New report offers insight into Australia’s mission-aligned investing landscape
The Endowments for Impact Challenge (EFIC), Australia’s first open tender designed to connect philanthropic trusts and foundations with advisors who can support mission-aligned, responsible and impact investment strategies, has released its inaugural State of the Sector report.
Following the conclusion of the Challenge in March, culminating in the announcement of joint winners Australian Impact Investments and Koda Capital, with Evans & Partners recognised as the People’s Choice, the report offers the first-of-its-kind overview of Australia’s evolving mission-aligned investing landscape.
EFIC set out to introduce new levels of transparency, collaboration and ambition in how foundations engage investment advisors. The Mission Meets Capital report builds on that vision by drawing insights from the Challenge assessment process and offering a snapshot of the sector’s current capabilities, emerging strengths and opportunities for growth.
Key findings include:
- Deepening engagement with complexity: Leading advisors demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of impact trade-offs. They also demonstrated a willingness to engage with clients on thoughtful, values-aligned investment decisions.
- Advanced impact measurement: The Challenge’s strongest applicants combined global standards with bespoke tools (such as the Impact Management Project’s five dimensions, the IRIS+ toolkit, and alignment with the UN SDGs), signalling growing maturity in how advisors help clients measure, manage and communicate impact.
- Tailored advice for a diverse sector: High-performing advisors showed strong contextual understanding, tailoring investment strategies to foundations of varying size, structure, stage of growth and mission.
- Insight into governance dynamics: EFIC applicants increasingly recognised the importance of internal alignment within foundations and demonstrated the ability to act as both technical experts and change facilitators. They also demonstrated a willingness to collaborate with clients and other investors to help drive broad reform agendas.
- Market momentum: EFIC revealed a growing pool of capable advisors and rising demand for high-quality mission-aligned, responsible and impact investment advice.
The report also identifies areas for improvement across the sector, including:
- better integration of impact frameworks
- stronger support for client capacity building
- clearer strategic articulation
- more active engagement with ecosystem-level challenges, both nationally and globally
“EFIC showed that Australia’s philanthropic sector is ready to invest differently and that a talented group of advisors stands ready to support them,” said Rachel Ball, CEO of Reichstein Foundation.
“This report shines a light on what’s working, what’s emerging and what’s still needed to unlock the full potential of mission-aligned, impactful investing,” said David Hetherington, CEO of Impact Investing Australia, which administered the Challenge.
Read the Mission Meets Capital report here.
About the Challenge
The Endowments for Impact Challenge brings together six of Australia’s leading philanthropic trusts and foundations who are seeking advisors to assist them in managing a combined investment pool of $170 million. This groundbreaking initiative aims to reshape the way philanthropic investments are managed in Australia.
The participating organisations are the Besen Family Foundation, Dusseldorp Forum, Inner North Community Foundation, Northern Rivers Community Foundation, Oranges & Sardines Foundation, and Reichstein Foundation. They are joined by key supporters, including Community Foundations Australia, Paul Ramsay Foundation, Grace and Emilio Foundation, Australian Communities Foundation, Fouress Foundation, Impact Investing Australia, Minderoo Foundation and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
For more information visit endowmentsforimpactchallenge.com
