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Mission-related investing (MRI), sometimes referred to as "impact investing for foundation endowments," can help foundations invest their for-profit financial assets in a manner that aligns with their charitable mission. Like other investment strategies, it leverages the market for revenue generation, but mission-related investing is a way for an organization to assemble an ecosystem of assets that are intrinsically connected to their mission. This can potentially enhance the efforts of their foundation’s purpose and create deeper impact. Hence the reason that mission-related investing is also referred to as impact investing.
We recommend the following steps to get started:
- Hire an investment advisor or consultant who can help you develop a mission-related strategy.
- Know what you own.
- Create a plan, both short term (for the year) and long term (5 years out). When we work with new foundation clients, we sometimes recommend starting with a very small carve-out of their endowment to test the waters.
Mission investing can be an impactful way to align your investments with the issues and causes that matter most to your family or the mission of a foundation. It can meaningfully influence social and environmental causes and can catalyze innovation across the globe.