After conducting a search for resources related to program-related, mission-related, and impact investing, we identified some major resources in the field, going as far back to the Ford Foundation’s initial report on Program-Related Investments to the more recent video clips and presentations at the Take Action Summit. Here is an interactive view of the various resources we discovered relevant to the question at hand (to browse in timeline view, I would suggest the View in Dipity->Fullscreen option):
Here is that same information presented in a Google Doc, with an additional tab for relevant websites:
Suffice to say, there is an incredible amount of research that deals with the intersection of philanthropy, nonprofits, social enterprise, and capital markets. But as FSG Social Impact Advisors noted in Compounding Impact: Mission Investing by U.S. Foundations:
…nearly 40% of all foundations said that an absence of staff expertise in mission investing is constraining their activity. Particularly lacking are general financial skills, especially among program officers, and knowledge of mission investing approaches and theory. Foundations in the $50 million to $200 million range, which have seen the greatest recent growth in mission investing, noted this barrier more often than other foundations.
How well equipped do you think foundations are to engage in integrated or leveraged mission investing, as described in The Power of Strategic Mission Investing? Are there other reports or resources not listed above that we should be reading? If so, please let us know by leaving us a comment below or emailing tony [at] blueprintrd [dot] com.
Stay tuned for our next post, which will define some of the key terms and frameworks of mission investing and total foundation asset management that will help us begin to answer the question of “What Capital When?”
Instead of waiting years for a book to be written or months for a report to be published, what if researchers could publish up-to-the-minute findings of their latest research or thinking? Research (and thinking) could be done in real-time across organizations, involving not only the research team but members of the community, and be indexable and mashable by the latest in search and social media technology. David Roodman is writing his new book on microfinance in public, the Monitor Institute is posting tidbits of insight from its experience of Working Wikily, and Independent Sector’s Future Lab is culling insights from the nonprofit sector writ large. Though the practice has yet to become widespread, imagine if all organizations operated as open organizations - what an interesting and fun world that could be.
The purpose of Conversations is not to simply be a place for announcements or the latest insights, but to be a real hub for discussion - part digital water cooler, part wisdom of the crowds. In this pilot test of Conversations, we will be focusing on the topic of impact investing. The Rockefeller Foundation and Monitor Institute define impact investing as ”the industry which involves making investments that generate social and environmental value as well as financial return.” We are thinking about these principles and possibilities as part of our work for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and its Digital Media and Learning initiative.
The MacArthur Foundation’s work in Digital Media and Learning (DMaL) gives them the opportunity to work with nonprofits, universities, commercial game makers, technology companies, and influential individuals. Because of the multi-sector nature of DMaL there are many chances to consider the choices between grants to nonprofits, below-market rate loans, and market-rate equity investments in for-profits. Is there an optimal allocation of all three? Plenty of reports detail the tactics and mechanics of program-related investing and mission investing. But when it comes to the critical question of when to apply different types of capital in what kind of situations - the question of “What Capital When?” - the answer is elusive.
Over the next several months, Lucy and I will be blogging here on “What Capital When?” as we think through the different forms of capital that exist within the philanthropic capital markets. We plan to range far and wide in our scan, looking at legal structures and financial theory, revisiting the principles of political economy, developing theoretical hypotheses, and experimenting with visualizations along the way. We invite everyone to join us in the conversation and participate by commenting and writing responses to our posts, tell us what we’re missing, and recommend what we should be reading and who we should be talking to. Thanks and enjoy the ride!
Stay tuned for our next post, which will be a literature review of the reports on program-related, mission-related, and impact investing.
