Impact Investments

Overview

We invest catalytic capital to fill significant gaps left by the conventional marketplace and unlock additional capital from other sources for mission-driven intermediaries and enterprises. New impact investments are developed in collaboration with MacArthur program teams and investment partners to advance institutional priorities, initiatives, and programs.

In addition to our impact investments, we award about $5 million in grants each year. Our grantmaking goals are to strengthen and grow the field of impact investing globally, build the ecosystem for catalytic capital, and advance equity and inclusion in the fields of investment and finance.

Current Priorities for New Impact Investments

• Chicago Commitment: Expand access to flexible, risk-tolerant capital for developers engaged in community-centered real estate projects and creative placemaking efforts.
• Climate Solutions: Accelerate innovation and the deployment of clean energy and technology in India and the United States, especially within communities that are often underserved.
• Indigenous Autonomy: Invest in financial intermediaries that build the economic power and cultural independence of Indigenous people.
• Just Home Project: Invest in new housing models that help break the link between housing instability and jail incarceration.
• Local News: Investments to foster strong local news ecosystems that strengthen civic engagement.
• Journalism and Media: Provide financing solutions to film and media production that informs, engages, and activates people through accurate, just, and inclusive narratives.

Current Priorities for Field Support Grants

• Strengthen the Catalytic Capital Ecosystem: Increase knowledge, awareness, and use of catalytic capital globally through the Catalytic Capital Consortium initiative.
• Build Field Infrastructure: Support impact investor engagement, learning, connection, and collaboration through networks globally.
• Support Impact Integrity and Policy: Strengthen standards, transparency, and accountability, including the practice of impact measurement and management, and inform public policy.
• Advance Equity and Inclusion: Support more inclusive investing and finance fields.

Eligibility

Recipients of our grants and impact investments include traditional nonprofits, for-profit enterprises, special-purpose funds, public agencies, and quasi-governmental entities. Impact investments may take the form of debt, equity, or a guarantee and may be structured as a Program-Related Investments or Mission-Related Investments depending on specific investment characteristics and purpose.