Combined with spectacular returns in the stock market, millions of Americans are poised to donate in ways unseen since the turn of the century. But as the world has changed, generating thousands of new millionaires, so too has the vision of the people who generated this new wealth. Today's millionaires are younger, have made their millions faster, and are more likely to give away money while they are alive, demanding the same performance for their gifts as from the companies that created their wealth. Enter the venture philanthropists. In a sleek new office building in Cambridge, Mass., Vanessa Kirsch, president of New Profit Inc. is hard at work, capitalizing on this new trend.
New Profit is one of five true venture-philanthropy organizations in the United States.
Essentially, New Profit is a nonprofit venture-capital fund that grants money to nonprofits. Listen to Kirsch long enough and she begins to sound more like a banker than a philanthropist. We hold organizations accountable to produce results. We want to see the return, not in dollars but social return. The venture philanthropist's vision is all about accountability.