Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP) is a philanthropic organization based in the DC metro area and was founded in 2000 by Mario Morino, Raul Fernandez and Mark Warner to invest in high-performing nonprofits in Greater Washington, D.C. Since then, it has made over $50 million in direct investments in nonprofits serving children and youth.
VPP provides technical support along with its grants. It makes investments in three areas: Early Childhood, Education, and Youth Transitions. Since its inception, VPP has invested in organizations that have offered service to some 40,000 children and youth around the National Capital Region.
VPP states its mission as aiming "... to help strong leaders make their organizations as effective as they can be".
VPP does not ask for grant applications; rather, it looks for NPs with growth capacity. VPP does not fund programs; it focuses on general operation support.
With its first fund, VPP focused on smaller grants for 12 organizations over a period of 9 years. With its second fund, it went to on larger and longer investments in fewer organizations.[1]