The Ruth Mott Foundation has launched a journey into impact investing.
We are taking this opportunity to use more of our resources beyond traditional grantmaking in service of our mission to advocate, stimulate, and support community vitality in Flint.
Our primary objective is to fund promising investments to generate financial and social returns that move north Flint residents’ priorities forward and nurture our long-term commitment to the community. Toward this end, we will deploy an initial $5 million into Program Related Investments and Mission Related Investments that have high social returns that benefit Flint and real financial returns that are at or below the market rate. The $5 million set aside for impact investing is in addition to and will not reduce our annual grantmaking budget.
We will use impact investing—in addition to Applewood, convening, community engagement, and grantmaking—to advance racial equity and pursue our goal to help north Flint residents create and sustain opportunities to contribute and thrive. Impact investing is most commonly defined as investing into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. (Global Impact Investing Network)
We will employ a variety of financing tools in our impact investing activities, including, but not limited to, equity investments, loans, guarantees, and fund investments. The Foundation also employs other methods of values-aligned investing, including positive and negative screening for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
Impact Investing Guidelines
We believe in the power of community engagement, putting the people we serve at the center of the work.
Geography
We seek to fund investments with targeted impact in north Flint or investments within the local systems or region that would help north Flint to thrive.
Measurable Impact
The ideal impact investment is one that might not be financed on acceptable terms without us and works in concert with our grantmaking to achieve better outcomes than grantmaking alone.
Racial Equity
We work to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in everything we do. We seek to partner with entities that share this core value.
Alignment
Impact investment proposals should address at least one of the priorities identified by north Flint residents: youth, public safety, economic opportunity, or neighborhoods.
Talk to Us
If you believe your proposal is a good fit for the Ruth Mott Foundation, the first step is to fill out the contact form below to speak with a member of our team about the impact investment online application process. The online application asks for information about the organization or business entity, including but not limited to: mission and financials, leadership staff, prior experience, the proposed investment opportunity and revenue model, tax forms, potential outcomes, and people served.
Please give us three business days to respond to inquiries.
"*" indicates required fields
Impact Investments
Evergreen Community Development Initiative
2022 | $302,554
A program-related investment in the form of a consolidated loan to Evergreen Community Development Initiative, which is the entity that operates the Flint Development Center. The Foundation’s investment will be used on behalf of the Flint Development Center to refinance and consolidate three existing loans related to the acquisition of the property and construction. The Flint Development Center is a neighborhood hub in north Flint that hosts a variety of youth development, community health, and civic engagement programs.
ELGA Credit Union
2023 | $1,000,000
A program-related investment to ELGA Credit Union, a Community Development Financial Institution with a low-income designation and with locations in the city of Flint. The $1,000,000 deposit in a money market account will be used by ELGA to expand its loan program supporting small businesses and homebuyers in the Foundation’s focus area of north Flint.