Transition Portfolio

Transition Portfolio

The majority of our endowment (approximately $50 million) is invested in the Transition portfolio with the primary goals of preserving capital and earning a sufficient financial return to continue our grantmaking in relative perpetuity. The Transition portfolio is governed by our No Buy Guidelines, even though these investments are not entirely in alignment with our mission and values. The bulk of the money is in traditional Wall Street investments invested across all asset classes. That said, we have also made early investments in MicrovestGuayakiCommunity Capital Management and Impax New Energy Investors. Originally housed in our Aligned Portfolio, these investments have transitioned to our Transition Portfolio where their financial performance and risk profile is on par with their asset class. In this way, we are slowly shifting the Transition portfolio toward closer alignment.

Our formal investment policy for the Transition Portfolio includes setting a long term horizon of 10 years, limiting risk through diversification amongst a wide range of investments and achieving a 100 percent values-aligned investment portfolio. Our vision is that one day our Transition portfolio will be composed entirely of mission-aligned investments that actively work in concert with our grantmaking efforts. We recognize that larger, systemic changes to the economy must occur before this can happen. We believe that our efforts to identify and support socially and environmentally responsible innovative investments will advance this goal.

A note about PRI’s: While Program Related Investments can supplement grants and program costs in meeting the five percent, we do not make PRI’s from our grants budget. Even though a growing segment of our Aligned and Transition assets meet the IRS qualifications for PRIs, we only classify some investments as PRIs and again, do not count them as part of our grants payout.

Community Capital Management

Community Capital Management’s mission is to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns through investment strategies that contribute to positive environmental and social outcomes.  The firm incorporates the environmental and social aspects of ESG investing into its investment philosophy by proactively seeking market-rate, fossil fuel free bonds that positively contribute to economic and...

Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Products

Guayaki started in 1996 with the goal of making organic, fair-trade yerba mate the mainstream beverage and prove that a company can be profitable while operating sustainably. Guayaki sells a variety of Yerba Mate products including tea and carbonated beverages. It pays farmers a premium for yerba grown under trees...

Hope Federal Credit Union

HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute) provides financial services; aggregates resources; and engages in advocacy to mitigate the extent to which factors such as race, gender, birthplace and wealth limit one’s ability to prosper. Since 1994, HOPE has generated more than $2.9 billion in financing...

Impax New Energy Investors II

Impax is a London-based asset management firm founded in 1994 that invests in the development of renewable energy and related technologies. The New Energy Investors II Limited Partnership makes investments in renewable power generation projects and companies in Europe. The LP will specifically target companies focused on power generation through...

Lyme Forest Fund LP

Lyme Timber Company is a private timberland investment management organization that focuses on the acquisition and sustainable management of lands with unique conservation values. It was founded in 1976 and the current portfolio includes 650, 000 acres located throughout the United States.

MicroVest Short Duration Fund

MicroVest is an asset management firm dedicated to applying a commercial framework to investing in unbanked and under-served markets. They focus on a sustainable investment process that provides private capital to low-income financial institutions. The MicroVest Short Duration Fund provides short and medium debt financing to low-income finance institutions (LIFIs),...

Renewal3 LP

Renewal Funds is a mission venture capital firm investing in early growth stage companies in Canada and the United States. It adds value for entrepreneurs through capital, networks and expertise. The firm delivers above-market returns for their partners while catalyzing positive social and environmental change.  

SJF Ventures Fund IV

SJF is an expansion-stage venture capital firm focused across the United States in six sectors: clean energy and climate change mitigation; asset recovery and recycling; sustainable food and agriculture; education; health and wellness; and quality jobs. The fund focuses on high growth, positive-impact companies.