Vol. 2, Issue 3 | September 2010

WHAT'S NEW

More for Mission national conference on September 21 at Harvard Kennedy School

More than 75 representatives from foundations totaling over $17 billion in assets attended the first national conference of More for Mission — an initiative dedicated to promoting mission investing and influencing foundations to take up the practice. In addition to foundations, attendees included consultants, other institutional investors, investment intermediaries and researchers in the field.

In designing a conference to be of most use to foundations, More for Mission’s director, Lisa Hagerman, chose the framework, “Tackling the key barriers to mission investing,” and invited thought leaders to present on issues ranging from relationships with consultants to building internal foundation capacity and trustee engagement. The conference provided an opportunity for the mission investing community to come together to learn and share ideas towards a common goal of increasing awareness on the concept of mission investing. It was a forum to help foundations consider the use of endowment dollars, the other 95%, in ways that meet targeted financial goals while having social and environmental returns in line with mission goals. See the More for Mission website for the agenda and PowerPoint presentations from: the Merck Family Fund and Federal Street Advisors, F.B. Heron Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Boston Common Asset Management, DBL Investors, Cambridge Associates, Community Capital Management, SSgA US Community Investing Index Strategy, InvestAmerica Investment Advisors, Inc., and Jonathan Rose Companies.

SPOTLIGHT ON LEADERSHIP

More for Mission co-founders host panel on delivering returns

The panel discussion, “Delivering Returns—Perception and Reality,” was moderated by Luther Ragin, Jr., chief investment officer of the F.B. Heron Foundation and the William H. Bloomberg lecturer in public management at the Harvard Kennedy School. Ragin addressed the misperception that consideration of social or environmental factors in an investment necessarily dilutes financial return. “Mission investments, properly managed, follow a rigorous due diligence process and investment discipline similar to any conventional investment,” said Ragin. “As a result, mission investments can yield competitive market rates of return and have ancillary social and environmental benefits.”

Christa Velasquez, director of social investments at the Annie E. Casey Foundation commented on their investment in DBL Investors, a double-bottom line venture capital firm spun out of JP Morgan in 2008. “DBL Investors’ first fund has invested in innovative companies like Tesla Motors and Revolution Foods that are creating quality jobs for lower income people while they respectively address climate change and serve healthy lunches to our nation’s school children, especially in disadvantaged areas,” Velasquez said. “After enjoying top quartile returns in Fund I, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has invested in DBL Investors’ Fund II from the alternative asset allocation of their endowment,” she continued.

Doug Stamm, CEO, Meyer Memorial Trust, commented on the importance of a mission related investing strategy and reference in the investment policy statement. See the strategy section of the More for Mission website for examples of policy statements, including examples of a unique mission investing policy statement and a general Investment Policy Statement (IPS) that includes mission investing/responsible investing language.

MISSION INVESTING IN ACTION

Community foundations see benefits of fixed income mission investments

Access Capital Strategies works closely with community foundations around the country to construct investment portfolios around the specific risk/return parameters and impact objectives of the respective foundations. In particular, they target specific geographical areas and allocate assets among specific types of securities preferences e.g., housing, economic development, healthcare, job creation and education.

Under its Mission Investing Program, Access Capital Strategies uses its impact strategy to provide market rates of return compared to established benchmarks, while providing investors with liquidity and high grade credit quality portfolios. Some of Access Capital Strategies foundation clients include More for Mission members: F.B. Heron Foundation, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, KL Felicitas Foundation, The Vermont Community Foundation, The Needmor Fund and others.

MISSION INVESTING IN THE MEDIA

Community Foundation of the Ozarks interview on Ozarks’ NPR member station

Ozarks Public Radio, an NPR member station, recently featured an interview with Brian Fogle, President of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO). During the interview, Fogle focused on the foundation’s 2% commitment to mission investing through low-interest loans when conventional financing sources are not available. A new classroom/storm shelter building for Chadwick Schools in Chadwick, Missouri will be CFO’s second completed project. When the facility opens this fall, the building will house two classrooms and a large entryway into the gym that can serve as a community storm shelter.

More for Mission is based at the Initiative for Responsible Investment of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University. To learn more about mission investing and see the past issues of the e-journal see the resources section of the More for Mission website.

About Us

Funders Circle
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Cleveland Foundation
F.B. Heron Foundation
Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Meyer Memorial Trust
W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Leaders Circle
51 foundations

Members Circle
27 foundations

78 foundations representing over $30 billion in total assets

Join Us

Foundations are welcome to join the network at no cost. Membership is open to foundations only.

Benefits include:

• Access to portal of mission investing opportunities
• Networking with foundation peers
• Quarterly calls with industry experts
• Access to issue-specific groups
• Demonstration of commitment to mission investing

Events

SOCAP10
October 4-6, 2010
San Francisco, CA
Learn more

Five Fund Forum IV
October 12 – 14, 2010
Boston, NYC, San Francisco
Learn more

NCIF 2010 Annual Development Banking Conference
November 16 – 17, 2010
Chicago, Illinois
Learn more