Value-Added in Venture Philanthropy vs. Venture Capital : Uncovering the Subtle Differences between Two Apparently Similar Fields of Practice

Venture philanthropy's main goal is to help create and grow stronger and more sustainable social enterprises. In order to do so, venture philanthropy organizations, similar to traditional venture capital, provide the social enterprise with financial resources and non-financial support. Whereas it is clear how much money they invest, there is less clarity in terms of the value they provide through non-financial support, more specifically relating its cost to the impact on investees. Drawing on prior work in venture capital and using in-depth exploratory research, we expand, refine and develop a model to measure the value, the impact and the cost, of the non-financial services provided by venture philanthropy. This model will be tested on a large-scale sample in a subsequent study. By focusing our attention on these changes, we are able to uncover the subtle differences between two apparently similar fields of practice