Endowments & Investing
Networking for Success: Building Networks Is Essential to Investment in Social Impact Bonds
Toolkit
Working in collaboration with the Center for American Progress, the Council co-hosted conversations among foundations, community development financial institutions, and investment firms about social impact bonds and Pay for Success. Out of these conversations, two issue briefs were created:
“…
Community Foundation Field Guide to Impact Investing
External Resource
The interactive Field Guide takes community foundations through three main stages of the impact investing journey: Learn, Design, and Activate. At each stage, visitors can click on various topics within that stage to learn more about what the topic entails and how other community foundations have…
Engaging Donor Advised Funds in Impact Investing
Toolkit
A Toolkit for Community Foundations
“Impact investing” is the practice of investing for social and environmental impact while generating financial return. For community foundations, impact investing represents a new, complementary tool for achieving community change. Community foundations are…
Aligning Endowments & Investments with Foundation Values
As philanthropy continues to support nonprofits and invest in local communities, foundations across the country are looking beyond their grantmaking to better leverage their endowments and investments to further their mission. The recent 2020 Study of Investment of Endowments for Private…
2020 Council on Foundations - Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations (CCSF) Report
Publication, Research
The CCSF report is the field’s most comprehensive and authoritative study on investment and governance policies and practices. The 2020 CCSF studies 260 private and community foundations that represent $115.4 billion in assets. Topics covered include:
Returns and Investment Objectives
Asset…
2019 Council on Foundations - Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations (CCSF) Report
Publication, Research
The CCSF report is the field’s most comprehensive and authoritative study on investment and governance policies and practices. The 2019 CCSF studies 265 private and community foundations that represent $104.7 billion in assets. Topics covered include:
Returns and Investment Objectives
Asset…
DAFs, PRIs, L3Cs - Tools of Social Impact Investing
The use of for profit entities financed by both nonprofit and for-profit dollars provide a nongovernmental free enterprise way to solve many social issues while adding to the wealth of the populace rather than depleting government funds and herald a bright future. We commonly call these entities…
Navigating the Territory: A Guide to Impact Investing for Donors
You can become an impact investor today. This guide created by The Philanthropic Initiative will help you learn the different options you have for aligning your financial assets with your social goals to help for-profit and non-profit social benefit organizations become stronger and more…
Community Foundations Can Help Make the Most of Opportunity Zones
Interest is growing in a new tax incentive meant to spur growth and economic opportunity in the nation’s most distressed communities. “Opportunity Zones” were included in the 2017 tax bill after a bipartisan push to spur private capital into places that continue to fall further and further behind…
Impact Investing - Beyond Program Related Investments
Editor's note: This post is one in a series highlighting sessions for the upcoming Endowments and Finance Summit, held in Washington, DC, on September 6-7. The Summit is where foundation leaders – such as CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, Senior Investment Officers and board and investment committee members – …
Top Ten Insights for Foundation Investors in a Mature Market
Last week I had the honor of moderating a panel at the 2017 Council on Foundations Endowments & Finance Summit. In the session, “Foundation Investing in Mature Markets: Challenges and Rewards,” I was joined by three esteemed colleagues, representing foundations with over $3 billion in endowed…
The Success of the 2017 Endowments and Finance Summit
We just concluded the third Council on Foundations Endowments and Finance Summit, where more than 100 foundation CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, board members and other leaders met to consider the future of the philanthropic sector. Based on post-event buzz and input from participants, it seems to have been our…
Foundation Finance and Investment Management
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter examines Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) and other laws that govern the management and investment of endowments and other foundation financial assets. It also…
Investing in Communities - National Entrepreneurship Month
We all knew that November was going to be a tumultuous month (if you hadn't heard, there's an election today). When the polls close and the dust settles, the country could be set on one of a number of starkly different paths. Perhaps because of this uncertainty, President Obama took the opportunity…
Responsible Investing and Foundations
This post originally appeared in the Philanthropy Journal on September 26, 2016.
There’s little doubt that impact investing has generated a lot of excitement, but has it translated into action? The Council on Foundations and Commonfund Institute conducted a recent survey to ask foundations about…
2016 Endowments and Finance Summit Opening Plenary
Hello, and welcome to New York City. I want to thank you for coming to our second annual Summit focused on finance and endowments.
For many years, the Council on Foundations has helped our foundation members understand important issues related to the management and practice of the great work you do…