Traditionally, foundations focus on how 5% of their assets – their granting budget – can make a difference in the world. The remaining 95% is invested without consideration to impact. Our team helps SWAHA make informed and timely decisions on granting and impact investments – we educate SWAHA and other foundations on ways to use all foundation assets and their voice to move the needle.

In action, the Align-SWAHA partnership has a unified goal: to make the best use of SWAHA dollars and the SWAHA brand to transform environment, education, and human rights, not just with the 5% from its granting budget but with every tool in its toolbox. We think critically about how investments, grants, words, and life choices are in synchronization and how investment dollars complement and extend grants.

Here is a spotlight of how SWAHA has woven climate solutions through its portfolio: an investment in renewable energy, an investment in sustainable agriculture and a grant towards climate education. We hope other foundations can learn from and replicate this model to their own approach of using the full spectrum of capital to achieve their mission.

MISSION RELATED INVESTMENT

Greenbacker Renewable Energy:
Investing into renewable energy projects in developed markets

Proven solutions that are ready to scale, such as investing directly into wind and solar energy projects, are expected to generate a market-rate return to grow the Foundation’s assets while in alignment to SWAHA’s commitment to environment infrastructure.

Today, renewable energy accounts for only 13% of total energy consumption in the U.S. SWAHA facilitates the energy transition by making investments to utility scale projects that shift the U.S. to a low-carbon economy.

PROGRAM RELATED INVESTMENT

One Acre Fund:
Investing in climate adaptation for base of pyramid populations

Program Related Investments (PRI) are a tool to enhance grant dollars and take on more risk by supporting undersupplied capital markets through low-cost, flexible capital. SWAHA’s PRI dollars exist to include the hard-to-reach and underserved communities as climate change consequences become more severe.

One Acre Fund provides low-cost, patient financing to base-of-pyramid farmers in East Africa to help them adapt to climate change through farmer inputs, farming techniques and infrastructure that prepare communities for climate resiliency.

GRANTS

GirlVentures:
Programs for outdoor learning and climate stewardship for social and emotional learning

Our strategy is to reserve grant dollars for transformational change through high-impact, non-revenue generating solutions to build a better environment tomorrow. SWAHA commits to climate education programs, such as GirlVentures, to build the climate stewards and leaders of tomorrow by offering outdoor experiences to low-income girls. GirlVentures blazes the trail to include a diverse set of girls to experience and learn about the importance of nature and biodiversity through rigorous curriculum coupled with fun field trips.

SWAHA moves the needle by thoughtfully allocating capital where it makes most sense and creates the optimal impact.

How can you move the needle? Get more foundations to think critically and creatively on how to best use their voice, platform and all of their foundation assets to catalyze change.