The Tension: Needs vs. Expectations
Assessing impact investing effectiveness, relationship to grantmaking, and emerging models.
Based on 20 foundation interviews, 10 years of private foundation tax return data, and expert insights.
Impact investing has grown 300% since 2012, reaching $17.1 trillion (30% of all U.S. professionally managed assets). Investors seek returns, while communities need sustainable, long-term solutions.
Opportunity: A new ecosystem—built on shared vision, accountability, and collaboration—can align financial incentives with real impact.
We are bridging expectations requires trust, transparency, and redefining
success beyond financial metrics.
Balancing financial returns with real community needs. We identified key insights on governance, structure, collective impact, and the evolving role of funding in social change.
Closeness fuels empathy: Impact is
strongest when decision-makers
engage directly with communities.
Co-existence over integration: Financial investment and social impact thrive when they inform each other through continuous feedback loops.
Beyond numbers: Acknowledging both
logic and emotion in investment decisions.
Trust as currency: Building lasting
relationships sustains long-term impact.
The Power of Feedback & Trust
Rethinking Education & Legacy
Local proximity matters—being present fosters deeper understanding, stronger connections, and more effective solutions.
Impact investing isn’t just about money—it’s about connection, communication, and long-term vision.A new lens on financial
education:
Teaching impact investing is a tool for long-term change.
Investing in future generations by fostering sustainable, scalable solutions. Shifting from short-term gains into lasting impact.
RPA: Current State of Impact Investing
The best data-driven measure of the effect of impact investing on grantmaking is through Program Related Investments – impact investments allowed to count towards a private foundation’s 5% required payout.
80%
$20M+ Fdns Don't Count PRs towards 5% Payout
21%
Of Payouts are PRs for $20M+ Fdns
154
$18+ Fdns use PRs
77
$18+ Fdns Make No PRs
1/3
$18+ Funds Make No PRs
6+
$18+ Funds Make MRs. Not PRs
Phase 2: Evolving Investment
Strategies & Innovations
Of all $20M+ foundations, 4 out of 5 foundations do not count PRIs towards their payout – indicating that grant budgets remain mostly unaffected. Of those making PRIs, only 20% of total payouts PRIs.
As Abundance Circle moves into Phase 2, we explore financial innovations that have reshaped the impact landscape. From Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to revenue-based financing models, the field has matured, offering a diverse set of products that merge financial returns with social good. This next phase will focus on developing prototypes that integrate these tools effectively to drive long-term impact.
Seeking systemic transformation of
investment models where financial and impact returns coexist
Economic Empowerment, Human and Planetary Health, & Inclusive Leadership