Grants & Mission Investments

Mission Investing

We seek to expand the impact of our grantmaking by making loans and equity investments to further our programmatic goals.

In an evolving world with complex social and environmental challenges, the nonprofit, public, and private sectors all have important roles to play. While grantmaking is the Foundation’s primary tool for advancing our mission, mission investing can help organizations that are driving social and environmental change seize time-sensitive and higher-risk opportunities, tackle large-scale projects, attract new sources of capital, and scale efforts for maximum impact.

We have dedicated up to $250 million of our endowment for mission investments – including loans and equity investments – which serve as a flexible tool for non-profit and for-profit organizations to tackle the world’s most pressing problems, sometimes on a much larger scale than we are able to do with grants alone. As an impact-first investor, the highest return we seek is social and environmental impact to advance our grantmaking strategies.

Our Investment

760M

Total investments by dollar amount, approved since inception

290

Total number of investments, approved since inception

Programmatic Alignment

We pursue investments that connect deeply with the issues our founders cared about most: improving the lives of children, enabling the creative pursuit of science, advancing reproductive health, and conserving and restoring the earth’s natural systems.

Preservation of Capital

Our mission investing is designed to maximize impact while maintaining a permanent pool of capital for future projects.

Our People

Susan Phinney Silver

Mission Investing Director

Madeline Wu

Mission Investing Deputy Director

Lily Liang

Mission Investing Operations Manager

How to Get Support

Please review the program area you are interested in to see if your project aligns with a program’s strategy. In so, please follow the directions for submitting a funding request to the appropriate program.