Is Newfangled ‘Philanthrocapitalism’ Really Different From Good Old-Fashioned Philanthropy?

“Venture philanthropy” (“non-profit in nature, entrepreneurial in spirit” à la Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) – is it really revolutionary? One veteran argues that most such organizations have always been “extremely results-oriented… and the use of business principles has been in the foundation world for a long time.” Another contends that “some private sector principles… simply do not translate. Long-term ‘social transformation,’ for example, is neither easy to measure nor always cost-effective in profit-maximizing terms.” And what happens as the value of endowments plummets?