Venture philanthropy is a concept very much in vogue but without a commonly agreed-upon definition. Wikipedia defines it broadly as taking “concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and high technology business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals.”  Among the elements of venture philanthropy are:

• Willingness to experiment and try new approaches;

• Focus on measurable results—donors and grantees assess progress based on mutually determined benchmarks;

• Readiness to shift funds between organizations and goals based on tracking those measurable results;

• Giving financial, intellectual, and human capital;

• Focus on capacity building, instead of programs or general operating expenses; and

• High involvement by donors with their grantees.

FasterCures created TRAIN to recognize organizations that are pioneering principles of venture philanthropy to catalyze the development of new therapies and to encourage more foundations to adopt such approaches to de-risk translation and commercialization of research in their respective disease areas. The goals of TRAIN are: 

• Encourage innovative and best practice approaches to entrepreneurial philanthropy in medical research

• Build more and better networks between disease foundations and other R&D stakeholders

• Encourage more collaboration and idea and resource sharing among TRAIN stakeholders 

• Provide capacity-building assistance to TRAIN stakeholders to address their top priority areas

TRAIN is currently composed of more than 160 foundations that fund or conduct patient-driven, outcomes-focused medical research. While the organizations that participate in TRAIN are individually unique, all TRAIN organizations demonstrate an ongoing commitment to accountability, collaboration, research effectiveness, resource building, and patient-centeredness. 
 
 Organizations and individuals that would benefit from participation in TRAIN include chief executives and functional leaders from organizations that have reached a certain level of maturity, which might include having paid professional staff, devoting a significant portion of their annual expenditures to supporting research (as distinct from education or advocacy), and engaging in activities that go beyond very basic academic grant-making (e.g. supporting the creation of research resources, working across stakeholder groups including government agencies and industry, providing patient perspective, and participation to the research process, etc.).

• Gain Exclusive Access to FasterCures Events: Gain access to TRAIN and FasterCures webinars, workshops, and events focused on topics such as Building More Diverse and Inclusive Patient Organizations and Communities, Research Partnership Maturity Model Interactive Workshop and other high-impact topics that matter most to patient-focused research organizations as well as to Milken Institute convenings such as the Future of Health Summit. 
•  Grow your Network: Increase your connections to FasterCures’ extensive network of stakeholders – spanning pharmaceutical developers, policy makers, regulators, payers, patient organizations, non-profit organizations, providers, and researchers – through collaborative events and networking opportunities. 
• Participate in Mentorship Programs: Give back to the community and learn from experts through mentorship programs for emerging leaders and early-stage patient organizations. 
•  Get Your Organization’s Name Out There: Raise your organization’s profile and visibility by joining other leading foundations already taking part in TRAIN and through providing thought leadership on issues hindering biomedical R&D progress.

FasterCures accepts new organizations to TRAIN on an ongoing basis. There is no fee for the application or for membership. To learn more and apply, visit the TRAIN application.  

Please contact [email protected] for more information about TRAIN.