4th EVPA Annual Conference

Event 4th EVPA Annual Conference
Date 23 September
Venue Frankfurt, Germany
Organizer European Venture Philanthropy Association

‘What does VP mean to us?’ asked Doug Miller, EVPA’s outgoing chair, speaking at this year’s EVPA conference in Frankfurt. His answer: long-term funding, long-term relationships, hands-on support and building core capacity. Indeed, these long-term commitments might well become increasingly important in the light of recent events. As David Carrington, chairing the conference, remarked, the financial crisis is bound to have an impact on venture philanthropy.

The 380 or so people from 25 countries – some of them from outside Europe – ranged from the committed to the merely curious. They heard Miller stress impact, teamwork, and the need to turn ideas into concrete plans. It isn’t enough, he said, simply to address the symptoms of a problem; donors should aim to change attitudes and policies. In the last resort, determined and effective action is needed and a higher sense of urgency as policy change can take decades. To this end, teamwork is necessary to provide greater influence. The Trustees had deliberately aimed to grow EVPA quickly so as to enable it to engage with governments. It will have the critical mass of support necessary for this. ‘Collectively,’ he concluded, ‘we can make a massive positive impact and we have a moral responsibility to future generations to do so.’

In the opening plenary, Daniela Barone Soares of the UK’s Impetus Trust spoke of three trends in philanthropy: a drive for increased accountability, for increased impact, and for meaning. People, she said, want to be involved in producing social change. VP is the child of these three trends, she suggested. She spoke of the things that she sees as distinguishing VP funders from traditional grantmakers, such as their strategic and holistic approach, and their emphasis on performance measurement.

However, Gerry Salole (European Foundation Centre) clearly voiced a widely held sentiment when he warned against what he termed the hubris of venture philanthropy. The real distinction, he said, is not between venture philanthropy and so-called traditional grantmaking but between stupid grantmaking and intelligent grantmaking and examples of both can be found in either group.

Sean Coughlan (Social Entrepreneurs Ireland) underlined the dangers of undue complacency when he pointed out that recipient organizations are missing from the mix when it comes to learning. No one talks much to them about the experience of VP. He said he knew of cases where they had been ‘very bruised by the process’ but kept quiet because they didn’t want to jeopardize their multi-year funding.

Andrew Muirhead of Lloyds TSB Trust, which has just launched a VP fund, Inspiring Scotland, professed himself a strong advocate for traditional grantmaking but recognized room for diversity. This was echoed by Rien van Gendt, who chaired the session, when he spoke of the need ‘to be aware of the power of diversity’.

There followed breakouts on performance and impact measurement and case studies of VP in practice presented by both funders and investees. The afternoon was given over to a wide selection of roundtables, including working with government and international organizations, how private banks can add value to VP; scaling up social enterprise; how VP adds value; VP and sustainable development; and the relationship between VP and the private equity community.

I chose the one on VP and international development and the one on how VPs add value. The first resolved itself into a discussion on how to work in partnership in ‘the international space’. The main challenges are cultural ones – not just between countries but between organizations and groups: it is important to have clarity on objectives. Another difficulty is the need to invent the process each time because there are no proven models. Wolfgang Hafenmayer (LGT Venture Philanthropy) pointed out that though partnerships often take time, if the partners have shared values and a ‘shared language’ the process can be very quick (citing the example of LGT’s new venture fund). Overall, it was concluded, there are no hard and fast rules except the need for trust and tolerance.

The second looked at issues such as non-financial support and how to structure it. Sean Coughlan said that Social Entrepreneurs Ireland targets senior management for pro bono support, involving them as individuals, and their commitment tends then to carry weight in the whole company. Paul Carrtar (New Profit Inc, US) stressed the need to ensure that those providing pro bono services do their work as professionally as they do their jobs. Asked about making the change from being a traditional grantmaker to a VP funder, he said you should ask a number of questions: what are you trying to make happen? Do you find this more or less satisfying than your grantmaking? What can I give you other than money that will make a difference?

There was certainly a lot on offer – perhaps too much for one day. The sessions came thick and fast, and in some cases there was little time even to ask questions. There is an almost inevitable tendency to overcrowd the agenda at conferences, particularly when they are only for one day and participants have come a long way to be there. Something else that was probably unavoidable, given the mixed level of knowledge and experience represented, was that some people felt that the sessions were pitched at the wrong level for them. On the other hand, one person I spoke to – who was still nibbling at the edges of the VP idea – said that he had learned more in one day than he had in the previous six weeks.

In the closing plenary, Serge Raicher, EVPA’s new chair, spoke of VP as another tool in the philanthropist’s toolbox. Traditonal grantmakers are beginning to apply VP approaches and a new type of donor is being attracted by VP. Closing the conference, John Kingston (Venturesome) exhorted VP funders to keep humble – there is a lot to learn from other funders; keep learning – the intelligence of the VP community is growing and it is important to ensure this continues; finally, keep the faith – rough times are in store for charities, he prophesied. It is important to keep them alive through them.

Andrew Milner is a freelance writer and editor. He is Associate Editor of Alliance and editor of the EVPA Newsletter. Email am@andrewmilner.free-online.co.uk

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