Impact Investments
Our endowment reflects our mission and vision to make positive social and environmental impacts throughout our funding region, the Pacific Northwest, and across the globe.
Mission of the Investment Portfolio:
The investments within the Roundhouse Foundation’s endowment should provide synergy with the overall organizational mission to support creative solutions to unique challenges associated with rural culture and landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. We are investing 100% of our investment portfolio in alignment with our values.
Impact Objective:
To benefit communities, avoid harm to individuals and the environment, and contribute to innovative solutions.
Financial Objectives:
To help Roundhouse meet its annual distribution to ensure long-term support within the region we work.
Geographic Priorities
Roundhouse focuses its programmatic work in rural Oregon, followed by the Pacific Northwest (defined as Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, Alaska and Northern California) and the Pacific Ocean for the purposes of sustainable aquaculture. Recognizing that for purposes of diversification, and limited amount of impact-aligned investment opportunities in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, RHF’s portfolio will include investments across the U.S. and the world.
RHF Inclusions:
Arts & Culture, Social Services, Sustainable Agriculture, Education, Climate, Environmental Stewardship and Land Conservation, Water & Ocean Health, and Circular Economy/Reuse. (UN’s Sustainable Development Goals)
Impact Values
Roundhouse seeks to make investments in companies and funds that have a positive impact on communities and workers. We consider factors such as: positive track record of worker rights, employee ownership options, pay equity policies, strong employee benefit programs, policies and programs that support recruitment, retention and development of women, individuals who self-identify as part of the LBGTQIA+ community or people of color, strong relationships within the communities in which the companies and subsidiaries work, including generous corporate giving and community outreach programs.
Investing Across Asset Classes
We believe all investments have impact – our goal is to ensure the impact of our investments is positive. We, therefore, integrate an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) impact analysis across the investments we make in all asset classes. For example:Â
In the public equities asset class, we work with asset managers that analyze corporate practices related to ESG factors and who assess material financial risks related to ESG factors. This analysis guides us to work with asset managers who avoid companies with poor ESG track records and invest in companies with positive ESG ratings.Â
Roundhouse excludes companies that receive a substantial amount of their revenues from: fossil fuels; tobacco; nuclear or conventional weapons; pesticides. We also exclude companies that contribute to major hydro infrastructure projects that have significant negative environmental and social impacts in local communities.
In private equity and venture capital, we intentionally seek to support enterprises that reflect our impact priorities. For example, we support private equity funds that seek to address education disparities; sustainable reuses of natural resources; and technology innovations that will drive us toward a more sustainable economy. Â
We support real assets strategies that provide capital for the transition from conventional to organic and regenerative farming and that protect vulnerable forests from destructive timber practices.Â
In the fixed income asset class, we invest in strategies that provide affordable housing in our region; in green bonds that provide capital to support large-scale, environmentally sustainable efforts globally; and in community investment notes that provide capital to small businesses and agriculture projects in Native American communities. Â
With our cash/cash plus assets, we work with an intermediary that ensures most of our assets are invested through minority-, women- or veteran-owned brokerages. Further, wherever possible RHF invests our assets locally. The Foundation maintains credit card accounts with local community banks and consistently reviews CDs with local banks and credit unions to impact lending on a local level.
