Asia Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN)

ABOUT Continuum of Capital resources can be financial, human and intellectual capital and are invested with the expectation of measurable results and cover the entire spectrum of social investing, from impact only over a combination of impact/environmental-social-governance (ESG)-themed investing and financial returns to risk minimisation through ESG screens and integration. These resources flow from social investors (foundations, impact funds, family offices, banks/wealth management, and private equity (PE)/venture capital (VC) funds) to their investee organisations - non-profits, social enterprises and ESG-compliant businesses (collectively referred to by AVPN as Social Purpose Organisations or SPOs). Investees receive a variety of funding and non-financial support throughout their maturity cycles. However, they often experience a dearth of funding in their early and growth stages, a phenomenon commonly referred to as the missing middle or valley of death, which may result in the SPO ceasing to exist or not effectively solving the social issue at hand. At AVPN, we have begun to see investors functioning less in delineated buckets such as impact investing, strategic/venture philanthropy and philanthropy but rather leveraging a range of investment practices. Investors do this to better support the needs of SPOs at different growth stages and to structure their portfolio for maximum impact. In a vibrant ecosystem where all kinds of capital work together to form a Continuum of Capital, funders may leverage different financial tools – combining grants, debt and equity across multiple investments within their own portfolio – to achieve deeper social impact, or they may seek out key partners and collaborators which can take on follow-on funding once an SPO has graduated from their portfolio. AVPN aims to support this through the Continuum of Capital Initiative. Workin Across the Continuum of Capital