Surdna Foundation Announces Over $600,000 in Impact Investing Grants
The Surdna Foundation announced that it has awarded $650,000 to five national organizations to strengthen the field of impact investing. The five grants complete a special Centennial year initiative and complement the Foundation’s commitment, announced in February 2017, to allocate $100 million of its endowment to impact investing to advance its social justice mission and grow the field.
As one of the oldest and largest family-governed foundations in the U.S., Surdna’s commitment to impact investing is not just about furthering its mission, but it’s also about building and strengthening the field of impact investing. The Foundation released, “Mapping the Journey to Impact Investing,” to share its experience and lessons-learned with others thinking about impact investing, and demonstrate how foundations can invest to achieve positive social, environmental and financial returns.
“When the Foundation first made a commitment to focus on a combination of mission-related investments (MRI) and program-related investments (PRI), along with a variety of other impact investing strategies, there was not a wide breadth of funds and tools available,” said Shuaib Siddiqui, Director of Impact Investing at the Foundation. “We believe that fostering an impact investing ecosystem is critical to the development of this sector.”
The key aspect of the Foundation’s impact investing grant strategy is to build the field of impact investing by supporting organizations that are advancing the industry and increasing investments and impact. The first five grant recipients are strengthening the field by highlighting best practices; developing frameworks, guides and tools that highlight the diverse ways organizations can utilize impact investing; and hosting convenings that raise awareness and enable like-minded investors to better understand impact investing...