At the close of 2019, a powerhouse coalition of impact investors rose to create the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing with the goals of building out the field and creating and scaling a high-functioning market that operates with integrity.

TPF was named to reflect a time when impact investing was “tipping from margins to the mainstream,” as even conventional money managers were moving to generate positive social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. The market had also reached critical mass, with the Global Impact Investing Network putting the size at $502 billion across a spectrum of asset classes, sectors, regions and investor types.

While interest in impact investing has certainly been growing, it’s still far from the status quo at foundations, with some 17% of them currently employing the strategy. The debate over the practice raises legitimate questions on the risks and rewards of deploying endowments, but impact investing proponents argue that resistant foundations are not using the full power of their wealth in service of their missions.