Conference Presentation, Panel
Aligning Endowment Investments with Philanthropic Mission
Milken InstituteKerry Kennedy, Kim Lew, Brian O'Neil, Mark Suzman, Darren Walker, Shawn Wischmeier, Carrie Kennedy, Frank, Nelson, Daniel, Amy Christensen
- The organization intends to host a series of institutional investor conferences annually for the next seven years focused on human rights and investment outcomes.
- Non-grant assets totaling $950 million are projected to maximize risk-adjusted returns while advancing core missions, and a separate $1 billion capital deployment by the Ford Foundation is scheduled to occur over the next decade, beginning in the current year, targeting affordable housing in the U.S. and international financial inclusion.
- The Ford Foundation anticipates that permanent reductions in the "skinny budget" will complicate the execution of government-subsidized affordable housing transactions.
- The Carnegie Corporation board does not currently plan to pursue impact investing but intends to learn from peer organizations before potentially implementing a program later.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation maintains negative screens for tobacco, handguns, and alcohol, views endowment growth as essential for future mission innovation, and plans to launch an emerging manager fund and provide grants to the "Scholars for Educational Opportunity" organization over a multi-year to multi-decade period to build a pipeline for diverse investment leaders.
- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has authorized an envelope of up to $1.5 billion for direct program-related investments, with conditions such as global access agreements intended to ensure health products remain publicly available globally.
- The Margaret Cargill Philanthropies plans to divest from tobacco, upstream oil and gas, and other mission-misaligned areas while proactively seeking opportunities in alternatives and private investments.
- The majority of the Margaret Cargill Philanthropies' investments are expected to remain concentrated in clean water, renewable fuel, and renewable energy, potentially resulting in market saturation within those specific sectors.
- Investing in sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to offer the highest global rate of return despite current perceived risks deterring other funders.
- Improved returns are expected through a diversity of opinions among investment managers, and the wave of change initiatives regarding diversity and impact is anticipated to progress positively, though potentially slower than desired.
- University endowments face increasing scrutiny regarding how return spending affects student affordability and access, contrasting with foundations that may maintain more independent decision-making capabilities as leadership engagement grows.
- Foundations risk being unprepared for inevitable external demands regarding public fund usage if they maintain a posture of remoteness from real-world conditions.
- The ecosystem for small, grassroots organizations faces damage if foundations continue funding intermediaries over three to five-year periods rather than providing direct funding to these groups.
- All participants are urged to direct resources toward considering impacts on human rights, women, and people of color.