Paul Shoemaker on Investing in Nonprofits

Paul Shoemaker, whose group Social Venture Partners was on my list of funders who invest in nonprofit organizations, adds his thoughts to the conversation:

There is no doubt room in the non-profit capital market for multiple approaches, but the fundamental premise here is that people on-the-ground that have been living their work real-time for many years know more than we as funders do. I think that’s safe to say.

In our work at SVP, I think the most fundamental philosophy that guides our work with non-profits (human and financial capital) is that the relationship is with and about their ORGANIZATION. We ultimately invest because of a non-profit’s social outcomes, but the most effective way to do that is to help them build a strong organization for the long haul – strong infrastructure, flexible funding, leadership development, clear outcomes, etc.