New Venture Fund

OVERVIEW: The New Venture Fund is a Washington, D.C.-based funding intermediary, fiscal sponsor, and philanthropy-serving organization that supports progressive nonprofits and collaborative funds in the areas of civil rights and social justice, climate and the environment, journalism and media, voting and democracy, education and youth, and global health and development.

IP TAKE: The New Venture Fund (NVF) is a philanthropic intermediary and fiscal sponsor incubating new projects and organizations, including major donor collaboratives and pooled funds. NVF is representative of the type of intermediary model that sprouted up in the 1990s and today is very common in philanthropy. Each intermediary functions a bit differently. NVF emphasizes its role as a fiscal sponsor and project incubator, partnering with new organizations as they get off the ground. NVF’s role differs from from project to project, but oftentimes NVF receives and manages donor contributions on behalf of sponsored organization, then disperses (re-grants) the funding to that organization or that organization’s grantees. In this sense, the money “passes through” NVF. As a fiscal sponsor, NVF performs many philanthropy-serving roles, including project planning and management, administrative support, fundraising, grants and financial training, and HR assistance.

The New Venture Fund’s website highlights some of its partnerships, but a full list is not available. Similarly, its annual reports are sparse restricting clarity on where grants go. That said, a detailed accounting of its grantmaking can be accessed in its annual tax forms. However, it’s unclear which grantee organizations are associated with which of NVF’s sponsored projects. The opacity of NVF’s activity ultimately depends on the opacity of the particular partner organization, and whether that organization chooses to detail its donors. For the majority of NVF’s projects, grantseekers should apply directly to the partner organization rather than to NVF. In a handful of cases—the New Venture Fund for Global Policy Advocacy, for one—grantseekers apply directly with NVF. For nonprofits or project entrepreneurs interested in partnering with NVF, deep research and networking will be key. NVF’s website includes general contact information, listed below.

PROFILE: The New Venture Fund (NVF), established in 2006, is an intermediary organization that has served as a fiscal sponsor for hundreds of projects, organizations and donor collaboratives. It is on a mission to serve as a “force for social good – maximizing the impact of charitable dollars.” The fund envisions “an equitable world built on respect, access, opportunity, distributed power, and advancement for all people.” NVF’s oversight is conducted by an independent board with “extensive experience in philanthropy and nonprofit management.” The fund’s project funding areas include “environment; youth development and education; civil rights, social action, and advocacy; global development and health; and capacity building.”

NVF has grown significantly in recent years, with net assets nearly doubling between 2018 and 2023. While NVF has partnered with projects in a broad range of issue areas, it’s perhaps best-known for its work on climate and the environment, voting and democracy, media and journalism, and global health. Some of its better-known fiscally sponsored projects have included the Media Democracy Fund, the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, Co-Impact, and the Clean Slate Initiative.

NVF makes grants through a variety of program areas, which include, among others, the New Venture Fund for Global Policy and Advocacy (NVF for GPA) and Catalytic Capital Consortium Grantmaking backed by The Rockefeller Foundation, the Omidyar Network, and the MacArthur Foundation. In most cases, NVF’s partner organizations run their own grantmaking programs, so grantseekers interested in an NVF-sponsored project should peruse the partner organization’s website for information about grant opportunities.

Grants for Global Health and Development

In the global health sphere, major New Venture Fund-sponsored projects have included the National Collaborative for Health Equity and Co-Impact. A 2023 tax filing indicates that NVF granted over $200 million to Co-Impact.

According to Co-Impact’s 2023 financial report, this major grant actually signified the ending of NVF’s fiscal sponsorship; moving forward, Co-Impact—a major global health, education and gender equity organization—will conduct its own grantmaking and financials internally.
The $200 million grant from NVF represented pooled funding from an unknown number of donors.
As per Co-Impact’s report, “These funds represented contributions from donors who funded Co-Impact by making grants to NVF over five years from 2017 to 2022, from which funds had not been fully expended by the time of the spin-off.”

NVF maintains the New Venture Fund for Global Policy and Advocacy (NVF for GPA). The NVF for GPA seeks to advance “global health and development by providing targeted and timely awards for innovative, high-impact policy, advocacy, and communications projects that promote more and better resources, effective policies, and greater visibility for issues critical to global health and development.”

Grant partners for Global Development and Health include Co-Impact and National Collaborative for Health Equity.

NVF supports family planning and tobacco control initiatives in the U.S. and abroad.
- Its family planning efforts support access to information, services, and supplies for women living in the poorest countries in the world.
- It also supports efforts to expand treatment for diseases like HIV, malaria, polio, pneumonia, and tuberculosis in developing countries.
- The NVF’s tobacco control efforts address four priorities: tobacco tax, protections from secondhand smoke, tobacco advertising bans, and graphic warning labels. These projects are geographically limited to Asia and Africa.
- Interested grantseekers may send an application online.

Grants for Women and Girls

The NVF conducts grants for women and girls across global health and development work, which occurs in part through the NVF for GPA.

Grants related to women and girls center on reproductive and maternal health, as well as WASH efforts.
Particular areas of interest include family planning, gender equality, maternal, newborn, and child health, and water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Girls and women’s organizations supported by NVF in the past include BRAC USA and the Chicago Foundation for Women.

Grants for Early Childhood and K-12 Education

The New Venture Fund supports a range of organizations working for Youth Development and Education.

The NVF supports efforts such as early childhood education, literacy, teacher training and support, and pedagogical reform.
The foundation is particularly interested in leadership training and development for teachers and school administrators, especially for early childhood education.
Another select partner project is the Type 1 Diabetes Camp.

Grants for Civics, Democracy, Voting and Journalism

The New Venture Fund supports organizations that promote Civil Rights, Social Action, and Advocacy in the United States.

NVF is particularly interested in groups that work to “protect citizens’ rights to political and social freedom and equality,” “inspire and implement new ideas and processes,” and “foster public participation in the debate on important social issues.”
Grant partners include the Youth First Initiative, Fines and Fees Justice Center, Americans for Tax Fairness, and Trusted Elections Fund.

The fund also supports Capacity Building projects that work to help grantees develop capacity in the areas of “civic engagement, economic opportunity, sustainability, and quality of life.”

Sample projects include support for The Gates Foundation’s Literacy Design Collaborative and the Alaska Venture Fund, which works to build a “more sustainable future” for Alaska’s people, environment, and economy.

Particularly in more recent years, NVF has partnered with projects to protect democracy and voting rights, bolster civic institutions, and support fact-based, inclusive digital technologies and journalism. Examples include the Media Democracy Fund, Governing for Impact, and the Center for Secure and Modern Elections.

Grants for Environment and Climate

NVF supports a range of projects related to the Environment.

These address conservation, climate, and energy issues around the world, including “ocean and river conservation, alternative energy sources and reduction of fossil fuels, protection of ocean life, wildlands conservation, ecological agriculture, and habitat restoration.”
It has supported the Climate Justice Resilience Fund, which supports women, youth, and indigenous peoples’ climate change mitigation efforts in East Africa, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arctic.

Other Grant Opportunities

In addition to NVF for GPA, the fund’s other major grantmaking program is its Catalytic Capital Consortium, which is “an investment, learning, and market development initiative” backed by The Rockefeller Foundation, the Omidyar Network, and the MacArthur Foundation that seeks to promote the use of catalytic capital to help the impact investing field realize its full potential. For general questions and inquiries about this program, contact C3grantmaking@newventurefund.org.

Important Grant Details:

Grants range typically range from $5,000 to $1 million; however, they have reached in excess of $80 million. NVF holds nearly $1 billion in net assets.

Many of NVF’s grants are made directly to their partner organizations or on behalf of their partner organizations.
Currently the only funds administered directly through the NVF’s website are NVF for GPA and the Catalytic Capital Consortium.
Grantseekers interested in applying for an NVF for GPA grant can create an account to obtain more information about the program here.
The New Venture Fund accepts applications for new fiscal partnerships through its online portal. Approved projects will be assigned an advisory board to aid in formulating the project plan along with the applicant organizers. Interested organizations or project organizers can reach out at newprojects@newventurefund.org.

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