Non-Financial Support Crucial to Achieving and Sustaining Social Impact: EVPA Launches Key Report on its Value-Add

BRUSSELS, December 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Non-financial support is absolutely crucial in helping organisations achieve and sustain effective social impact. But how to deliver the support which is needed and valued? How to fund and account for it? And what precisely is its value add?

This is the subject of a key report that EVPA is launching today, plotting for the first time, the value-add of non-financial support^[i] and recommending the best ways in which social sector funders can accelerate the progress of their investees towards producing solid societal outcomes.

With non-financial support making up only 6.5% of Venture Philanthropy (VP) spend,^[ii] it is clear that only a fraction of funders account for the cost of the non-financial support they offer. This report aims to change this reality, offering guidelines and a toolkit to help plan, deliver and monetise non-financial support so as to assess its true value-add.

The report draws on examples and experiences from 21 organisations and 24 experts, to ultimately answer the question of who delivers which type of support, and how to do so in the best possible way.

Lisa Hehenberger, EVPA Research and Policy Director said: "We know from experience that offering support beyond tailored financing is key to strenghtening organisations - this report gives us the framework to understand how key that support is, now that we can assess its impact, and calculate its cost and value."

Kurt Peleman, CEO EVPA - "Non-financial support is ultimately aimed at strengthening organisations so they can reliably and sustainably deliver societal impact into the future. We are confident to have offered key insights as to how to accelerate this progress, so as to increase sector transparency, and strengthen the ecosystem these organisations and their funders operate in."

The report is the product of several months of research conducted by EVPA and discussions with a 24-member working group of senior practitioners, academics and service providers active in the social investment and venture philanthropy space. EVPA would like to thank all those organisations that provided learnings and feedback for their time and input.

About the EVPA Report  

This report was produced with the help of a number of supporters, including Fondazione CRT, as well as Acanthus, BMW Foundation and Omidyar Network. It was produced with the financial assistance of the European Commission.

About The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA)   

Established in 2004, EVPA is a network of European Social Investors committed to using venture philanthropy and social investment tools and targeting societal impact. Currently the association has over 210 members from 25 countries, mainly based in Europe. 

EVPA's membership includes venture philanthropy funds, social investors, grant-making foundations, impact investing funds, private equity firms and professional service firms, philanthropy advisors, banks and business schools. EVPA members work together across sectors in order to promote and shape the future of venture philanthropy and social investment in Europe and beyond. 

i. Defined as support services to investees to increase their societal impact, organisational resilience and financial sustainability 

ii. EVPA Survey 13/14, p 68