NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, July 15, 2019

By Bernice Napach

When you think of donor advised-funds or sustainable investing, you probably don’t think of a 1,600% gain in a single investment. But that’s exactly what happened for investors in ImpactAssets’ donor-advised fund.

Its Giving Fund was an early investor in Beyond Meat, the maker of plant-based meat substitutes, through its Custom Investment program, providing it access to the most successful inital public offering year-to-date with the biggest first-day gains since at least 2008. Its early investment in Beyond Meat of $1.1 million turned into $16.9 million by the close of trading on the IPO’s opening day.

That investment exemplifies the Giving Fund’s dual purpose: to provide donations to philanthropic organizations based on investor preferences while also investing in assets to have a social impact.

Photo courtesy of fsecart.