New Venture Fund is the fiscal sponsor for hundreds of individual charitable projects that work independently to make the world a better place. NVF’s model is an important part of the philanthropic community, and it is a source of pride that changemakers come to New Venture Fund to help solve some of society’s greatest challenges.
New Venture Fund recently published a report on its collective impact in 2021. You can read it here. This is also the time of year that New Venture Fund releases its annual filing as a tax-exempt organization with the IRS. This document, covering the year 2021, offers a snapshot of the financial health of the organization as well as grantmaking and other operational information.
New Venture Fund projects continued to make a difference in 2021. The goal of fiscal sponsorship is to maximize charitable impact. By making New Venture Fund their home, projects are relieved of administrative and operational burdens they would otherwise encounter running an independent nonprofit. NVF’s structure allows them to remain focused on creating change.
Ultimately New Venture Fund’s value comes from the real-world impact that its projects have. Here are five projects, all fiscally sponsored by New Venture Fund, that demonstrate the kind of work that the organization supported in 2021.
TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college access and success program for Dreamers. In 2021, TheDream.US provided more than 4,700 grants totaling more than $35 million in scholarships, NVF’s largest combined grantmaking activity.
Since its inception in 2015, the project has provided more than 6,500 college scholarships to Dreamers attending more than 70 affordable Partner Colleges in 19 states and Washington, D.C. With 100% of recipients from low-income families and 83% the first in their family to attend college, program scholars continue to outpace national academic benchmarks at four-year colleges.
The Hope and Heal Fund
The Hope and Heal Fund harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities, corporate leaders, government, and philanthropy to ensure homes and communities are safe from gun violence. A California-based and -focused organization, it seeks out innovative and proven solutions that can be replicated. Working to prevent and interrupt gun violence in all forms – suicide, domestic violence and community violence – it also invests in actionable data and field capacity to help make programs more effective. Its work has helped support a 20% decrease in suicide and 25% decrease in gun homicide in California.
Next Century Cities
Next Century Cities works alongside communities to expand broadband access and increase adoption. Next Century Cities recognizes that fast, reliable, and affordable internet cannot be a luxury; it’s necessary infrastructure for learning, connection, and commerce. Working to close the digital divide in cities of all sizes – in red states and blue states – the organization tackles issues like broadband access and adoption, digital inclusion, digital equity, privacy, spectrum allocation, civic engagement, and more. It now has partnerships with 220 member cites in 40 states.
National Collaborative for Health Equity
The National Collaborative for Healthy Equity promotes health equity by fostering racial healing and equity, harnessing data, developing leaders, and catalyzing partnerships across the many different sectors that share responsibility for creating a more equitable and just society. Partnering with important organizations and voices in health, its programs focus on the culture of health leadership, the use of data, research, and information systems to achieve racial equity, as well as community engagement.
Communities for Just Schools Fund
Communities for Just Schools Fund began as a group of Black parents in Mississippi demanding change in their schools. Today, the organization harnesses the resources of philanthropy with the power of grassroots organizing to end the school to prison pipeline by ensuring that schools welcome all students and nurture their full potential. The organization helps fund organizations that change schools and the system of education through community organizing. With 64 partners in 21 states, the group distributed $5.1 million in grants and capacity building support in 2021.
For more information about New Venture Fund’s work in 2021, see our 2021 Impact Report.
