Seattle Foundation announces a restructured Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Pool, managed by OpenInvest, which aligns with the three pillars of Seattle Foundation’s Blueprint for Impact: A Just Democracy, Equitable Economy, Resilient Environment.
By Allison Parker, managing director, philanthropy strategies, and Alyssa Farber, interimChief Financial Operating Officer
We’re excited to announce a restructured Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Pool, managed by OpenInvest, which aligns with the three pillars of Seattle Foundation’s Blueprint for Impact: A Just Democracy, Equitable Economy, Resilient Environment. The SRI Pool previously available to Seattle Foundation philanthropists was a mix of various ESG (environmental, social, governance) drivers with less clear impact investment goals.
“To realize the full promise of our region, these three pillars of the Blueprint for Impact must be achieved and sustained to create a thriving and equitable region, driven by the people and communities of this place,” says Kris Hermanns, Chief Impact Officer.
We have consistently heard from philanthropists that they want their donor advised funds invested in an impactful manner until those assets are distributed as grants. Selecting the new SRI Pool is one way* to achieve that outcome.
The SRI pool previously available to Seattle Foundation philanthropists had underlying management fees of 0.93%. This will drop to 0.30% in the new pool, a significant savings to donors. The new, passively managed SRI Pool’s 70/30 structure will look to mimic a blended index (70% MSCI ACWI and 30% Barclays Aggregate). To learn more about the investments within the pool, please review the portfolio summary. Information about Seattle Foundation’s investment governance, performance, options, and manager diversity is available here.
Philanthropists with a Seattle Foundation donor advised fund—community philanthropy fund, family foundation, or corporate foundation—that is not endowed are invited to recommend a change of investment pool. The full fund balance will be moved; we are not able to split funds between two or more investment pools.
To participate in the SRI pool, please complete this form no later than March 31 and submit to Alex Cratsenberg. Should you miss this deadline, the next opportunity for philanthropists to make a change to their investment pool is over the summer with a deadline of August 31, 2021.
*Other options for donor advised investment include Seattle Foundation’s suite of curated impact investments, such as the Evergreen Impact Housing Fund and Community Investment Guarantee Pool, which will be made available to philanthropists later this spring.