Impact Investing at the Boston Foundation
Opportunities for Boston Foundation donors
The Impact Pool
Your impact opportunity begins the moment you set up at donor advised fund. Fund advisors can put some or all of their fund's balance in our Impact Pool, a diversified investment pool that seeks to support initiatives such as affordable housing, education and energy efficiency, with the goal of generating a positive social impact on a global scale and an eye toward supporting our local community.
The fund allows donors to grow their future grantmaking balance while also lifting up companies with strong corporate governance and shareholder advocacy.
Recoverable Grants Program
Open exclusively to Boston Foundation fundholders, our Recoverable Grants program lets donors align their philanthropic capital with their values. The Foundation offers a number of thematic portfolios that allow donors to make recoverable grants that can be repaid and redeployed for maximum impact. Minimum investment required.
In addition, we work with a number of Boston and New England-based impact investing opportunities, funds that are able to leverage impact investment dollars to provide a potential return for donors while addressing some of the region's most pressing problems.
Impact Partnerships with Donors
In addition to our offerings for donors, the Boston Foundation partners with donors in a number of custom impact investing efforts - from our Business Equity Fund to a series of program-related investments in housing and economic development, and many more. Even donors who do not take part in these efforts benefit from our developed expertise and understanding of the multiple dimensions of impact investments.
Featured Partnership: Business Equity Fund
The Business Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation is designed to address longstanding barriers to growth financing and technical assistance that have historically limited opportunity for entrepreneurs of color. In partnership with institutional and individual donors, the Fund has raised millions of dollars in patient capital for established Black- and Latinx-led businesses, empowering them to expand, hire and become stronger anchors of their communities.
The Fund is overseen by an experienced Investment Committee and works in partnership with organizations like the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Foundation for Business Equity to provide participants with mentoring, networks and advisory services to maximize their success.