Monday, April 17, 2017
NY Times Common Sense Columnist Says Ford Foundation Is an Unlikely Convert to ‘Impact’ Investing
Last week, the foundation announced that it would commit $1 billion to investments that “earn not only attractive financial returns but concrete social returns as well,” as it said in a news release.
Earning high returns isn’t just a matter of bragging rights — endowment income supports the missions of nonprofit institutions, whether education, as with college and universities, or broader social programs, as at many private foundations.
By law, tax-exempt foundations must spend at least 5 percent of their endowment every year on charitable purposes. In Ford’s case, that amounts to over $600 million...