Public Policy
The Public Policy grantmaking area focuses on field building work related to policy development, advocacy, and implementation.
Announcements:
2023 Grant Cycle
Americans for Financial Reform (AFR)
AFR was awarded a grant to engage with policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders to ensure the SEC’s human capital management disclosures rule and the related SEC ESG funds disclosures and names rules are finalized and incorporated into prudent decision-making.
Notable outputs: In progress
Center for American Progress (CAP)
CAP was awarded a grant to advocate for strong SEC action on climate disclosures, which will, in turn, form the basis for regulation on other ESG topics.
Notable outputs: In progress
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN)
OFN was awarded a grant to expand its existing advocacy efforts to attract new public and private sector capital to CDFIs and to develop research that will drive its public policy work.
Notable outputs: In progress
Pacific Community Ventures (PCV)
PCV was awarded a grant to advocate for relevant changes to federal program and agencies’ rules and regulations to ensure greater capital flows to historically underserved communities, particularly BIPOC communities.
Notable outputs: In progress
Prosperity Now
Prosperity Now was awarded a grant to engage and empower community advocates by developing an advocacy toolkit and convening stakeholders to inform and influence the creation, adoption, and implementation of more effective federal policies to advance economic equity for low-income and BIPOC communities through inclusive entrepreneurship.
Notable outputs: In progress
2022 Grant Cycle
Americans for Financial Reform (AFR)
AFR was awarded a grant to engage the SEC and Congress on regulatory changes and legislation that would reform AMFD to include consideration of impact factors in investment and stewardship decisions.
Notable outputs: In progress
Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
PRI was awarded a grant to work on developing and promoting policy recommendations to advance the consideration of “real world” impact in fiduciary duties.
Notable outputs: In progress
The Shareholder Commons (TSC)
TSC was awarded a grant to engage with SEC regulatory proposals and relevant shareholder resolutions to expand AMFD to include consideration of systemic risk factors.
Notable outputs: In progress
2021 Grant Cycle
B Lab
B Lab was awarded a grant to develop trainings and educational resources needed to prepare B Corp business leaders to engage in direct policy advocacy.
Notable outputs: In progress
Opportunity Alabama (OPAL)
Opportunity Alabama (OPAL) was awarded a grant to develop and disseminate a report for federal policymakers on how to align the incentives and requirements of community investment programs with local communities’ assessments of their own needs.
Notable outputs: In progress
Pacific Community Ventures (PCV)
Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) was awarded a grant to develop and promote policy changes in order to recenter racial and economic justice within the CDFI industry.
Notable outputs: In progress
Prosperity Now
Public Private Strategies Institute (PPSI)
Urban Institute
Prosperity Now was awarded a grant to organize anti-poverty advocates around a set of federal policy recommendations to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems and increase the flow of capital to support entrepreneurs of color.
Notable outputs: In progress
Public Private Strategies Institute (PPSI) was awarded a grant to expand on Reimagine Main Street’s mission to develop a data tool that can be used to systematically track private and public fund flows to Black-owned businesses across the country.
Notable outputs: In progress
The Urban Institute was awarded a grant to develop and disseminate policy recommendations for expanding the definition of fiduciary duty for charitable endowments.
Notable outputs: In progress
2020 Grant Cycle
B Lab
B Lab was awarded a grant to continue to advocate for economic systems change by finalizing and disseminating its white paper on new fiduciary standards that would mandate increased accountability and transparency into the impact on key stakeholders of business operations and institutional investment decisions.
Notable outputs:
Policy proposal - "From Shareholder Primacy to Stakeholder Capitalism"
Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) was awarded a grant to host a series of roundtable discussions and develop a comprehensive policy brief with actionable recommendations for lawmakers and officials on how to foster micro, small, and medium enterprises through development finance strategies.
Notable outputs:
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN)
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) was awarded a grant to develop a new tax policy proposal to incentivize private investment in community development financial institutions (CDFIs).
Notable outputs: In progress
Pacific Community Ventures (PCV)
Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) was awarded a grant to publish a white paper on promising impact investing policy ideas that advance quality jobs and address inequality in the U.S. – helping to build back better from COVID-19.
Notable outputs:
PRI Association
PRI Association was awarded a grant to develop and advocate for policy recommendations to align financial regulation with greater consideration of impact in investment processes.
Notable outputs:
PRI Americas Digital Forum: A Legal Framework for Impact (November 2020)
Fiduciary Duty in 21st Century California Roadmap (September 2020)
How Government and Investors Can Deliver Net-Zero in the US (August 2020)
Stockbridge Advisors
Stockbridge Advisors was awarded a grant to develop the initial chapters of a “desktop manual,” a concise guide to help policymakers embed principles of impact across initiatives and understand the "how" and "why" behind the impact they seek.
Notable outputs:
Desktop Manual for Impact Policymakers (March 2021)
Sorenson Impact Center
The Sorenson Impact Center, housed at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business, was awarded a grant to research a range of potential policy priorities—from reform of the Community Reinvestment Act to tax incentives that promote patient capital—to unlock catalytic capital in the impact investing market and refine the most promising solutions into a series of products tailored to policymakers.
Notable outputs:
A series of white papers - Policy Priorities to Unlock Catalytic Capital
Urban Institute
The Urban Institute was awarded a grant to develop a series of white papers focused on explaining impact investing to policymakers, contextualizing impact investing within current critiques of philanthropy, and positioning impact investing as a component of new wealth strategies.
Notable outputs: