Impact Investing

Are the SDGs the North Star for Corporations?

Posted on by Case Foundation

Each September, delegations of public and private sector representatives from almost every country meet at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss how best to work together to solve the world’s most endemic political, economic and security challenges. On the development front, a framework called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serves as a collective action agenda, with progress measured against 17 primary goals and 169 targets covering a broad range of issues inclusive of poverty, health, education, hunger, women and girls, city sustainability, climate change and others. Experts estimate that it will take approximately $2 trillion a year—through the expiration date of 2030—to finance the goals. That’s a total need of about $26 trillion. If we can find a way to fund the Goals, we have the potential to end global poverty and hunger, protect the planet from degradation, ensure human beings can enjoy fulfilling lives, and foster peaceful and inclusive societies.

This means we have a lot of work to do. For years, SDG organizers and activists have pushed the private sector to play a more robust role in developing and delivering on the framework. And many corporations have stepped up to the plate in the process, even aligning their own activity with the Goals.

Recent rhetoric around “urgency” and “need” and “responsibility” on the part of private actors has been deafening. For many of these organizations, focusing on the Goals is synonymous with understanding what their company’s future might look like. In a world of increasingly scarce resources, rapid automation, global climate shifts and growing power of a socially conscious customer-base, sitting on the sidelines may mean getting left behind. The imperative to pursue these global mandates can either be to mitigate risk or to truly appreciate the value of profit and purpose. Regardless, the zeal with which corporate leaders and institutions are reaching for the baton feels unprecedented.

Conversations during UNGA week were abuzz with one key question—how can the private sector approach the SDGs in a way that actually achieves our shared global objectives? In response to this, the Global Impact Investing Network, in partnership with The Abraaj Group and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, convened business leaders to discuss what they’ve been doing to meet this goal and what more will be needed.

Inspired by the enthusiasm of the participants—and the ambitious thinking of changemakers in the room, here were some things we heard:

First, we have to start talking about the SDGs as a framework, not a silver bullet.

It was inspiring to hear representatives from Safaricom, Royal Phillips, and LADOL broadly agree that the SDGs create a construct for real conversation. Specifically, the Goals offer an organized way of aligning business activities with delivering impact. The segmentation of goals—and even more importantly, their targets—help businesses understand which of their peers are tackling the same problems and encourage collaboration towards these ends. In our own Impact Investing work, specifically through the Impact Investing Network Map, we’ve seen firsthand that there’s real value in understanding who’s playing in your space. By identifying likely allies, organizations are motivated to work together to achieve better results.

Second, the private sector must be the nexus for change, not an afterthought.

Capital and investment have often powered the wheel of innovation, for better or worse. As our panelists pointed out, businesses are not just a key stakeholder in systems-wide change, but a key organizer. Particularly in emerging markets, they are required to work with local communities, align different sources of capital, and inspire local government to serve the immediate needs of their own supply chain. That’s a unique position to be in. Take healthcare, for example. To revolutionize the healthcare system in emerging markets, as was explained from the mainstage, the solution is not as simple as building one hospital. Businesses need to create relationships with pharmaceutical companies, train doctors and nurses and even improve local transport and infrastructure to facilitate effective treatment. As representatives of Abraaj’s Growth Markets Health Fund, Royal Phillips, PBUCC and the IFC made clear (through their partnership in the Growth Markets Health Fund), even the most catalytic investments or innovative solutions need everyone around the table.

Third, without refreshed norms on how the private sector operates, progress will be stunted.

Even with the best collaboration and innovation, how we measure success needs an update if the goal is to maximize impact alongside profit. And that requires a move from short term wins to long term sustainability. As Amy Jadesimi pointed out from the stage, we’ve allowed the industry to drift dangerously away from what “long term” used to mean in the 70s and 80s. Corporate trailblazers—like Paul Polman of Unilever—continue to urge businesses to rethink how they measure success and with what frequency. But many agree that to do this, we need to first educate those calling the shots, and that extends beyond the C-Suite. Shareholders need to be informed of the value of sustainable thinking and long-term planning. They need to be encouraged to use their voice and to exercise their votes in alignment with what they believe to be fundamental to the success of a company long-term. Financial managers need to be at the helm of product innovation, exploring new mechanisms that leverage both social and financial returns. Stakeholders—every entity or individual affected by a businesses’ core activity—must be engaged holistically. Even across private assets, there’s a role for Limited Partners to play with General Partners and fund managers to actively demand that they work with their portfolio companies to think beyond just the bottom line—for financial and social benefits.

Achieving the SDGs are more of a reality today than ever before. They are integral to the well-being of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Some corporations are ready to move to fulfill this mandate, while others are waiting to be inspired. If we can use the framework of the SDGs to usher in this new way of thinking, acting and partnering—with the private sector as an integral and active participant—we may truly have an opportunity to massively reduce global poverty.

The Best Newsletters for Impact Investing News

Posted on by Case Foundation

There’s a lot happening in the world Impact Investing, and with the movement gaining traction and accelerating more and more every day, it can be hard to keep up with everything being talked about in these fields.

As the field hurdles towards its next phase, many are grappling with issues of measurement and data and ways we can solve the problems holding the industry back. We debuted our Impact Investing Network Map and kicked of a campaign to invite investors to share their data. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance launched at the end of July to further catalyze the Impact Investing Movement. Momentum is building and the field is changing rapidly.

With all that’s going on in the movement, we get asked how we stay up-to-date on news from the sector. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of newsletters that fill our inboxes and will fill you in on all things Impact Investing.

  1. The Brief from Impact Alpha talks about trends, deals and long term plans in the world of Impact Investing. Sign up here.
  2. On Impact by Cathy Clark is a weekly roundup of global Impact Investing and social innovation news. Sign up here.
  3. Mission Throttle pulls news from around the web on social impact and Impact Investing initiatives. Sign up here.
  4. Green Money Journal has a monthly online journal that news in sustainable business helps people interested in Impact Investing get started. Sign up here.
  5. B The Change shares the top news in B Corps, Benefit Corporations and business for good. Sign up here.
  6. Impact Investing Monthly from SOCAP is a monthly digest of global Impact Investing news from investors, thought leaders and more. Sign up here.
  7. Breaking Good by the Case Foundation is our weekly curation of the top stories in Inclusive Entrepreneurship, Impact Investing and social good. Sign up here.

Make your inbox do the work for you. With these great email newsletter options, you’ll be an Impact Investing expert in no time.

You’re Ready to #ShareYourData…. Now What?

Posted on by Case Foundation

Over the past six weeks, we have been sharing an initial look at the Beta version of the Impact Investing Network Map that the Case Foundation has been building. This started with a call to action that many of you heeded, leading to wonderful excitement and feedback about the Impact Investing Network Map and its potential to better understand the Impact Investing landscape. We are thrilled with the feedback we have received from investors, entrepreneurs and others in the space who share the Case Foundation’s belief that standardized data and publicly accessible information are vital for driving Impact Investing to scale. But there’s still more you can do.

So what is the next step? Many of you have asked important questions around submitting your data for inclusion on the Network Map, like:

  • What data should you share?
  • Where can you share that information?
  • And how can you make sure that your impact organization and investments show up accurately on the Impact Investing Network Map?

With two critical weeks left in our Data Campaign, we want to equip you with all of the information you need to turn your intention into action. 

So what data should you be sharing?

For the Beta version of the Impact Investing Network Map, all of our data is pulled in from our partners —ImpactSpace and Crunchbase. ImpactSpace hosts the largest public Impact Investing dataset and have been a longstanding supporter of data transparency to propel the Impact Investing movement to tipping point. We’re pulling data directly from ImpactSpace through their API, which updates the Network Map on a weekly basis.

The data that we pull in features two types of information on investors and companies—biographical and transactional.

  • Biographical data includes basic details like the intended social, environmental and operational impact (Impact Objectives); geographic focus of that intended impact (Impact Geography); headquarter location; organizational structure and Impact Investing relevant certifications.
  • Transactional data relates to capital raised at the company level. Specifically, this includes the different fundraising rounds from Seed to Series C+; the overall size of each round; investors that participated in the individual round and the basic structure of the investments.

If you’re interested in being included on the Network Map, you can share any or all of the data mentioned above, whatever your organization is comfortable with. At this early stage, we’re not yet capturing performance information, but we are working with partners and experts in the field to understand the most responsible way to include this type of reporting. In the meantime, we hope you’ll look at what level of biographical and transactional data you might be willing to share.

Where and how do you get your data into the Network Map?

The process of submitting your data to ImpactSpace is simple. Go directly to ImpactSpace with your biographical and/or transactional information in tow. Check out this simple upload guide for more information on how to upload your data. ImpactSpace has a 48-hour review period for new data to be approved and included on their website, and the Network Map draws updated information from ImpactSpace on Sunday evenings.

How can I edit or update my existing data so it’s accurate on the Network Map?

If some or all of your information is already in the Network Map, but is slightly out of date or you’d like to add additional levels of detail, you can click edit on your Network Map profile, which will take you to your page on ImpactSpace. You can also go directly to ImpactSpace to update your profile information. Once you’ve arrived at your ImpactSpace profile select Edit under each appropriate section. There is a 48-hour waiting period for entries to be approved, and you’ll receive a confirmation email upon approval.

Get started TODAY!

More than 1,000 impact investors, entrepreneurs, field builders and others interested in learning more have visited the Network Map since our campaign launched a little over a month ago. Our Network Map Champions have taken the early step to join us in the call to action to #ShareYourData, and you can too. We hope that you will join leaders in the Impact Investing field to commit to some level of transparency as a way to serve the development of a more robust and powerful Impact Investing movement. Head over to ImpactSpace and #ShareYourData, then become an active Network Map tester and let us know how we can improve the platform to build a stronger tool to support your work!

Is your data on the Network Map?
Let us know using #ShareYourData

A Seat at the Table

Posted on by Case Foundation

This article is contributed by Rehana Nathoo, VP of Social Innovation at the Case Foundation; Will Jacobson, Director of Business Development at Microvest; and Ben Thornley, Managing Partner at Tideline. The following was created based off of a panel discussion the three of them presented at Institutional Investor’s Senior Delegates Roundtable during the Fixed Income Forum.

Attend an investment conference these days and Impact Investing is part of every agenda. Sometimes it’s a panel of industry experts debating the necessary conditions for institutional-quality product development. Other times it’s the wildcard, pre-cocktail discussion of what impact means and how to measure it.

At a recent convening in Los Angeles last month, the three of us embraced the opportunity to lead a conversation on Impact Investing.

Impact Investing continues to grow rapidly, propelled by a range of actors interested in making a positive contribution. All the while still generating profit. Some Institutional Investors are doing their part to bolster the creation of solutions to urgent social and environmental challenges. But all of these efforts are happening in a fragmented fashion, and in small pockets of activity. This leads us to believe that with the trailblazing efforts of these early innovators, it’s time for traditional investors to jump in.

As with many nascent markets, the first Impact Investing products faced significant roadblocks. This style of investing was different, the breadth of managers who were well versed in the space was sparse, and benchmarks were non-existent or unrecognizable. But in the same way the sum total of carbon emitted in the production of the first Tesla Roadster hardly answered the call for environmental stewardship, there was immeasurable value in laying the groundwork for a paradigm shift. One that would see half of all cars in 2040 be electric.

Impact Investing can be at the helm of a similar global systemic change in the way we think and the way we invest. As the space has evolved, so too has the caliber of managers. DBL Partners has delighted many investors. TPG, Bain Capital, Morgan Stanley, and Blackrock have developed and established impact-oriented products and platforms away from the cocoonery of their CSR departments. And last we checked, none of these firms, funds, or managers are in the concessionary returns business.

Recent controversies, not least in Silicon Valley, show that the days of separating action from consequence are coming to an end. Historically, investors haven’t necessarily had to think about the specific, non-financial outcomes of their investment decisions. But getting educated on Impact Investing, and formulating a response, will provide an important on-ramp for what may ultimately become the future of all investing.

In the spirit or getting educated and moving to action, here are some core principles to keep in mind:

Be clear on your intention

It’s almost always possible to turn impact into action. Contrary to the scarcity myth, most impact “themes” are in fact investable. A general commitment to measurable economic development in the US, for example, may yield a range of products that support small business development in underserved parts of the country. A passion for changing the gender gap in business ownership, or course-correcting the global water scarcity are all focused, specific, and actionable. The more clarity investors have on their intentions, the easier it will be to find or develop investment opportunities for the problems they hope to solve.

Be specific with your objectives

Because Impact Investing is defined by the pursuit of “intentional” social and environmental outcomes, it would pay to develop a better understanding of what motivates the investment. Intentions of the actor are important, but so is the intended outcome of the investments. Is supporting a particular place important, as Newark is to Prudential? Or is it a particular theme or objective that motivates you, like investing in new products working to solve climate change across the globe? Being specific with a fund’s impact objective can help new investors see their place in that investment.

Be action-oriented

Perfect is no longer the enemy of the good. The field is increasingly embracing a broader definition of Impact Investing and lauding efforts to make important improvements in the totality of a portfolio’s impact. Relatedly, while Impact Investing also requires that hoped-for outcomes are measured, perfect rigor is less important than a commitment to putting in place a responsible, transparent process. The ethos of transparency is one of the reasons we’re seeing consistent thought leadership in onboarding new investors, the development of the Beta version of the Impact Investing Network Map and a multitude of other efforts.

We know that Impact Investing still has ample room to grow. We need stronger and longer track records, an increased culture of transparency and disclosure, responsible market segmentation, and greater clarity on what it means to create impact at different parts of the investment value chain—for asset owners, asset managers, and their investees. But it’s not too soon for traditional investors to take a closer look, and keeping the above principles in mind will help activate your impact investing journey today.

Adventures in Data: Recap of our Webinar with MIE and CASE

Posted on by Case Foundation

As Impact Investing continues to scale, data is becoming even more critical to meet the rising demand for better measurements and frameworks. That’s why I was excited to join Cathy Clark, Faculty Director of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University to discuss the Impact Investing Network Map. Together, we discussed the challenges and opportunities involved in aggregating and visualizing data.

The webinar also covered:

  • How impact investors can use data to meet their goals
  • The importance—and nuance—of transparency and disclosure across the impact investing ecosystem
  • How data and impact investing expertise helped create the Network Map

You can find a recording of the conversation here or watch it below.

If you’re ready to share your Impact Investing data for inclusion on the Impact Investing Network Map, you can do so by going directly to ImpactSpace and uploading your data. There, you can find a simple to use Upload Guide that will help you aggregate and submit your data directly to ImpactSpace, where it will be automatically pulled into the Network Map on a weekly basis.

The Technology Powering the Impact Investing Network Map

Posted on by Case Foundation

The Case Foundation has worked over the last two years with data partners ImpactSpace and Crunchbase to develop the Impact Investing Network Map, an interactive tool showcasing the publicly available transactions between companies and investors within Impact Investing. We believe that by bringing the connections between actors to life—looking specifically at the investments that connect them—we can foster a better understanding of the size, breadth, depth, and, importantly, the enormous potential of this field.

Data visualization, the process of using graphics to express a dataset in an easily digestible format, drove the development of the Network Map. But not all data visualizations are created equally. From the beginning, we were cognizant that visualizing that much data in a helpful, easy to use way would be a large technological undertaking. When considering ways to showcase the relationships that make up the Impact Investing ecosystem, we pretty quickly determined that the functionality and design of a network graph—a type of visualization that illustrates points of data and their connections—would provide the best solution to conveying the incredibly complex relationship data we were working with. In our case, the points of data are companies and investors, and the connections are transactions. Choosing the right tools to help us visualize this data would be fundamental to the end product’s success. Tapping the knowledge of the team at Creative Science Labs, we decided that using Sigma.js, a JavaScript library dedicated to graph drawing, to display the map would give us the greatest level of performance. It would allow us to draw the many thousands of companies and investors in our dataset simultaneously without need for paging or artificial limiting of users’ search results.

But choosing the visualization library to build the Network Map in wasn’t our only technological roadblock. We know that we’re living in an increasingly mobile world, and in order to create a tool that would truly meet the needs of users, we needed to ensure it was mobile-first. To address the complications of a data visualization map on a mobile device, we chose to go with a table format to display relationships without sacrificing the richness of the data. This permits mobile users to explore the data of the map in a way best suited to the mobile experience where there is no mouse to provide the fine-point selection ability required by a network graph visualization.

Over two years of designing, coding, tweaking, testing and debugging, these technological bones have allowed us to build not only a beautiful tool, but one with incredible functionality and scalability that will allow it to grow with the Impact Investing sector as it advances. We have partnered with ImpactSpace and CrunchBase to utilize their API to pull in the data that we visualize, and in June of this year, launched the Beta version of the Impact Investing Network Map.

With the platform up and running, we’re excited to see how this technology is able to help the Impact Investing ecosystem come to life. However, we know that the network visualization needs more data to paint a more complete picture of the true scale of the Impact Investing ecosystem. That’s why we launched our #ShareYourData campaign, to encourage more actors to submit their data and join us in this effort. This presented us with the opportunity to learn about our potential users, how they interact with the Network Map, and what features they need for the Network Map to suit their needs.

As we embark on this data campaign, we are taking advantage of these early interactions with the Network Map to poll users and perform targeted analysis to better understand users’ experiences interacting with the Network Map. Through targeted questions, our goal is to understand with whom this tool primarily resonates and what additional features or changes they do—or do not—value. Our team actively gathers data on a weekly basis about engagement and session activities to identify pain points, and the team uses that data to guide the discussion on how to improve the tool. We’re learning an incredible amount from this and hoping that this early interaction with the Network Map helps actors in the Impact Investing sector to see the value of sharing their data publicly.

But we’re not done refining the tool yet. Like with any technology product, we know that learning from our users and improving functionality will be critical to the Network Map’s ultimate success.

Our next step is to engage in active user testing: we will work with a select group of individuals to perform a set of actions in the Network Map and provide specific feedback on their experiences performing those tasks and what could improve those experiences. Our team will use that information to build a potential roadmap for future iterations of the Network Map.

Does that sound like something you’d like to be involved with?

Great! We need your help.

If you are interested in becoming a Network Map tester, sign up at casefoundation.org/networkmap. You will be contacted in the coming weeks with further details on the testing program.

A Video Demo of the Impact Investing Network Map

Posted on by Case Foundation

As those of you who follow the Case Foundation’s work know, we have been hard at work building the Impact Investing Network Map for the past two years. The map demonstrates the publicly available transactions between investors and companies within impact investing. We believe that by bringing the connections between actors to life—looking specifically at the investments that connect them—we can foster a better understanding of the size, breadth, depth, and, importantly, the enormous potential of this field.

To provide a first look at what the Network Map is capable of, I led a live webinar demonstration last week of the Beta version. By walking through its many features, here’s what we covered:

  • The type of data used in the Network Map, including how it’s sourced and managed through our data partners;
  • The Map’s searching and filtering capabilities, including company, investor, impact objective, industry, and more;
  • Profile and Financial details about the companies and investors included; and
  • The Insights page, which provides high-level insights into the data included in the Network Map.

 

 

We also issued a call for those in the Impact Investing field to #ShareYourData. A map is only as good as the data used to create it and we need accurate data to show the true potential of the Impact Investing movement. More data will ensure we can capture the range of connections taking place in the Impact Investing space.

We hope this demonstration provides the foundation necessary for folks to jump in and explore all the Network Map has to offer. If you’d like to explore the map, you can sign up to be a Beta tester by visiting www.casefoundation.org/networkmap. You can also submit your data directly to ImpactSpace, by visiting http://www.impactspace.com/ to see it included on the Network Map.

Looking to Build Momentum: A First Glimpse at the Impact Investing Network Map

Posted on by Case Foundation

Our CEO Jean Case wrote in SSIR last week, “the most common question we hear when we are out speaking about Impact Investing is a simple one—‘who has done what in this space?’”

That’s why, over the last two years, the Case Foundation has worked hard to develop the Impact Investing Network Map.

Our vision is to build a tool that will answer these questions by showcasing the publicly available transactions between investors and companies within Impact Investing. We believe that by bringing the connections between actors to life—looking specifically at the investments that connect them—we can foster a better understanding of the size, breadth, depth and, importantly, the enormous potential of this field.

But that vision is part of a deeper desire to change behavior. We hope that the Network Map will spur investors to publicly share investment data and make transparency a hallmark of the Impact Investing sector. We firmly believe increased sharing of data and better mapping of the ecosystem will result in more robust activity from investors and entrepreneurs. Only with data that is both in-depth and accurate will a wider cross section of actors engage, and that is key to propelling the Impact Investing movement to tipping point.

To realize this vision, we need you.

Here are three ways you can join the movement:

  1. #ShareYourData—visit our data partner, ImpactSpace, to submit your data today.
  2. Be a part of early testing—stay informed by signing up for updates and to receive a link directly to the Network Map so you can explore it and give us your feedback.
  3. Spread the word—share this Call to Action with your network and encourage others to join the movement.

Want a guided tour of the Network Map? Join our webinar on July 12, 2017 at 2:30 PM EST for a demonstration of all this tool has to offer. Register for the webinar today. 

An Earth Day Guide to Action Through Impact Investing

Posted on by Case Foundation

Since 1970, April 22nd has marked the celebration of Earth Day, an opportunity for many individuals and organizations to renew their commitment to consume less, learn more and explore new ways to protect and preserve our planet. Historically, focusing on the role that investments can play in support of Earth Day isn’t something we’ve heard a lot about. Yet, the growth of the impact investing sector means that more and more socially conscious investors are thinking about the role that capital can play to blend profit and purpose.

In honor of Earth Day 2017, here are a few of ways you can start on your own journey.

Renew your personal commitment

The Earth Day Network, and many organizations like it, promote opportunities, events and resources for each of us to celebrate and recommit to conservation and preservation.

Earth Day Network suggests a few actions we can take this year, such as:

  • Reducing your environmental footprint by exploring how you can reduce your impact on the planet
  • Stop using disposable plastic by taking a pledge to reduce consumption
  • Planting or donating trees to combat deforestation and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions

Explore the opportunity for investment

At the Case Foundation, we’ve been committed to scaling impact investing over the last several years. This work has focused on inspiring and educating a range of investors on the opportunity to align their dollars with personal values. With recent growth across impact investing, many investors are poised to activate their impact strategies. We’re emboldened by the sectors experiencing the most growth and showcasing real investment opportunities.

Climate change is one such sector. The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, a network of sustainable investment organizations recently released its 2016 Investment Review. The Investment Review tracks and reports out on sustainable investment activity worldwide, with specific trends across multiple geographies. Though the GSIA includes investment activity across many approaches to impact—beyond impact investing alone—the increase in activity is inspiring.

According to the 2016 report, $22.89Tr of assets were professionally managed under responsible investment strategies, up 25% from 2014. Responsible investment—as a broad range of strategies and asset classes—represents over 1/4th of professionally managed assets globally.

In the U.S., the report suggests that climate change remains the most significant environmental factor assessed across sustainable assets. Even in smaller asset classes and funds – like private equity and venture capital – the most popular ESG issue last year was clean technology. Climate change and carbon emissions were specific areas where funds incorporated interventions into their investment process.

Growth across sustainable investing—and the role that climate plays—is an exciting opportunity for environmental themes to continue to be front and center as investable opportunities.

Learn from others to kickstart your investment journey

Earth Day is also an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of trailblazing organizations that are similarly interested in protecting our planet.

  • Last month, we wrote about the compelling case study of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund aligning their endowment more closely with their programmatic mission. In a webinar led by Jean Case, Justin Rockefeller of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Jameela Pedicini of Perella Weinberg Partners outlined the concrete steps to blending profit with purpose. In the case of the RBF, they undertook tactical steps, like defining their impact, knowing what you own, and committing to measurement.
  • In March of this year, our partners at The ImPact, continued their broader mission to on-board families into impact investing with a primer on Water. With the growing role that HNW individuals and families will play in scaling impact investing, the primer helpfully outlines considerations for families who want to invest in water to help preserve our natural resources.
  • ImpactAssets has also developed material to explore the more nascent sectors within which impact investing can grow. Sustainable agriculture is one such opportunity. In adding 2 billion people to the planet over the next 30 years, our practices around sustainable farming and food production are in need of reformation. Investment capital can play an important role in revitalizing and innovating current practices.
  • You don’t have to be a big investor or a large organization to make an impact with your dollars – you can also start to look at your own investments. The Divest/Invest movement is one such example. This effort looks to engage a diverse range of investors and individuals in a global effort to reduce investment into fossil fuels. Through this and other efforts, you can make a pledge or take action towards refining your own investment footprint.

Whether your Earth Day commitment involves your time, your community’s energy, or your organization’s assets, there is a role for impact investing to be incorporated into your thinking about conservation, sustainability and preservation of the planet.

From Education to Activation: Exploring the RBF’s Journey into Impact Investing

Posted on by Case Foundation

Over the last four years, the Case Foundation has been deeply committed to catalyzing the Impact Investing movement. Alongside partners, we seek to inspire, educate, and activate investors around the potential to put private capital to work to solve some of our most complex challenges. Today we are excited to see a growing and diverse set of actors engaged in Impact Investing, led in part by innovative first-movers. These include high net-worth individuals and institutions who have begun to seek financial and social returns by aligning their investment portfolio with their values.

As part of our movement building efforts, we’ve learned that sharing stories and insights from those who have transitioned to impact investing can be valuable to those who aren’t as far down the path.  In 2016, we were fortunate to partner with Omidyar Network and The Giving Pledge to take a closer look at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s journey into impact investing, in hopes that it can serve as inspiration and guidance for others.

As part of that work, Case Foundation’s CEO Jean Case led a webinar with Justin Rockefeller, Trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) and Co-Founder of The ImPact and Jameela Pedicini, Director of Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP). Through this conversation, Jean explored the decisions made at RBF to ensure the portfolio was set on a clear path toward market returns, while choosing investments that more closely aligned with their values.

As organizations rethink how to blend profit and purpose, we encourage you to watch the webinar to learn from RBF’s journey. Here, are a few key themes that came to light:

 1. Define your impact

As Jean mentions at the start of the conversation, “impact investing means different things to different people.” At the Case Foundation, we believe that a broader interpretation allows more people to gather around the impact investing table. But that does not relax our expectations around what it means to generate both social or financial returns.

Instead, our definition of impact investing focuses on three necessary conditions to help narrow in on just what each of us means by “impact”:

  • Intentionality – are objectives clearly articulated across social and financial goals?
  • Measurement – will the organization track performance across both objectives?
  • Transparency – does the organization share – or intend to share – insights into their process and performance (as much as is able) to help create more examples around what works and what doesn’t?

2. Know what you own; then develop an investment process that leverages your strengths

The RBF’s programmatic approach spans several sectors, including democratic governance, sustainable development and peacebuilding. The grantmaking arm of the RBF has developed a thoughtful approach to promoting sustainable development, particularly around the environment and climate. When the time came to evaluate how the entire investment portfolio – and ultimately the endowment – could reflect the principles and values of the RBF, they looked to their strengths.

“25% of our program dollars go to fighting climate change,” Justin says, “we thought this was so fundamental to the work we do, that we should start there.”

By leveraging a diverse set of tactics, including divestment, an ESG lens (integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance factors), active ownership, and investing with Impact managers, RBF and PWP set out on the task together. With these tools in mind, they looked to activate RBF’s vision on what a thoughtful climate-focused strategy might look like.

We’ve seen time and again Foundation’s struggle between focusing on grantmaking vs. using their investment levers, but as Justin points out, “every foundation has different tools on its tool belt – the endowment is just one of those tools.”

3. Commit to a measurement framework

Once the mission was clear and the rigor made explicit, activating the strategy was next. The RBF and PWP started by shifting the Investment Policy Statement (IPS), transforming the objective of the portfolio from “maximizing returns” to “continue in perpetuity with generational neutrality.”

Formalizing this mission– and bringing stakeholders like the Board, senior leadership, and the Investment Committee along in the process – is a critical step to ensure that impact is sustainably interwoven into the way investments are identified and selected.

Jameela Pedicini also suggests that practices around consistent measurement can lead to broader behavior change. “Regular impact reporting,” for example, “will help us assess long term tends.”

By drawing on the journeys of organizations like the RBF, we will develop a stronger narrative around what impact investing can look like across actors. We hope that sharing these insights will provide high net-worth individuals and families, foundations, corporations, and others concrete examples to follow. We will continue to look for opportunities to showcase case studies and lessons from various organization, as part of our broader efforts to take impact investing to the next level.

We invite you to watch the full conversation here. You can also learn more about the RBF’s journey through The ImPact’s recently launched case study; “Rockefeller Brothers Fund: Impact Investing Case.”

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