Venture Philanthropy: Is it for Me? [September 28, 2022]

• Recording of the call

We held a one hour session where Mark Roithmayr, CEO Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (a pure Venture Philanthropy nonprofit), interviewed John Walter, CEO Food Allergy Science Initiative, who has helped launch three separate venture philanthropy initiatives in his career. Mark picked John’s brain on the thinking behind the launch at all three of nonprofits he’s led with an emphasis on the do’s and don’ts, lesions learned and checklist needed before embarking on a venture philanthropy effort. This session served as a precursor to the in-person HRA Members Meeting venture philanthropy breakout session scheduled for October 7th.

The following two write ups from Harvard Business School on venture philanthropy are extremely valuable background reading.

• Venture Philanthropy Done Right
• Venture Models Can Accelerate Cures But Aren’t For The Faint Of Heart