Kelly is a foundation trustee who, during a recent review of the foundation’s investment portfolio, learned that income generated by the portfolio was not enough to fund the foundation’s charitable activities—the required 5% annual distribution. Although the portfolio’s returns were good, cash flow was an issue. Kelly wondered about a conservative way to generate cash... Read More
COVID-19 is hitting investment portfolios hard with a series of precipitous plunges in asset values not seen since the market meltdown of 2008. The financial news is stomach-churning; all manner of “worst since,” “biggest drop in” statistics accompanied by graphs with lines helpfully pointing straight down in case you didn’t quite get the point. And... Read More
Mission-aligned investing is about putting the “other” 95% to work through the markets and toward your foundation’s mission. Many foundation board and staff think that adhering to fiduciary duty means not being able to take advantage of this mission-alignment, with a perception that this way of investing can’t achieve market-rate returns. The latest data from... Read More
This post is an excerpt from the complimentary resource Essentials of Impact Investing: A Guide for Small-Staffed Foundations, created by Exponent Philanthropy and partners Mission Investors Exchange and Arabella Advisors. Want to align your investments with your mission? Download your copy >> By Jesse Fink, The Fink Family Foundation When my wife, Betsy, and I formed the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation [now... Read More
On Friday, May 1, Exponent Philanthropy hosted a fifth live discussion for lean funders to share how they are responding to COVID-19. We will continue to host these discussions every Friday at 2 PM ET to give all lean funders the opportunity to connect around their responses. We are also compiling COVID-19 information and resources relevant to lean funders.... Read More
Investment fees intertwine with market ups and downs, and both are integral to a foundation’s investment strategy. In low-return environments, higher fees could be a hindrance to higher return, but they might be necessary to reach to that higher return. It is more important than ever to be aware of the fees and costs so... Read More