Framework For Partnership: Venture Philanthropy

Venture Philanthropy is a practice of charitable investment that applies five elements borrowed from the venture capital world. This pioneer field began in the mid-nineties in the San Francisco Bay region, and the term "venture philanthropy" developed wings with the 1997 seminal article in Harvard Business Review by professor Christine Lett: "Virtuous Capital: What Foundations Can Learn from Venture Capitalists".

The common five elements of venture practice include:

• Investment in a long-term plan for social change
  
  
• A managing partner relationship
  
  
• An accountability-for-results process
  
  
• Provision of cash and expertise
  
  
• An exit strategy

The exit strategy sets a course of action and builds shared responsibility for sustained change within what is possible.