Knowledge Center
Our mission is not only to support and cultivate social enterprises but also to promote and establish the culture of venture philanthropy in Japan. Below, you can find great resources to learn about venture philanthropy and other ways of social impact funding, and how you can create new financial mechanisms to change society.
1. Reports
"Goal-Oriented Social Action: Growing Popularity of Venture Philanthropy"
Published: January 2012 (Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting)
This report is a comprehensive overview of venture philanthropy that explains its definition and characteristics and provides model cases. The report also includes a detailed case study of Impetus Trust, a pioneer of venture philanthropy in the United Kingdom.
http://www.murc.jp/thinktank/rc/politics/politics_detail/31.pdf
"Report on 'Study of Strategies for International Standardization of Social Evaluation Criteria'"
Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID)
http://www.fasid.or.jp/_files/publication/2013/social_investment_evaluation2.pdf
A report showing specific case examples of impact assessment, in an easy-to-understand way, that is indispensable for social investment and international trends
The first part gathers data on the size of the global market for social investment.
"Making Impact Investible"
Impact Economy Maximilian Martin
(Translation: The Sasakawa Peace Foundation)
http://www.spf.org/publication/upload/0428-2.pdf
This report summarizes the latest information and future outlook for the market regarding impact investment, which pursues both social impact and financial return. It was distributed to various countries by the British government when it had the Presidency of the G8 meeting in 2013. Afterwards, a G8 social investment task force was established and there have been discussions on how to globally move forward with social investment.
2. Online Resources
Japan Social Innovation Forum
http://japan-social-innovation-forum.net/
This website by Tatsuaki Kobayashi, International Philanthropy Fellow at Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies, is a great resource for news and information on broad topics around the innovation in the public-interest sector in Western countries, including venture philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, social investment, and social entrepreneurship.
European Venture Philanthropy Association
http://evpa.eu.com/#&panel1-3
Asian Venture Philanthropy Network
http://www.avpn.asia/
3. Venture Philanthropy Organizations
Japan
Social Venture Partners Tokyo http://svptokyo.org/
Founded in 2003, Social Venture Partners Tokyo is a pioneer of venture philanthropy in Japan. They work with individuals with philanthropic minds called Partners, each of whom provides a yearly fund of a hundred thousand JPY and their expertise and skills in supporting social enterprises. SVPT has funded and supported 24 social enterprises so far (as of 2012).
Community Youth Bank Momo http://www.momobank.net/
Founded in 2005 by members in their 20s and 30s, Community Youth Bank Momo is the first civilian-owned NPO bank in the Tokai region of Japan. An NPO bank creates a financial system by collecting funds from investors and providing unsecured loans with low interest rates to individuals, NPOs, and community businesses that aim to solve social issues and improve local communities.
ARUN LLC http://www.arunllc.jp/
Founded in 2009, ARUN invests in social enterprises in developing countries, based on the fund collected from individuals and businesses. In addition to funding, the investors actively participate in value creation, business strategy development, and other management support programs. ARUN's mission is to create a social investment platform that establishes a new model of "meaningful" money flow in society.
World in Asia http://worldinasia.org/
World in Asia was launched in 2011, after the Great East Japan Earthquake, to support social entrepreneurs in Tohoku, and has mainly worked on scale-out of successful business models and new business incubation. With an ultimate goal to cultivate social entrepreneurship powerful enough to solve global issues in Asia, they strive to create enterprises that bridge the non-profit and social business sectors.