EVPA, the European association for social (impact) investors and venture philanthropists, has released its latest report capturing the learnings and findings of ten years of practice: A Practical Guide to Venture Philanthropy and Social Impact Investment.

Building on the collected lessons, failures and successes from practitioners and several years of EVPA research, the guide is a reference for venture philanthropy funders, social impact investors and players in the corporate, foundation, banking or financial institution space wanting to understand the “what, why and how” of the Venture Philanthropy (VP) approach.

Lisa Hehenberger, EVPA’s Research and Policy Director says: “The first edition of this report captured and shared the learnings of a number of pioneer European venture philanthropy organisations, which were set up  from 2000-2004, when the VP movement first began in Europe. We’ve now revisited the Guide, incorporating the learnings of five years of research performed by EVPA’s Knowledge Centre and the accumulated experience of practitioners on topics like impact measurement, exit strategies, non-financial support and learning from failures.”

The full report can be downloaded here and EVPA welcomes feedback on it. It is available alongside a digital roadmap assisting practitioners in navigating the tools and research that suits their stage of development or investment.

What to find in this report:

• How to set up a venture philanthropy/social impact investment fund
• How to choose an investment sector and geographical focus
• Developing a funding model
• Recruiting the right team for your organisation
• Designing a sustainable fundraising strategy
• How to conduct due diligence
• Developing a sound investment strategy, including how to support your investee beyond financing
• Implementing an investment process that maximises societal impact
• When and how to think about an exit