Select the topic that you're interested in learning more about and browse through the list of curated resources. If you're not sure where to start, take a look at the Intentionally Designed Endowment Roadmap - this tool will provide a guided tour of strategies and point you to the appropriate resource pages to support learning and action.
Overviews and Guides
General Sustainable Investing
Answer the question "What is Sustainable Investing?" and learn about general sustainable investing topics
Financial Performance
Can sustainable investments achieve performance objectives? Click here for the best evidence on financial performance.
Fiduciary Duty
Can sustainable investments meet fiduciary requirements of care and diligence? This page has resources on the responsibilities of Board members and Investment Committees.
What Are Other Endowments Doing?
Learn how higher education endowments are committing to sustainability in this rich library of peer examples, organized by activity and by school.
Resources From IEN
Read all resources written collaboratively by network members and published by The Intentional Endowments Network on topics including fiduciary duty, financial performance, clean energy, and endowment case studies
Roadmap for Endowments
The roadmap guides investors through key steps toward creating intentionally designed endowments.
Learn About Endowments
Learn more about how endowments operate
State of the Field
Tracking the trends in the field to understand which steps endowments are taking to align their investments with their institutional goals
Organizations in Our Field
Learn more about organizations that provide tools, research, support, events, and opportunities for action in the field of sustainable investing and endowment management.
Impact Areas
What is Sustainability?
What do we mean by "sustainability?" Learn about frameworks to define social and environmental sustainability, including with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Sustainable Capitalism
Learn more about how capitalism is being reimagined
Social Equity Investing
Address systemic social risks in your portfolio to enhance your investment decision-making process
Climate Solutions Investing
Addressing climate risk and leveraging opportunities to invest in creating a low carbon, sustainable economy
Strategies and Stakeholders
Shareholder Engagement
Address material investment risks, improve corporate sustainability performance and support policies that move society towards sustainability through proxy voting, engaging in dialogue with companies held in the portfolio, filing or co-filing shareholder resolutions, and signing on to public investor letters or statements
Sustainable Curriculum and Student Led Funds
Student-managed funds promote student leadership, advance education and real-world training, and enhance the ability of all graduates to drive sustainability solutions throughout their careers
Retirement Resources
Incorporating ESG options into faculty/staff retirement plans
Impact Management
Track, manage and measure the impact of your investments
Community Investing
Investing in the local economies our universities call home
Racial Equity Investing
Investing to advance racial equity and narrowing the economic disparities for communities of color
Gender Lens Investing
Investing in gender diversity and closing the gender gap
Net Zero Endowments
Endowments committing to transition the investment portfolio to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050
ESG Integration
Incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to reduce risk and enhance returns
Divestment
Learn about strategies for risk-based or values-based divestment
Tools and Examples
Sample Investment Policy Statements
Sample of college and university endowment investment policy statements
Working with Consultants
Read tips for working effectively with an investment consultant
Diverse Asset Managers
Use these guides, tools, sample policies, and directories to increase the diversity of the asset managers in your portfolio
Committee on Investor Responsibility
Learn about what a Committee on Investor Responsibility is and does, best practices, and examples from colleges/universities that have established one
Dialogue
View resources on:
Due Diligence on Asset Managers
How can you select asset managers who align with your investment policies?
Green Revolving Loan Funds
Learn about this tool for investing in campus sustainability.