Impact-First Investing
Investment Strategy
A to Z invests 100% of our endowment into impact-first opportunities.
For us, impact comes before financial return. We invest to generate meaningful social outcomes —reducing poverty, creating quality jobs, increasing access to affordable housing and healthcare, and strengthening communities — and we happily accept lower returns in service of creating those outcomes.
We back founders and impact-first funds—both nonprofit and for-profit—that share this commitment. If we are not aligned on impact, we move on as there are already plenty of investors funding profit-first opportunities.
We prefer catalytic opportunities, helping young organizations to ignite their ideas, and management teams who are proximate to the problems they are trying to solve. We invest in low-income communities, where others may hesitate.
Financially, we aim for capital preservation, looking to earn modest returns that help us to be sustainable. We therefore target portfolio returns that can pay the bills (and not more!). This strategy allows us to stay in the game and maximize the amount of long-term good that our capital can create.
Investment Strategy
International
United States
Geographies
Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Haiti.
Impact Themes
Livelihoods and quality healthcare.
Primary SDGs
1 – No Poverty.
3 – Good Health.
8 – Decent Work.
Organization Type
Preference for direct investing in nonprofits or social enterprises. Will also consider innovative impact-first funds.
Capital Type
We primarily focus on impact-first debt opportunities. But we always seek to do what is best for the organization and are unafraid of complexity, so if alternative structures are best, we will happily oblige!
Ticket Sizes
$200K-$1M.
United States
International
Geographies
Across the US.
Impact Themes
Shared prosperity and gender equity.
Primary SDGs
5 – Gender Equality.
8 – Decent Work.
10 – Reduced Inequalities.
Organization Type
Preference for indirect investing via emerging impact-first fund managers, or direct loans to innovative nonprofits. Open to real estate, employee ownership, debt, and everything in between.
Capital Type
We primarily focus on impact-first debt opportunities. But we always seek to do what is best for the organization and are unafraid of complexity, so if alternative structures are best, we will happily oblige!
Ticket Sizes
$200K-$1M.
