November 3, 2014 | Read Time: 1 minute
Steve and Jean Case say that over the next several years they will make $50-million in “impact investments,” which are intended to generate social change as well as provide a financial return.
But the couple has not said whether the bulk of the investments will come from the couple’s personal funds; an early-stage investment firm Steve Case runs, called Revolution; or the Case Foundation.
“Everything we do, we do in a hybrid world,” says Jean Case, the foundation’s chief executive.
There is a big difference between an investment made by the foundation and one that is made personally by the Cases.
If the foundation invests in a company that provides a social benefit, and the company also happens to make a big splash on the market, the foundation benefits and can redirect the returns to its endowment, to grantees, or to other impact investments.
However, if the Cases make an impact investment using their personal funds and it does well, the couple benefits financially.
Although they won’t disclose the specifics of their impact-investing strategy, as signers of the Giving Pledge the couple is committed to donating at least half of their wealth to charity during their lifetimes.
