The elea Way - Preview

elea’s FOUNDATION AND OPER ATING MODEL 97

That said, within the parameters of elea’s current investment capac- ity, our external investors have the possibility to allocate their capital contribution to a specific selection of elea’s investee companies, depend- ing on their individual preferences in terms of themes, geographies, and specific enterprises. Thereby, they are able to combine a tax-exempt phil- anthropic donation with the idea of having a stake in elea’s portfolio of direct investments. By far, the largest proportion of the committed amounts goes directly into funding single investments and the directly allocated cost of supporting them, while a small percentage is allocated to cover indirect investment expenses, particularly the efforts to find and evaluate new investments. 10 Our investors can also become person- ally engaged, depending on their appetite and capacity. Some of them have engaged with and supported their investments on-site (sometimes, together with their family as way of creating social awareness among their children), others have provided professional guidance on their specific area of professional expertise, while others are content with one annual briefing on the status and impact achieved within their subportfolio. For investors with a somewhat limited financial appetite, we have created a standardized package of investments with fewer opportunities for cus- tomized engagement. Besides our annual impact performance reporting and additional infor- mal ways of getting together, the investors’ circle offering includes one formal event per annum. On this occasion, investors meet with elea entre- preneurs, staff, and fellow investors and thereby have the opportunity to exchange views and broaden perspectives. Over the years, the elea commu- nity – with its shared agenda on fighting poverty and an inspiring engage- ment among like-minded people – has evolved, grown, and become quite active. As of 2019, our philanthropic investors’ circle had a sizable num- ber of several dozen elea investors, and it had made contributions substan- tially in excess of the initial funds contributed by the founders’ family. This circle is tremendously valuable, far beyond its crucial role in ensuring elea’s medium- to long-term financial viability. It brings together a great and diverse group of distinct personalities and constitutes a great source of advice, encouragement, moral support, and critical feedback. As elea completed the first decade of its journey in 2016 in healthy shape, and given the high level of excitement regarding opportunities to tap into during the second decade, in 2017 we embarked on a planning exercise to