Giving Compass' Take:

• Robert K. Ross and Amy Chung share how creating and staying accountable for racial equity goals are central to their mission.

• How can you better align your values with your investments? What accountability mechanisms can you use to maintain your goals? 

• Read about the importance of bringing racial equity to capital markets.

The connection between impact investing and our foundation’s commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion comes up for us every day at The California Endowment (The Endowment). As a health funder, we know race and structural racism drive health inequality and lifespan differences between communities, and we have emphasized the importance of diversity and racial equity in our work since our founding.

As we continue to deepen our commitment to these issues, we’re excited about the progress we have made through our investments. We are also reflective.

Our history of working at the intersection of health and racial equity has taught us important lessons that influence how we put our capital to work, and continues to remind us of what more we need to do as we pursue our mission. Below are five core practices that have helped us make racial equity central to our impact investing work:

  1. Set Concrete Goals for Accountability and Evaluate Progress
  2. Make Intent Explicit in Investment Policy Statements
  3. Use Organization-Wide Commitments to Support Impact Investing  
  4. Support Values-Aligned Partners
  5. Prepare for Complex Answers to Difficult Questions

Read the full article about racial equity goals can influence impact investing by Robert K. Ross and Amy Chung at Stanford Social Innovation Review.