Coalition of Foundations Launch the Tipping Point Fund to Scale the Impact Investing Field

Together with a coalition of foundations and family offices, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund today announced the launch of the Tipping Point Fund (“TPF”), a first-of-its-kind donor collaborative intended to scale the practice of impact investing. With $12.5 million in initial funding, the TPF will make strategic grants to support the creation and development of critical market infrastructure that is necessary to maintain the continued growth—and more importantly, the integrity—of the impact investing market.

The TPF will expand on existing field building efforts by prioritizing areas that are best suited for collective action but that are unlikely to be funded through market activity alone. To uncover the challenges and barriers that could prevent the market from scaling, a coalition of industry leaders convened by the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance conducted an in-depth analysis of the impact investing industry. Based on this analysis, the group identified two key areas that represent critical field building functions that have received limited financial support to date and therefore are appropriate for TPF grants.

1. Public engagement and policy (communications campaigns, policy advocacy and implementation) to enable or encourage more investors to enter the market
2. Data, metrics, and measurement (standard impact measurement and management fundamentals, data interoperability) to provide greater clarity to market actors and ensure high standards of impact accountability

As a pooled grant fund, the TPF takes a collaborative approach to grantmaking and field building that encourages funders to agree on a cohesive vision and strategy for scaling the impact investing industry. The TPF also provides an entry point for those new to field building, thereby broadening the coalition of funders and driving more private capital toward solutions with the potential to address today’s most pressing global challenges.

“The impact investing industry is where it is today thanks to the critical work of early field builders and funders. However, in order for this market to scale and meet the needs of today’s world, we must take a more collaborative approach that brings together the financial and intellectual resources of those who are committed to growing this field with integrity,” said Fran Seegull, Executive Director of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, which facilitated the co-design of the TPF and will assist in managing its operations on behalf of funders.

The full list of inaugural funders for the TPF includes:

• Blue Haven Initiative
• David and Lucile Packard Foundation
• Ford Foundation
• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
• Omidyar Network
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund
• Surdna Foundation
• The Rockefeller Foundation
• Visa Foundation

The first recipients of TPF grants will be announced in 2020. The TPF remains open to additional funders who wish to contribute to the critical work of building the impact investing field in a collaborative fashion.

Learn more at www.tippingpointfund.com.