Giving Compass' Take:

• The author discusses meeting with Chin Hwee, the CEO of Trafigura Group, a large trading company. The two collaborated through venture philanthropy and were able to see success in social impact initiatives through this type of funding. 

• Partnership is a key part of venture philanthropy. What partnerships can advance your philanthropic efforts? 

• Learn more about 'people and place-centered' venture philanthropy.

I first met Chin Hwee in a coffee shop in 2016. As Asia-Pacific CEO of Trafigura Group, one of the world's largest commodity trading companies, Chin Hwee had many connections to people who had the resources to help, and as head of Community Chest, the centralised fundraising body for the social service sector, I was aware of the growing social needs on the ground that could be addressed with more resources.

Over fruit juice, we spoke about many things - most notably, how we could explore untapped private resources to tackle the evolving needs of the social service sector in Singapore.

Chin Hwee and I spoke about Venture Philanthropy (VP) at length. A term coined by American philanthropist, John D Rockefeller III in 1969, it refers to a high-engagement, partnership approach which applies the principles of venture capital financing to achieving philanthropic outcomes.

The difference between VP and other fundraising approaches is that it aims to cultivate a strategic, performance-based and sustainable giving programme for like-minded philanthropists who have the ability to give, and who are interested in making long-term social impact.

A few months later, the Venture Philanthropy (VP) Partners meeting was convened by Community Chest. As a super-connector, Chin Hwee brought many of his peers on board. A series of quarterly engagements with these VP partners eventually led to the co-creation of ELEVATE, an initiative launched last year by NCSS and Community Chest, which aims to empower 540 youths over a three-year period through service learning using the vocational skills they are trained in to serve less privileged communities.

Read the full article about venture philanthropy by Ng Ling Ling at The Business Times.