# Capital Continuum > *Capital Continuum* refers to the various types of durable resources needed to build and sustain an arts enterprise, influenced by the motivations of donors and investors. It emphasizes understanding how different funding sources, from charitable donations to venture capital, align with the goals and risks of an arts initiative. RELATED FUNCTIONS: [[Finance]], [[Gifts & Grants]] This site [[What is Arts Management?|defines Arts Management]] as the "practice of aggregating and animating people, stuff, and money toward expressive ends." The aggregation of both money and stuff can follow many paths – from consumers, investors, individual donors, foundations, governments, venture capitalists, and beyond. All of these paths connect wealth with opportunity. **Wealth**, here, includes any accumulation of economic resources, whether attached to an individual, a group, an organization, or a government. **Opportunity** includes any effort or potential effort that promises to generate value in some form. Some wealth-holders are motivated by high economic return. Some are motivated by charitable interests, social change, and artistic inspiration. Some are interested in "blended" returns on their wealth, that includes *both* economic return and community impact. Anyone seeking to attract capital or operating money, including arts managers, can benefit from understanding how the "opportunity" they create or intend to create aligns with the interests and motivations of a full spectrum of possible funders. Does your initiative carry a high risk of financial loss, or a low risk? Does it have potential for high return (in financial terms)? Or is it guaranteed to expense all the funding, no matter what (generating other benefits to constituents or communities in the process)? It can be useful to consider potential funders, and their available funding instruments, along a spectrum. One such model of this approach comes from the [F.B. Heron Foundation](https://www.heron.org), which wanted to move beyond basic grant-making toward a multiple-market approach to fulfilling its mission. Another such model comes from the [Flexible Capital Fund](https://flexiblecapitalfund.com), a low profit, limited liability company in Vermont committed to helping small and innovative growth-stage companies in the green economy stay and grow in the state. While nonprofit arts organizations and related initiatives tend to focus on contributed income – primarily [[Gifts & Grants]] – many initiatives create opportunities that *do* generate some return on cost or investment, or hold and control assets that do. ## Mission-Related Investment Continuum (F.B. Heron Foundation) ![[mission-related_investment_continuum.jpg]] SOURCE: Swack, Michael, Jack Northrup, and Janet Prince. “Case Study: Expanding Philanthropy - Mission-Related Investing at the F.B. Heron Foundation.” New Hampshire: Southern New Hampshire University, School of Community Economic Development, 2007. ## Capital Continuum (Flexible Capital Fund) ![[capital_continuum_flexfund_2016.jpg]] SOURCE: https://impactentrepreneur.com/understanding-revenue-based-finance/ ## Tags (click to view related pages) #frameworks #functions/finance #functions/gifts_grants #sapling