Venture philanthropy: approach, features, and challenges

Venture philanthropy is a comparatively young discipline within the sphere of philanthropic giving. As with classical foundations, the aim of venture philanthropy is to achieve a high rate of social or environmental return. However, the processes and types of financing used in this approach come from the field of venture capital and, so far, have not been adopted by classical foundations. Based on LGT Venture Philanthropy's definition and experiences, the article describes key features and challenges of the venture philanthropy approach while pointing out the differences to classical foundations and the venture capital industry.