Investing Foundation Assets to Achieve Social Goals: Useful Resources

“Aggregating Impact: A Funder’s Guide to Mission Investment Intermediaries”
http://www.fsg-impact.org

Published by FSG Social Impact Advisors, a nonprofit research and consulting group in Boston, this 2007 report discusses intermediary entities — such as community banks, venture-capital funds, and socially responsible mutual funds — that collect money from multiple sources and invest it in activities that earn a financial return for investors and produce positive social or environmental benefits. A spreadsheet of more than a thousand intermediary organizations is also available on FSG’s Web site.

“A Brief Guide to the Law of Mission Investing for U.S. Foundations”
http://www.fsg-impact.org

Published by FSG Social Impact Advisors, this 2008 paper analyzes federal tax law, state laws regarding the fiduciary duty of foundation trustees, and private-letter rulings issued by the Internal Revenue Service to try to clarify the legal boundaries of mission investing.

“Compounding Impact: Mission Investing by U.S. Foundations”http://www.fsg-impact.org

Published by FSG Social Impact Advisors, this 2007 paper discusses how foundations are using financial investments to help achieve their charitable missions. Includes examples.

“Handbook on Responsible Investment Across Asset Classes”
http://www.fbheron.org/documents/bc_responsible_investing_handbook.pdf

Published by the Institute for Responsible Investment at Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship, this 2007 guide discusses how to identify investment opportunities that combine financial returns with social or environmental benefits.

KL Felicitas Foundation
http://www.klfelicitasfoundation.org/work/invest_strat

The Los Gatos, Calif., foundation’s Web site provides detailed information about how it identifies and analyzes potential mission-related investments and the investments it has made. Visitors can download a tool that the foundation uses to document its analysis of a potential investment’s financial and social strengths and weaknesses.

“The Mission in the Marketplace: How Responsible Investing Can Strengthen the Fiduciary Oversight of Foundation Endowments and Enhance Philanthropic Missions”
http://www.socialinvest.org/resources/pubs

Published by the Social Investment Forum Foundation, this 2007 report discusses how foundations can invest their assets in accordance with their mission.

“Philanthropy’s New Passing Gear: Mission-Related Investing”
http://rockpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/MRI.pdf

Published by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, in New York, this 2008 guide discusses how foundations can use their endowment assets to both earn money and serve their charitable missions. Includes case studies.