ENHANCING THE IMPACT MANAGEMENT PROCESS

The Surdna Foundation is a 100 year-old charitable organization
with an endowment of over $1 billion, roughly $170 million of which
is allocated to impact investing in racial equity, climate justice, and
narrative change. In order to measure the particular outcomes and
social benefits that result from investments in its impact portfolio
and align them more closely to its goals, Surdna’s impact investing
team engaged a Capstone team to conduct broad field research to
understand the capabilities of fund managers and shared challenges
within the industry. The team focused on developing tools to help
Surdna become more strategic in selecting new investments and
understanding how those investments can create social change.
The team provided Surdna with two reports: the first details best
practices from the industry and looks critically at solutions for
organizational stumbling blocks, and the second provides targeted
recommendations on communication and implementation.