The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington will get a $4.25 million infusion of cash to increase their membership and infrastructure. The investment was made by Venture Philanthropy Partners, a Washington-based organization that uses a private-sector venture capital model when investing in the local nonprofit sector.
The Venture Philanthropy Partners investment, its largest to date, will help the Boys & Girls Clubs accomplish a goal of increasing membership from 20,000 to 35,000 by 2016. In addition, advisers at Venture Philanthropy spent the last two years guiding the Boys & Girls Clubs through a merger with the Metropolitan Police Boys & Girls Clubs and helped the nonprofit hire its new CEO, Will Gunn. The Boys & Girls Clubs will hire additional management staff with the investment, as well as refine programming and establish long-term financial stability.
“It is unusual in the nonprofit world to obtain the kind of investment that allows us to better organize and position ourselves to serve young people throughout the region,” Gunn said. “VPP’s support, both in terms of dollars and sound counsel, provides an unparalleled opportunity for strategic reflection regarding our future, enabling us to identify the best path forward to achieve our youth service mission.”
Under the terms of the agreement, VPP will distribute $3.35 million over the next three years with the funding contingent on agreed upon milestones. Venture Partners has already invested $900,000 to cover the cost of hiring the new CEO and other consulting fees.
