Impact investing refers to any type of investment intended and structured to generate both a financial return and a measurable social return. It includes capital deployed by all types of investors, including individuals, banks, and institutions. It is the broadest term used to describe the investment of assets (rather than grants or distributions) for community change.

Impact investments include both investments that are expected to earn a rate of financial return and a rate of social return, with many variations of the ration of return between these two results. How we invest depends on our goals, the source of funds, availability of investment opportunities, and our tolerance for risk.

By investing in ways that generate both a targeted social benefit and a financial return, impact investing tools help foundations make the most of their capital assets. Every community foundation seeks ways to maximize their resources in order to help the communities they serve. CFG invests our assets responsibly to remain dependable for the long term. We strategically grant a portion of our income and principal to charitable organizations making a difference in the Greenville community. Done well, impact investing combines stewardship and impact in ways that can responsibly and collaboratively create both financial and social returns.

In February 2022, CFG made it’s first impact investment by investing $100,000 in the Greenville Housing Fund’s Impact Fund. The Impact Fund was created to jumpstart financing for the development and preservation of sorely-needed affordable and workforce housing in Greenville. Greenville Housing Fund (GHF) will manage and deploy the $5 million pool of funds, which was formed with capital contributed by sixteen local private-sector investors. Seven Donor Advised Funds at CFG joined the Community Foundation in contributing $100,000 to the Impact Fund thereby contributing $800,000 of the $5,000,000 pool of funds.

It is very exciting to give donors the option to invest, rather than simply grant their funds, for a philanthropic purpose. 

To read more about the GHF Impact Fund, click here.  To learn more about how you can become an impact investor with the Community Foundation of Greenville, please contact Bob Morris at (864) 233-5925 or rmorris@cfgreenville.org.