Aligning Endowments & Investments with Foundation Values
As philanthropy continues to support nonprofits and invest in local communities, foundations across the country are looking beyond their grantmaking to better leverage their endowments and investments to further their mission. The recent 2020 Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations found that more foundations than ever are discussing and leveraging impact investing and other forms of values-aligned endowment practices, with 19% of private foundations saying they seek to include investments ranking high on ESG criteria and 20% screening out investments that are inconsistent with their mission.
Join the Council on Foundations to hear from three foundations who have recently taken steps to embrace better ways of operating by aligning their endowment practices with their core organizational values. You’ll hear examples of how they are ensuring their invested capital advances (and doesn’t work against) their organizational mission by divesting from fossil fuels, using loans and other mechanisms to support small businesses within their community, and more.
Speakers
Tonya Allen
President
McKnight Foundation
John Palfrey
President
MacArthur Foundation
Valerie Red-Horse Mohl
CFO
East Bay Community Foundation
Moderator
Kathleen Enright
President & CEO
Council on Foundations
Resources and External Links
Getting Started
- Impact Investing Glossary of Terms (Mission Impact Exchange)
- Community Foundation CEO Virtual Roundtable: Impact Investing - Parts 1 & 2 (Council on Foundations)
- Impact Investing Handbook: An Implementation Guide for Practioners (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors)
- Click here to see more Impact Investing Resources
Partners in the Field - Philanthropy Serving Organizations
- Mission Impact Exchange (MIE)
- Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
- Confluence Philanthropy
- LOCUS Impact Investing
- Presidents' Council on Impact Investing (US Impact Investing Alliance)
Additional Resources
- Council on Foundations and Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations (CCSF) Report
- Diversity of Asset Managers Research Series (Knight Foundation)
- Impact Investment Database and Commitment to Net Zero Across $3 Billion Endowment (McKnight Foundation)
- Defining our Values, by John Palfrey, November 2021 (MacArthur Foundation)
- Investment Strategy (East Bay Community Foundation)
- Values Proposition: How and Why We Tranformed our Investment (Nathan Cummings Foundation)
- Impact Investing Decision-Making: Insights on Financial Performance (GIIN)