What Cultural Institutions Need to Know About Investing for Values and Mission

Cultural institutions across the U.S. face a growing chorus of questions about how they invest the collective $58 billion held in their endowments. The Guide: what cultural institutions need to know about investing for values and mission, from Upstart Co-Lab and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is the first primer on impact investing specifically for executives and trustees of museums and other cultural institutions. A practical road map to impact investing that leverages case studies, data, and insights garnered from across the contemporary cultural and financial landscape, The Guide describes how impact investing can help organizations put diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments into action, and makes the case for investing in the creative economy.

 

The research laid out in The Guide makes the case that cultural institutions can align their money with their values and mission without sacrificing financial return. It provides examples of peer institutions already engaged in impact investing including foundations, universities, and nonprofit organizations as well as cultural institutions including the American Museum of Natural History, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Arts Council England, Brooklyn Museum, California Institute of the Arts, Creative Capital, Field Museum, Louvre Museum, MASS MoCA, Souls Grown Deep Foundation & Community Partnership, and Walters Art Museum. Written accessibly for novices, The Guide provides everything from introductory terminology to step-by-step instructions on how institutions can begin to explore impact investing.