Impact Investing

Impact investing, or mission-related investing, is a growing movement in philanthropy defined as an investment activity that intends to generate positive social and financial returns. The process enables foundations to unlock and deploy a greater share of their capital to advance their mission in an innovative way, beyond just grantmaking.

Saginaw Community Foundation’s Board of Directors has embarked on a local impact investing initiative. We are setting aside 2% of our unrestricted assets to invest in promising local opportunities that promote our mission across Saginaw County. For example, potential impact investment opportunities that Saginaw Community Foundation may consider are: economic development and job growth, affordable housing, financial security for vulnerable families, education, food security, and the environment. It is expected that the investment or investments would generate a financial return for Saginaw Community Foundation over a period of time. Read our Policy on Investing for Community Impact (PDF) for complete details.

Saginaw Community Foundation will consider investment opportunities on a case-by-case basis. We hope that this new investment initiative will help to build a strong impact investment infrastructure and opportunities in our community for years to come.

Letters of Interest

Organizations or individuals with potential opportunities or current projects with an interest in seeking investments from Saginaw Community Foundation should submit a Letter of Interest. The letter should contain the following:

• Contact information
• Brief project overview including proposed project title and timeline
• Statement of the need and the expected social impact of the project
• Investment request with amount, proposed terms (loan or equity position), and use of the funds
• Total project budget or amount being raised
• Other key investors/partners in the project

Upon review of Letters of Interest, the Investment Committee will determine the viability of the proposal. If the project is deemed acceptable by the Investment Committee, an Implementation Committee for the proposed project will be created.

Letters of Interest should be submitted to Lori TenEyck, director of finance, via email at lori@saginawfoundation.org or mail to Saginaw Community Foundation, 1 Tuscola St., Suite 100B, Saginaw, MI 48607.

For more information on our Impact Investing initiative, contact Lori TenEyck at (989) 755-0545 or via email.