Creating forecasts in a world that regularly surprises remains humbling. March of 2020 brought COVID, while February of 2022 had Russia unexpectedly invading Ukraine. And March 2023 saw unanticipated—though perfectly logical—stressors on regional and local banks in...
The Gates Family Foundation, a $500M private family foundation based in Denver, Colorado, commissioned Syntrinsic to conduct a landscape scan of the foundation community’s engagement in impact investing. This scan represents one of the tools that the Foundation’s...
Many institutional investment advisors, including Syntrinsic, anticipate lower capital market returns over the next decade due to the long-term economic ramifications of the pandemic. With these lower return expectations, many nonprofit organizations are wrestling...
The events of the last few months with the shootings of unarmed black men and a woman and the extreme health crisis leading to continued economic disparity for women and people of color (higher unemployment rates1 and intensifying income inequality2) have resurfaced...
Nonprofit organizations are on the frontlines responding to the COVID-19 crisis by providing communities with programming, services, and support even as they as businesses navigate changing business models and priorities.
Amid a pandemic, a recession, and an upcoming election, changes to pension rules are easy to miss. However, the US Department of Labor’s rule change[i] proposed last Tuesday, June 23, would profoundly complicate the already challenging task of effectively...
A LONG, LONG TIME AGO… April 2020 marked my 20th-anniversary guiding institutions and private investors through the investment markets. In that time, I have observed lessons in nonprofit sustainability worthy of sharing with you today in this age of COVID-19. First,...
This has been a hard week for America. Forget COVID for a moment, and the economic devastation it has wrought on so many. Let us take a break from discussing stimulus and markets, interest rates and debt. Something far more basic must be addressed. This week has...
At Syntrinsic, we applaud many of the nonprofit organizations who address the gender disparities in our society and create opportunities to empower, build community, and educate women and girls.In celebration of Women’s History Month in March and in recognition of the...
The term “gender lens investing” is less than a decade old, coined in 2009 by the Criterion Institute. Many practitioners, think tanks, asset managers, and advisors have defined the term “gender lens investing” but to start, we should ground ourselves in the...