How can endowed funders make investment decisions that genuinely reflect their values and long-term social goals?
That was the focus of our 16 June Festival of Learning session, Investing with intention: what endowed funders can learn from acting together, where we shared learning from the Endowments Investing Challenge alongside Friends Provident Foundation and members of the Future Generations Panel.
The session kicked off with reflections on why we joined the Endowments Investing Challenge. Jenny Couper, Director of Finance & Resources at Cripplegate Foundation said:
“We wanted to do more on responsible investing and impact investing, but we lacked the skills and confidence to do this ourselves.”
While the Foundation already had negative screens in place and some social investments, Jenny explained that there was a desire to go further:
“We weren’t too pleased with our current investments. We wanted to identify a new provider who were willing to do more on responsible investing, including achieving net zero, and a focus on positive social impact.”
One of the strongest themes to emerge was the power of collaboration. Charlie Crossley from Friends Provident Foundation highlighted how much more can be achieved when funders work together:
“We wouldn’t have got very far on our own. We wouldn’t have got 60 applications. We wouldn’t have been able to assess all the applications.”
At the same time, collaboration requires commitment and leadership:
“It’s good to work together but it’s also good to lead, innovate and take risks,” said Charlie reflecting on feedback received from the Future Generations panel. And ultimately: “All these decisions need to be made at board level.”
A particular highlight was hearing directly from the Future Generations Panel. Lok-Yi reminded us:
“We are a group of young people who don’t come from a financial background, but we care about our future.”
Their questions challenged assumptions and held investment managers to account. As Jaden reflected:
“It was good to see that some were taken aback by our questions.”
Jaden also shared an important challenge for funders:
“As much as we were involved, I would’ve loved to be involved more. There needs to be a lot more communication with the younger generation – not just telling us what we need.”
Charlie noted the value this brought to the process:
“I was surprised by the moral clarity the panel had on war, genocide and big global issues. It added value and added challenge.”
Jenny echoed the importance of accountability:
“They were more willing than anyone to hold people to account. We need to push the industry to do better.”
The session reinforced that mission-aligned investing is not simply about transactions and portfolios. It’s about collaboration, accountability, learning from others, and ensuring young people have a meaningful voice in decisions that will shape the world they inherit.
Stay tuned for more updates and reflections from the Endowments Investing Challenge.
A huge thank you to Sarah Heathwood, Communications Manager at Friends Provident Foundation for expertly facilitating a thoughtful and engaging discussion; Charlie Crossley, Investment Engagement Manager at Friends Provident Foundation; Jenny Couper, Director of Finance & Resources at Cripplegate Foundation, and Jaden and Lok-Yi from the Future Generations Panel.
About the Endowments Investing Challenge
The Endowments Investing Challenge was an open process to look for a new investment manager, with the support and guidance of our Future Generations Panel. Alongside Cripplegate Foundation, five other foundations and charities with their own endowments took part in the challenge.