Six investor networks convened members and board leadership to discuss innovative efforts to invest with a racial equity lens during the Racial Equity Investing Leadership Summit

New York, New York – May 11, 2023 – American Sustainable Business Network, Confluence Philanthropy, The ImPact, Impact Capital Managers, Intentional Endowments Network, and Toniic convened a group of 60 members and board leadership from across their networks to discuss racial equity in investing. The six networks together represent a global community of private, public, and community foundations, family offices, funds, high net-wealth individuals, investment advisors, companies, university endowments, and other investors. 

This effort represents the first time these networks have gathered their members together with shared goals, including: 1) to promote greater cohesion across the investment industry for racial equity lens investing, and 2) to support their respective members in learning, developing, and deepening their racial equity investing practices, with a broader and deeper network of support. The collective effort will be known as the Racial Equity Collaborative.

The Collaborative’s founding network partners first came together in support of the Belonging Pledge – a call to action for racial equity in the investment industry – giving their respective members the opportunity to sign on. The pledge was launched in June 2020 by Confluence Philanthropy members in response to the brutal death of George Floyd by police and the ensuing racial justice protests. The Belonging Pledge has now grown to include over 185 signatories representing $1.91 trillion in assets under management.

In May 2023, the six investor networks convened their first Racial Equity Investing Leadership Summit, generously hosted by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in New York City, to discuss the state of racial equity lens investing across the industry and to foster greater cohesion. Leadership from each of the networks reaffirmed their commitment to advancing racial equity and acknowledged the importance of investor collaboration when it comes to addressing systemic challenges like racial inequity within the financial ecosystem.

Discussions throughout the day focused on evidence-based strategies to close the racial wealth gap, innovative tools such as revenue-based finance, and the importance of industry leaders aligning on a collective message and shared goals. Following the Summit, the six networks affirmed their support of an emerging industry-wide definition of “racial equity lens investing” that describes the practice as a lens that can be applied across all asset classes in a portfolio. Industry alignment on this orientation is a big step forward in increasing the relevance of investing for racial equity beyond thematic approaches. 

“Racial equity lens investing is about creating opportunities for racially underrepresented investment managers to have equal consideration in the investment process. Ultimately, this makes business more competitive for everyone which increases the strength of companies and ultimately capital markets. This investment perspective is not just about doing what’s equitable but it’s about doing what’s best – for business,” said Dana Lanza, CEO of Confluence Philanthropy. 

“Each network brings its own unique demographic and capabilities, yet the goal of racial equity in investing is too great for any of our networks alone to achieve, making this a perfect opportunity to collaborate,” said Adam Bendell, CEO of Toniic. 

“Progress to advance racial equity – even in our own well-intentioned, impact-investing space – has been frustratingly slow. Acting alone, our tendency is to focus on our own slice of the market, see challenges from a particular vantage point, and incubate solutions in silos. The Racial Equity Collaborative gives us a platform to pressure-test ideas, collaborate on and amplify effective strategies, and hold ourselves and our members accountable to real (and faster) progress,” said Marieke Spence, Executive Director of Impact Capital Managers. 

"Increasingly, endowments have been coming to appreciate the importance of considering racial equity across the investment process – from internal DEI practices, to manager selection, to the impacts of the activities of underlying investments. But these are complex and systemic issues, and there is great value to our members at IEN in sharing with and learning from the members of the other organizations in the Collaborative," said Georges Dyer, Executive Director of the Intentional Endowments Network. 

With support from their respective membership bases, the group plans to build a multiyear work plan to deepen their collaboration and accelerate their commitment to diversifying the impact investing industry and to advancing racial equity across the capital markets.

About the Partners

About American Sustainable Business Network: American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) is a movement builder in partnership with the business and investor community. ASBN develops and advocates solutions for policymakers, business leaders, and investors that support an equitable, regenerative, and just economy that benefits all – people and planet. As a multi-issue, membership organization advocating on behalf of every business sector, size, and geography, ASBN and its association members collectively represent over 250,000 businesses across their networks. ASBN was founded through the merger of the American Sustainable Business Council and Social Venture Circle.

About Confluence Philanthropy: Confluence Philanthropy’s mission is to transform the practice of investing by aligning capital with our community’s values of sustainability, equity, and justice. We support and catalyze a membership network of over 260 private, public, and community foundations; family offices; individual donors; and their values-aligned investment advisors representing more than $96B in philanthropic assets under management, and over $3.5T in combined managed capital.

About The ImPact: The ImPact is a global membership community of families committed to aligning their assets with their values, consisting of 80+ member families from 20+ countries on 5 continents. Their purpose is to improve the probability and pace of solving social and environmental problems by increasing the flow of capital to investments that generate measurable impact.

About Impact Capital Managers: The Impact Capital Managers (ICM) mission is to accelerate the performance of its members and to scale the private capital impact investing marketplace with integrity and authenticity. ICM accomplishes this through its membership association – which today includes 115+ funds representing more than $70B in impact-focused capital, deployed across 1500+ portfolio companies – and through field-building initiatives in collaboration with the affiliated ICM Institute. 

About Intentional Endowments Network: The Intentional Endowments Network is a non-profit, peer-learning network advancing intentionally designed endowments – those that seek to enhance financial performance by making investments that advance an equitable, low carbon, and regenerative economy. Working closely with leading organizations, the network engages leaders and key stakeholders from higher education, foundations, business, and nonprofits. It provides opportunities for learning and education, peer networking, convening, thought leadership and information exchange around a variety of strategies (e.g., ESG integration, impact investing, and shareholder engagement).

About Toniic: Toniic is a global community of asset owners seeking deeper positive net impact across the spectrum of capital. Their members consist of more than 500 high net-wealth individuals as well as family office and foundation asset owners who are deepening their impact across their portfolios and lives in more than 25 countries around the world.

Contact:

Confluence Philanthropy serves as the fiscal sponsor of the Racial Equity Collaborative. For more information contact: [email protected]