What Venture Forward does

Venture Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operating as a supporting entity to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), with a mission to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion within the venture capital industry. Founded in June 2020 and headquartered in Washington, DC, the organization educates aspiring investors and emerging fund managers — with particular focus on those from underrepresented and geographically diverse backgrounds — through a portfolio of programs including VC University (a self-paced online certificate course offered three times per year in partnership with NVCA and UC Berkeley Law Executive Education), VC University LIVE (three-day in-person programs hosted at partner universities in emerging VC ecosystems), Emerging Manager Office Hours (curated networking events connecting emerging managers with LPs and GPs in multiple U.S. cities), GP Masterclass (cohort-based intensive training for Fund III–V managers), and Power Hours (a virtual educational series launched in March 2025). It also publishes the biennial VC Human Capital Survey in partnership with Deloitte, the industry's standardized intersectional DEI benchmark.

The organization generates revenue through tax-deductible donations and corporate sponsorships from 130+ individual and institutional donors (founding donors include Silicon Valley Bank, Deloitte, and Gunderson Dettmer), alongside modest tuition from VC University at $1,850 per participant — most of whom receive full scholarships. Program-specific sponsorships from VC firms, law firms (e.g., Cooley, Gunderson Dettmer, WilmerHale), and foundations (notably Ford Foundation for GP Masterclass) fund cohorts, scholarships, and regional events. Supporting free resources — a public job board, tools and templates, community organizations directory, and educational content on VC fundamentals — drive top-of-funnel engagement and are distributed via the website, monthly newsletter, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and a VC University Slack channel.

Venture Forward operates as a non-technology, community-led educational organization with no proprietary technology platform beyond a self-serve online course delivery system for VC University and standard website/content infrastructure. Its core operating geographies are the United States, with programs physically hosted in California, Massachusetts, New York, Washington DC, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, Texas, and North Carolina, and online reach effectively global.

Name

Venture Forward

Legal name

The Venture Capital Foundation

Website

https://ventureforward.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Venture Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting the National Venture Capital Association that educates aspiring investors and emerging fund managers through certificate courses, mentorship, and networking programs, while publishing the industry's biennial VC Human Capital Survey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development (EDABAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms (FSANAHAF)

Keywords

• Venture capital education
• Fund manager training
• Nonprofit education programs
• Workforce demographics research
• Investor community building

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Venture Forward is funded entirely through donations and sponsorships from individual donors, VC firms, and corporate sponsors. Contributions are tax-deductible (EIN: 47-4114024). The organization accepts credit/debit cards, PayPal, checks, donor-advised funds, ACH/wire transfers, and stock donations.
2. Program Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors support specific programs such as VC University scholarships, Emerging Manager Office Hours, and GP Masterclass. Sponsors include technology companies, law firms, financial institutions, and foundations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Venture Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates as the supporting organization to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) to democratize access to the venture capital industry. It delivers structured educational programs—including the VC University certificate course, Emerging Manager Office Hours, GP Masterclass, and Power Hours—targeted at aspiring and emerging VC investors from underrepresented backgrounds. The organization also conducts the biennial VC Human Capital Survey in partnership with Deloitte to benchmark workforce demographics and DEI practices across the VC industry.

Product overview

Venture Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves as NVCA's supporting organization, focused on democratizing access to the venture capital industry. The organization offers a portfolio of educational programs including VC University (an online certificate course on venture capital fundamentals), VC University LIVE (in-person training in emerging ecosystems), Emerging Manager Office Hours (networking programs connecting emerging managers with LPs and GPs), GP Masterclass (intensive training for Fund III-V managers), and Power Hours (virtual sessions for mid-career investors). Core research offerings include the biennial VC Human Capital Survey conducted with NVCA and Deloitte. Supporting resources include a Job Board, Tools & Templates, Community Organizations directory, and educational content on VC fundamentals and history.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 580+ full scholarships awarded to underrepresented VCs
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• UC Berkeley / Berkeley Law Executive EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership to develop and deliver VC University, the premier certificate course on venture capital fundamentals. UC Berkeley faculty contribute lectures alongside industry practitioners and experts.
• NVCA (National Venture Capital Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenture Forward is a 501(c)(3) supporting organization to NVCA. Several Venture Forward initiatives were incubated at NVCA. NVCA provides industry advocacy and partnership for programs including VC University and the VC Human Capital Survey.
• DeloittecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner powering the VC Human Capital Survey. Deloitte manages the confidential data collection and analysis for the biennial industry survey on workforce demographics and talent management practices.
• Renaissance Venture CapitalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost partner for Emerging Manager Office Hours 16 in Detroit, Michigan. EMOH 16 is held in partnership with Renaissance VC's UnDemo Day event connecting Michigan startups with VCs.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Village Capital: Nonprofit supporting entrepreneurs and emerging fund managers through training programs and investment-readiness support — overlap with Venture Forward's pre-GP talent-development mission.
• Diversity VC: Nonprofit working to increase diversity in venture capital, with both UK and US chapters; comparable mission and emerging-manager focus, though smaller scale than Venture Forward.

Others

• First Republic Bank (now part of JPMorgan Chase) — Private Foundation Programs: Foundations/banking-adjacent programs tied to financial sector philanthropy that have historically supported emerging-manager and DEI in finance initiatives — adjacent ecosystem participant.
• Case Foundation: Philanthropic foundation that funds inclusive entrepreneurship and emerging-manager initiatives; adjacent funder/partner rather than direct program competitor.
• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: Major US foundation focused on entrepreneurship education and research, including emerging-manager and DEI-adjacent programs in VC/PE — adjacent institutional player in the same ecosystem.

Direct peers

• All Raise: Nonprofit focused on increasing diversity in venture capital, offering programs, community, and research for women and non-binary investors and GPs — the closest mission-aligned peer to Venture Forward.
• BLCK VC: Nonprofit organization advancing Black venture investors and emerging fund managers through community, capital introductions, and benchmarking — directly comparable in mission and programming to Venture Forward's Emerging Manager Office Hours.
• Pipeline Angels: Network and training program for women and non-binary angel investors, serving a comparable emerging-investor demographic through education and curated pitch events.

Broad incumbents

• NVCA (National Venture Capital Association): Primary US venture capital industry trade association; Venture Forward is structured as a 501(c)(3) supporting organization to NVCA, sharing overlapping VC-industry ecosystem and advocacy missions.
• Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices: Large institutional program supporting small-business and entrepreneur education through structured curricula; comparable in training and small-cohort delivery model even though anchored in SMB rather than VC.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/VCForward
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/venture-forward-org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Venture Forward