【Speaker】Doug Miller, Founder, Asia Venture Philanthropy Network; Honorary President, the European Venture Philanthropy Association

Rob John, Advisor, Asia Venture Philanthropy Network

【Topic】Venture Philanthropy

【Time】14:00-15:30, 2010-05-30, Sunday

【Venue】Room 501, Weilun Building, Tsinghua SEM

【Language】English

【Organizer】Tsinghua University CCFR Private Equity and Venture Capital Institute

【Background Information】

Speakers

Doug Miller has a 38-year career in investment banking and private equity. He is founder of International Private Equity Limited, a fund placement boutique. Doug is founding trustee of the pioneering venture philanthropy fund, Impetus Trust in the UK; founding chairman and honorary president of the European Venture Philanthropy Association; and founder of the European Venture Philanthropy Fund and Asia Venture Philanthropy Network. He has been active in philanthropy for 30 years - mainly in education, the environmental and microcredit.

Rob John is a UK-based independent consultant focused on venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. From 2005–2010 he was a founding visiting fellow at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Said Business School, Oxford University and principal advisor to the European Venture Philanthropy Association. Rob spent 15 years in international development, managing humanitarian, refugee and microcredit programs throughout Africa and Asia. After directing a small Oxford-based venture philanthropy fund he became a freelance consultant in 2004, and has since has written widely on the growth of new philanthropies in Europe. He is currently helping launch the Asia Venture Philanthropy Association.

Theme

Venture philanthropy adapts the principles and tools of venture capital to invest in high-potential social organizations. Such "social organizations" may be non-profits, social enterprises or socially-motivated businesses, and the financial instruments may be grants, equity or "quasi-equity". The primary motivation is to back organizations with credible plans for growth and innovation that generate social or environmental return on investment. While much early venture philanthropy was pioneered in the US, there has considerable growth in Europe over the last 10 years, encouraged in large part by the European Venture Philanthropy Network (EVPA).

In Europe, in particular, venture philanthropy is strongly supported by private equity professionals and associated professional service firms, providing a route for the investment community to engage in high impact philanthropy and social investment.

The founders of the EVPA are now launching a sister network in Asia. The Asia Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) aims to build a community of venture philanthropy funds across Asia linked to their peers in the US and Europe. This is an exciting opportunity for the investment community, business schools, family offices and foundations in Asia to engage in new models of philanthropy which respond to the region’s social entrepreneurs and high-performing social organizations.