Learning and collaboration
In 2025, learning from practice became a central aspect of our philanthropic approach. A dedicated philanthropy day, organised in collaboration with Telos Impact, brought together VP Capital’s philanthropic partners. The event fostered deeper collaboration and enabled the exchange of insights and lessons learned. By connecting organisations and facilitating open dialogue, we created a space for mutual learning, enhancing collective impact.
Learning, partnerships and trust
We extended our collaborations with philanthropic partners, fostering trust, openness and shared learning. Several promising relationships were intentionally developed into multi-year partnerships, reflecting the conviction that meaningful change requires time, continuity and mutual understanding.
The focus was on learning from organisations working directly in the field. Their experience is essential in making strategic choices and ensuring philanthropic capital and impact investments remain relevant.
Reflecting on this approach, Marieke Terhaar, Senior Associate at Telos Impact, notes: ‘What stands out in VP Capital’s approach is how trust and learning is translated into practice. By prioritising partnership over control and long-term learning over short-term proof, VP Capital creates the conditions for more meaningful and sustained impact, without losing ambition.’
Looking ahead: deepening systemic and learning-oriented approaches
2026 promises to be a year full of challenges and opportunities. Navigating the unpredictable philanthropic landscape, with shifting political priorities, uncertain funding and pressure on civil society, will require us to remain both an agile and a reliable partner to the organisations we support.
We aim to strengthen our position in the ecosystem by using philanthropic capital more catalytically, and by evolving from a primarily thematic focus towards a more systemic strategy. This requires clearer learning objectives and a stronger ability to identify where interventions can have the greatest impact. At the same time, we must maintain sufficient focus and scale within complex systems. Placing trust and learning at the core of our approach will require clear roles and expectations, sustained relationships and meaningful non-financial support.
As Marije Rhebergen reflects: ‘Working more systemically means we don’t always have clear answers upfront. Our challenge is to make deliberate choices, stay close to our partners and keep learning together about what really works and where we can add the most value.’
How we navigate these questions in 2026 will be decisive in building learning partnerships and ensuring that our collaboration remains purposeful and effective.
