IMPACT INVESTMENTS FOR SOCIAL AND MISSION-RELATED IMPACT
The Gates Family Foundation takes a holistic view of the management and deployment of our assets and engages in multiple forms of investing to balance our perpetual mandate with opportunities to maximize our impact and grow the percentage of our assets that are aligned with our mission.
As of 2023, Gates Family Foundation committed more than $69 million in impact investments since we began making mission-aligned investments in 2014 and impact investment commitments currently account for 12 percent of our endowment.
Our impact investments take three different forms:
Mission-Related Investments
Mission-related investments (MRIs) commit a portion of the Foundation’s endowment capital into investments with double-bottom line return expectations of impact returns alongside market-rate financial returns. The Foundation selects MRI investments that meet financial, market, and risk criteria in addition impact objectives and typically invests in private equity strategies. Examples of current investments include early-stage education technology ventures funds, and private equity funds focused on affordable housing as well as natural resource and land conservation.
The Foundation prioritizes investments that are highly relevant to our four core areas of focus, and are Colorado-focused. The Foundation targets 30 percent of all new private equity investments as mission-aligned opportunities.
Program-Related Investments
Program-related investments (PRIs) are impact-first investments structured to achieve below-market rate returns. PRIs can be utilized in collaboration with a grant strategy or when the scale of impact cannot be achieved solely through a grant-based strategy. An example of this is a low-interest loan that supports affordable housing or increases economic opportunity for underserved communities.
The Foundation will consider PRIs when the opportunity is focused on and within Colorado communities and in alignment with our four focus areas. We use various strategies including lines of credit, pay for success models, concessionary private equity, certificates of deposit, loan guarantees and loans. The typical PRI ranges from $250,000 to $1,000,0000, with repayment terms between 3 and 10 years and rates between 0-4 percent.
All PRIs are evaluated and approved on an individual basis and are sized and underwritten with the expectation of a complete return of capital. We consider PRIs as commitments towards impact that are above and beyond our grant commitments and can commit up to 6 percent of the value of the Foundation’s endowment in the form of PRIs.
Socially Responsible Investments and Operations
The Foundation tracks environmental, social and governance (ESG), diversity and equity, and carbon metrics across our public equity portfolio. We also practice socially responsible operations (SRO) by intentionally partnering with vendors and partners who share our values of community service and commitment to Colorado.
Impact Investments Team
Thomas A. Gougeon
President
Leslie Sabin
Vice President for Finance, Administration, and Impact Investing
If you are interested in learning more about both program-related and mission-related investments, the Mission Investors Exchange and Confluence Philanthropy are good resources. Both are associations of foundations and other philanthropic organizations that use PRIs and MRIs to accomplish their philanthropic goals. The associations provide a forum for networking, professional development, collaboration, and outreach to funders, including those new to the PRI, MRI, and social investing field.
Finally, also in 2023 a total of $410,956 previously committed by Gates to the 
A total of $1,110,956 committed to the 
In 2019, the Community Development program committed $932,500 in strategic grants to 13 organizations and $465,000 in responsive capital grants to 12 organizations. New impact investments supporting vibrant communities in 2019 included a $500,000 MRI to 
Our Focus Landscapes initiative, a key element of our Natural Resources program, underwent a comprehensive review, revision, and re-launch in 2019. This initiative was launched in 2011 to help Colorado achieve landscape-scale conservation through the protection of private lands in specific geographies. A great deal of progress was made in North Park, southeast Colorado, and the San Luis Valley, resulting in more than 200,000 acres of farm and ranch lands conserved, along with their associated ecological values. The strategic review process was done in close partnership with the land trust organizations representing those geographies, providing lessons-learned and an exploration of emerging opportunities. The revised Focus Landscapes initiative will first focus on two geographies: 