LGT VP seeks systemic change in its target issue areas by creating a portfolio of thesis-driven complementary solutions. It also works to establish long-term, trusted partnerships with locally rooted nonprofits. It has adopted a philanthropic approach to grantmaking that features:

• Funding mission-driven organisations with a potential to scale impact.
• Focusing on funding organisations rather than specific programmes.
• Providing flexible funding support tailored to the needs of nonprofits.
• Offering non-financial support for in-house strategic expertise and access to funder networks.

LGT VP’s due diligence process allows it to carefully select its nonprofit partners and also provides an opportunity to develop trust-based relationships.

Since its inception in 2007, LGT VP has gone beyond funding to help nonprofits develop operational expertise and access supportive networks. For example:

• It has also developed a diagnostic survey, the M&E Healthcheck, that helps nonprofits assess the state of their measurement and evaluation tools and data-management systems and make recommendations for improvement.
• Its fellowship programme supports nonprofits to help build their organisational capabilities by engaging mid-to-senior-level talent from the private sector who bring strong professional experience and a passion for scaling impact.
• It helps nonprofits set up data dashboards that inform future strategic choices for their programs.
• It captures learning from nonprofit partners to create a resource base of good practices and promote learning across its portfolio.

LGT VP’s emphasis on OD stems from its belief that philanthropic funding can have a transformative effect when it supports organisation-level strengthening to deliver effective solutions that result in significant and sustainable impact. It believes that providing nonprofits with strategic support, including OD support and peerlearning opportunities, helps them enhance their impact.

LGT VP has found that its nonprofit partners often do not have prior experience working intensively with a funder to build their operational strength and resilience. Thus, LGT VP invests significant time during the due diligence phase to foster a mindset shift for nonprofits. It encourages them to think beyond immediate programmatic requirements and increasingly consider long-term priorities. In addition, LGT VP has joined other funders to establish a group to share learning, anecdotal evidence, and success stories as a means to influence change in the wider ecosystem in support of organisational strengthening.

LGT VP is on a journey with regard to its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It plans to undertake a strategy refresh that will include DEI as an area of focus. As an initial step, it has started collecting data on the participation of specific historically underserved communities, such as women and tribal community members, from its nonprofit partners. It also tracks data such as the diversity of a nonprofit’s board, the number of women it employs, and the number of women it serves. LGT VP is working towards building a gender-diverse and equitable organisation by ensuring greater board-level participation and adopting a DEI lens in its internal hiring.

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