More for Mission

Mission Investing Policy

A formal mission investing policy is the first step to begin mission investing. The policy statement is the roadmap for a foundation’s mission investing in practice—laying out how the foundation will integrate their core strategies into their investments and committing financial officers, program officers, and consultants to implement that policy.

Members of the More for Mission Leaders Circle may either have mission investing policy statements or include statements specific to mission investing within their broader policy statement. These can be found on the foundation websites, along with other information on their mission investing practices, and can also be found here: 

Annie E. Casey Foundation
Blue Moon Fund
The Boston Foundation (Excerpt from Policy Statement - PDF)
California Community Foundation
Cedar Tree Foundation (Excerpt from Environmental Practices - PDF)
Community Foundation of the Ozarks
Compton Foundation
The Consumer Health Foundation
Edward W. Hazen Foundation’s Social Screening Policy (PDF)
F.B. Heron Foundation
Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation (Excerpt from Policy Statement - PDF)
Gray Matters Capital
Hyams Foundation
Jacobs Family Foundation
Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation (Excerpt from Policy Statement - PDF)
Kalamazoo Community Foundation Program and Business Related Investment Policy (PDF)
KLFelicitas Foundation
Meyer Memorial Trust’s Mission-Related Market Rate Investment Strategy “Maximizing Impact” (PDF)
Needmor Foundation (Excerpt from Policy Statement - PDF)
Rasmuson Foundation
Seattle Foundation
Triple EEE Foundation mission investing policy statement (PDF)
Vermont Community Foundation mission investing policy statement (PDF)
W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The Foundation Partnership on Corporate Responsibility  has additional examples of investments policies including:

• Lydia B. Stokes Foundation (Excerpt from Investment Policy - PDF)
• Joseph Roundtree Charitable Trust, and
• Nathan Cummings Foundation (Excerpt from Investment Policy - PDF)

The following are other publically available Investment Policies and statements with social, mission, or responsible investing language:

• The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County (see page 4 for "Socially Conscious Investments")
• Community Foundation of Sonoma County (see page 8, letter F, for Investment Committee review of any specific investment that may be contrary to the philosophy of the Foundation as to social or environmental issues)
• Education Foundation of America Responsible Investments Policy
• Gates Foundation's approach to Program Related Investments
• Harris and Frances Block Foundation Mission Related Investing Policy
• Napa Valley Community Foundation (see page 11 for statement on Social Responsibility)

At an early stage, a foundation might choose to pilot their mission investing approach.  This would typically include an allocation of a percentage of total assets or dollar commitment to mission investing. Generally this would not include an overall asset allocation overlay. However, a foundation might distribute investments across debt and equity in percentage targets.  It is during this phase that foundations identify targeted rates of return whether market-rate or below-market (adjusted for risk and mission) to assess the success of the “pilot” program. In addition, a specialized Mission Investing governance structure may be organized that is separate from traditional investments (see Philanthropy's New Passing Gear on governance structures) that establishes:

• Mission Investing Board Oversight Committee (strategy)
• Mission Investing Investment Committee (decision-making)
• Mission Investing Implementation Team (execution and monitoring)
• Use of outside consultants

Once a foundation is in a position to move forward in its mission investing strategy, the investments are integrated into the overall asset allocation strategy. Financial officers and program officers work together in the investment decision-making process and implementation to maximize the potential impact of the foundation.  Frequently outside financial and philanthropic advisors/consultants are engaged.

Central to this more integrated approach is the development of a strategic asset allocation policy that integrates mission investing within a foundation’s broader asset allocation strategy.  The strategic asset allocation policy guides staff, consultants, investment committee members, and the Board in their investment choices.  Setting the asset allocation targets varies by organization often with advice from a general consultant and approved by the investment committee and the Board.  Rebalancing is not time-based and triggered when an asset class exceeds or falls below its target allocation.

Mission investing can be integrated into the asset allocation process.  Endowments can set targets for asset allocation, and then create a process for identifying potential mission investments within each asset class.   A turning point for a foundation can often be when the decision is made to merge their mission investing strategy within their overall strategic asset allocation policy.