

We welcome your comments, critiques, articles, news items, suggestions, and requests for information.

Click here for our Postal Address

By Function:

Recruitment Advertising Insertions and Changes

* Reesa Rosen
careers@charityvillage.com

Toronto area callers: (905) 460-9258*

All other callers: 1-800-610-8134*

Fax: (416) 352-6055*

*Note: The above numbers are for the Career Centre only.
Please check below for other departments.
Recruitment Advertising Account Managers

* BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, NWT, Nunavut
Caroline Yan Lau
caroline@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 738-5411

* Alberta
Louise De Pape
louise@charityvillage.com
Phone: (780) 422-1964

* Toronto
Mary Gomer
mary@charityvillage.com
Phone: (416) 929-8923

* Central/Southern Ontario
Doug Daye
dougdaye@charityvillage.com
Phone: (519) 451-2621 or 1-877-745-0954

* Ottawa-Hull and Eastern Ontario
Sonia Higgins
sonia@charityvillage.com
Phone: (613) 730-7771

* Quebec
Sonia Higgins
sonia@charityvillage.com
Phone: (613) 730-7771

* Atlantic
Alex Handyside
alex@charityvillage.com
Phone: (902) 459-6118

Promotional Advertising Sales (Banner Ads, Marketplace Listings)

* Melanie Lovering
mel@charityvillage.com
Phone: (416) 489-9309; Fax: (416) 489-9398
Editorial Offices - News Items, Article Submissions, Volunteer Postings, Coming Events, Appointment Announcements, HelpLink

* Nicole Zummach, Writer/Researcher
help@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 738-5407; Fax: (604) 608-3278
Speak Out!, General Inquiries

* interact@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 724-9537; Fax: (604) 608-3278

Spotlight, Coffee with Cam
* cam@charityvillage.com
Village Vibes
* vibes@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 738-5407; Fax: (604) 608-3278
Media Relations

* maggie@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 724-9537; Fax: (604) 608-3278
Corporate Management and Administration

* Doug Jamieson, Chairman & CEO
doug@charityvillage.com
Phone: (905) 453-7321; Fax: (905) 456-9729

* Maggie Leithead, President & COO
maggie@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 724-9537; Fax: (604) 608-3278

* Penny Richardson, Accountant
penny@charityvillage.com
Phone: (905) 838-5241

By Name:
Alex Handyside,
Recruitment Account Manager, Atlantic Canada
alex@charityvillage.com
Voice/Pager: (902) 459-6118

Cam Tait,
Spotlight and Coffee with Cam columnist
cam@charityvillage.com

Caroline Yan Lau,
Recruitment Account Manager, BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
caroline@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 738-5411

Doug Daye,
Recruitment Account Manager, Southern/Central Ontario
dougdaye@charityvillage.com
Phone: (519) 451-2621 or 1-877-745-0954

Doug Jamieson,
Chairman & CEO, CharityVillage Ltd.
doug@charityvillage.com
Phone: (905) 453-7321; Fax: (905) 456-9729

Louise De Pape,
Recruitment Account Manager, Alberta
louise@charityvillage.com
Phone: (780) 422-1964

Maggie Leithead,
President & COO, CharityVillage Ltd.
maggie@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 724-9537; Fax: (604) 608-3278
Mary Gomer,
Recruitment Account Manager, Toronto
mary@charityvillage.com
Phone: (416) 929-8923

Melanie Lovering,
Promotional Advertising Manager
mel@charityvillage.com
Phone: (416) 489-9309; Fax: (416) 489-9398

Nicole Zummach,
Writer/Researcher
nicole@charityvillage.com
Phone: (604) 738-5407; Fax: (604) 608-3278

Penny Richardson,
Accounts Receivable/Accounts Payable
penny@charityvillage.com
Phone: (905) 838-5241

Reesa Rosen,
Career Centre Coordinator
careers@charityvillage.com
Phone: (905) 460-9258 or 1-800-610-8134; Fax: (416) 352-6055

Sonia Higgins,
Recruitment Account Manager, Ottawa-Hull, Eastern Ontario, Quebec
sonia@charityvillage.com
Phone: (613) 730-7771

Postal Addresses:

Central and Eastern Canada/Head Office*:

Chairman & CEO
CharityVillage Ltd.
160 Main Street South
P.O. Box 92536,
Brampton, Ontario, Canada,
L6W 4R1
*No courier deliveries to this Postal Box. Please call (905) 453-7321 to obtain the correct street address for deliveries.

Western Canada/Editorial Office:

President & COO
CharityVillage Ltd.
812 Hawks Ave.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,
V6A 3J4