​This year, Venture Forward is marking a milestone—five years of empowering, educating, and expanding a vibrant VC investor community.

Launched by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) in 2020, Venture Forward set out to increase opportunities and dismantle traditional barriers in venture capital. Since then:

• ​Venture Forward has provided education, mentorship, and community to 5,000+ individuals, including 620+ VC University full scholarships awarded to rising investors from underrepresented backgrounds and 310+ underrepresented funds managers supported through Emerging Manager Office Hours.

• ​This work has been powered by a network of 1,300+ volunteers who’ve shared their time and expertise, and 200+ donors whose generosity powers our mission.

​Join us in San Francisco on September 10 for a special, invite-only celebration with our community of donors, volunteers, and program alumni. Together, we’ll honor what we’ve built and look ahead to the next five years of advancing inclusion, education, and opportunity in VC.

​To cap off the evening, venture veteran Brad Feld (Foundry Group co-founder and author of Give First: The Power of Mentorship) will join us for an intimate fireside chat.

​Invite-only | RSVP Required | Space is Limited

In response to resounding demand, Venture Forward and Ford Foundation are excited to announce a new flagship program: a 1.5-day curated GP Masterclass in San Francisco for a select cohort of approximately 10 general partners (GPs) who are raising or managing their Funds III, IV, or V. This isn’t just another gathering—it’s an immersive, high-density experience designed to equip participants with the insights, strategies, and relationships needed to scale their firms with intention. Participants will receive:

• Tactical firm, fund, and portfolio management playbooks, from capital formation to scaling an organization
• Unfiltered lessons from veteran GPs who’ve built top-performing funds from 0, like Barry Eggers, a cofounder of Lightspeed
• Direct access to institutional LPs and seasoned mentors for real-time feedback and relationship-building.

About this event

This 1.5-day conference, developed in collaboration with NVCA’s CFO Taskforce, focuses on the critical role senior operations professionals play in venture firms, and how they can provide value back to their partnerships. The agenda emphasizes best practices, technical topics, professional development, and industry related policy content, several opportunities for networking.

Participants will have the opportunity to develop functional expertise, troubleshoot shared challenges, and earn CPE credit hours for attending.

Emerging Manager Office Hours 14: Apply by Aug. 27!  Are you an emerging VC fund manager from an underrepresented background? Don’t miss your chance to apply to attend the 14th Emerging Manager Office Hours (EMOH) program, a full-day educational and networking event hosted by Venture Forward.   EMOH 14 will be held in San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 10am – 5pm PT, followed by an optional networking reception.  This invite-only event will bring together 20 – 25 emerging managers to engage with LPs, experienced GPs, and industry advisors, through 1:1 meetings, roundtables, and panel discussions. Topics covered include: best practices for fundraising, fund management, building lasting GP-LP relationships, and more.  Learn more and apply by 11:59pm PT, Wednesday, Aug. 27. 

Mark your calendars to join us for NVCA’s Leadership Awards Dinner to be held on May 14, 2026, at the Rosewood Hotel Sand Hill.  The event honors those who have made significant contributions to foster innovation, advance technology, and drive new company formation. Nominations now open.