Scaling Mission Investment |
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If foundations are to achieve their lofty ambitions for social impact, they must find creative ways to use every resource they possess. One of the most innovative and powerful tools to have emerged in the field is a unique complement to traditional grantmaking that we refer to as mission investing. Mission investing is the practice of using financial investments as tools to achieve a foundation’s mission. Mission investing is a more specific type of social investing — the broader approach of considering social and environmental factors, whether or not related to mission, in investment decisions. Mission investing is gaining momentum among US foundations. Recently, the use of mission investments, including program-related investments (PRIs), has been expanding rapidly. Mission investments’ annual growth rate averaged 16.2% in the last five years, compared to just 2.9% during the preceding 32 years. Over the past decade, the number of foundations engaging in mission investing has doubled, and the new funds invested annually have tripled. Mission investments are also diversifying. Once largely restricted to low-interest loans, they now span a wide spectrum of debt and equity investments. However, mission investing faces several key challenges that must be addressed if this approach is to mature further and come to scale. FSG is launching several initiatives to help foundations to better understand and utilize mission investing, and is on a selected basis working on several client-funded mission investment projects. For more information contact Adeeb Mahmud.
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