"Venture philanthropy" applies venture capital strategies to giving. Venture capitalists in the for-profit world invest in new and growing businesses with their financial resources, expertise, and know-how. Their "time and expertise" are as important as money in helping a new business move towards profitability and an "initial public offering (IPO)."

While there is no equivalent "social IPO," SVP seeks to invest in its investees' self-sustainability and organizational capacity by taking a long-term approach, providing professional expertise, and working together towards annual objectives and measurable outcomes.

Importantly, SVP does not seek to impact or change a non-profit's social mission. SVP instead brings some of the expertise and skills necessary to support, enhance, and grow a non-profit's long-term capacity to achieve that mission.

One of the goals of SVP is to mobilize the talent of the entrepreneurial and technology sectors. Through the direct involvement of its Partners, SVP provides its non-profit investees with skills in these areas:

- Management Systems
- Board and Governance
- Finance
- Fund and Revenue Development
- Information Technology
- Marketing and Media
- Evaluation and Outcomes
- Replication/Expansion

SVP works collaboratively with its investees to assess and fill as many needs as it can, but doesn't and shouldn't commit to meeting all needs. SVP sees its investees as a portfolio of investments, in which it wants to help maximize the success of each of the organizations it works with.

Without profits, there is indeed no absolute bottom line like Earnings Per Share. While some objectives in the non-profit world are value-laden and subjective, SVP has established 12-month objectives with each of its investees. What can be measured are project objectives, milestones, and means to the end. SVP also works with and relies on its investees' expertise in reporting progress in determined outcomes.

In short, there are two kinds of goals established with each investee - 1) program outcomes and 2) organizational capacity building. SVP has invested in non-profit leaders that they believe have the vision and experience to know which programs and objectives lead to long-term positive outcomes (like a venture capitalist would).

SVP's Investees are led by social entrepreneurs - innovative, passionate leaders with vision and ideas about effecting change and solving problems in the community, and creating more social value from their limited resources.  Social Entrepreneurs are people who attempt to take innovative approaches to social and other issues, often with the use of traditional business skills applied in order to achieve their goals, and making creative use of limited resources to doggedly pursue their social mission.