The last three months of 2011 have been a busy time for AVPN with a series of events for prospective members and the soft launch of our membership. Please visit the AVPN website to learn about the benefits of membership.
In October, AVPN’s “Venture Philanthropy In Practice” Roadshows were held in Mumbai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The key speakers were from Impetus Trust in the UK and New Profit in the USA, and they were joined in panel sessions by leading local speakers. More than 400 people attended the events representing the diverse sectors that make up the venture philanthropy eco-system.
Overall the roadshow attendees were grant-making foundations 15%, charities or social enterprises 15%, professional service firms 14%, venture philanthropy practitioners 13%, private equity 12%, corporations 10% and the remaining 21% a mix of universities, government-related, private banks and media.
In November, AVPN’s European Study Tour was attended by 13 people from 9 Asian countries. The programme consisted of 1.5 days of seminars in London featuring leading UK-based VP practitioners. This was followed by the European Venture Philanthropy Association’s annual conference in Turin (400 delegates from more than 30 countries) and a half day of special seminars in Turin with leading European VP firms.
The AVPN team is now planning a program of local and regional events for 2012 as we build our membership base across Asia. We will provide more information on forthcoming events in January.
We encourage you to apply early as a Founder Member during the soft-launch period. By becoming a Founder Member you can show your early support for the AVPN effort and help us rapidly build critical mass. In our future member profiles and directories we will continue to recognise those organisations who were Founder Members (i.e. who join before 31 March 2012). We hope you will join us in building the VP / Social Investment community across Asia.
With best wishes for the Holiday Season and a Prosperous and Happy New Year,
Simon Chadwick (CEO) & Kevin Teo (COO)