Together 25 Webinar: Introduction to Impact Investing for Foundations

Who?

Anyone involved with foundations i.e. staff, board member, volunteer, and partners. 

What? | Series and Program

2024 marks PFC’s 25th Anniversary and our national conference in Ottawa on September 23-25th! In anticipation of philanthropy coming TOGETHER later this year, throughout the year we will be showcasing important conversations across our conference program streams: Fundamentals, Trends & Tensions, and Collaboration.   

Our first stream, Fundamentals, offers practical educational sessions that range from introductory (101) to technical (201) on topics including governance, grantmaking, investing, data, regulation, government relations, equity, research and more.  

Inaugural Session

We are delighted to host a webinar on Introduction to Impact Investing for Foundations on January 23 to kick of this series. Join us as we tap into the knowledge of our network and elevate important conversations for our sector to work better, together. 

This is an introductory session on the basics of impact investing – what it is, what it is not, and how foundations use impact investing as a strategy to align their assets with their mission.   

Investing with the intention to support positive outcomes is a prudent, tested approach that can strengthen foundations while bettering the world. Today, more and more community and private foundations are using their endowed assets to create that positive change. They are, for example, providing loans to local social enterprises, investing in green bonds and climate funds and making direct investments focused on reconciliation.  

About our Speakers 

• Edmund Piro, McConnell Foundation‘s Chief Investment Officer, will walk us through their journey to build a 100% impact portfolio by 2028. Learn more about their journey in this recent report: Impact Investing Report 2022 – Towards 100% Impact – McConnell Foundation 
  
  Edmund is responsible for oversight and strategy initiatives for the Foundation’s endowment assets, including its recently announced 100% impact investment commitment. Edmund has 15+ years of experience in the investment industry since earning a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. He is a CFA charterholder and completed sustainable investment certificates at both Concordia University (SIPC) and Oxford University (SFFC). Edmund is Chair of the Board at the Loyola High School Foundation, a member of the Terry Fox Foundation Investment Committee and volunteers with various organizations in his community.

• Kelly Gauthier, Rally Assets‘ President, will provide practical advice for implementing impact investing at your foundation by animating the impact investing guidebook “Enhancing Community and Social Benefit by Investing for Impact: a Guidebook for Canadian Foundations” which was developed in 2023.
  
  Kelly is responsible for Rally’s day-to-day operations and client relationships. She leads the team and manages the business to enable Rally to grow. Kelly anchors Rally’s impact thought leadership both internally and externally. For two decades she has helped clients create impactful portfolios. She has worked with a range of asset owners to design and implement their approach to responsible and impact investing, strategically aligning their investment and portfolio strategies with positive outcomes for people and the planet. Before joining Rally in 2012, Kelly was with Mercer in the responsible investing team. Kelly is a board member of the Responsible Investment Association and an Investment Committee member for Coralus’ Venture Fund.

Learning Outcomes 

• Our discussion will include how impact investing as an investment strategy utilizes traditional investment techniques – for example, examining risk tolerance, return expectations, asset mix, liquidity and investment concentration – when creating investment policies, assessing investments and constructing and managing a portfolio.  
• We will also learn about the unique aspects of impact investing, such as how decisions are made through the lens of the positive impact or change one is trying to create.  And how foundations choose impact investments based on returns – for example some offer concessionary returns, that is, below-market returns – while many impact investors are looking to achieve market-rate returns.    

When?

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 3 PM AT / 2 PM ET / 1 PM CT / 12 PM MT / 11 AM PT

Where?

Online

How?

Thank you for registering in advance here.