Impact Investing Grants

A core value of the Compton Foundation is “all-in philanthropy”: aligning all our assets with our mission, not only our grantmaking budget.

In 2011, the Compton Foundation committed to moving 100% of its endowment into mission-aligned investments. We have also made a few grants to help build the impact investing field.

Investing with a gender lens. Beginning with our early involvement with Confluence Philanthropy in 2011, we’ve supported the growing field of gender-lens investing.

In 2016, we supported an early effort in this field called Women Effect.
In 2019, the Foundation made a three-year grant to Criterion Institute, who are leaders in the development of the theory and practice of gender-lens investing.
In 2020, Compton Foundation initiated support in the Gender Smart Investing Summit, an outgrowth of the Women Effect project.

Investing in the creative economy. The “creative economy” includes cultural centers, affordable housing and work spaces for artists, and small artisan businesses.

In 2019, a three-year grant to Upstart Co-Lab supported its work to research the benefits and potential of impact investing in the creative economy. Upstart also partners with a cohort of foundations and other investors to create investment vehicles that actually move money to the field.

Creating new access to capital.

In 2021, the Foundation made an investment in and grant to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s Southern Opportunity and Resilience (SOAR) Fund, a partnership of local and national community finance organizations making loans accessible to small businesses in historically disenfranchised communities across the South and Southeast U.S.

Interested in learning more?

Learn more about “all-in philanthropy” and how we’re making our investments, not just our grantmaking, work toward our mission.