Four years ago, CapShift was launched with a clear vision — to mobilize capital for purpose. We set out to test a theory, that if we provided charitable asset owners with an easy way to access impact vehicles, they would move the money sitting in traditional investments into opportunities that would address societal issues, community needs, and climate change.
In those four years, we have:
- Moved over $100 million into investments and recoverable grants that directly support environmental and social change
- Researched and recommended impact investing opportunities for national, regional, and local donor advised fund platforms — organizations representing over half of the donor advised fund assets in the U.S.
- Advised and engaged with family offices, advisors, and foundations to enhance their ability to incorporate impact investments into their portfolios
- Sourced a broad network of over 1,400 for-profit and non-profit organizations who provide high impact public and private investment and recoverable grant opportunities for donors
- Proved our theory of change, which means we can get to work moving more money, faster and at scale, to support people and the planet
Yes, our job is to help move money — but the real work, the impactful, hard, on-the-ground work, is being done by the recipients of that capital. Organizations like UNICEF and Blue Forest Conservation.
Most of us are aware of the long-term, impactful work UNICEF does globally to protect and provide essential services and supplies to children. UNICEF also provides critical and rapid support during emergencies and humanitarian crises — like the current war in Ukraine. Donors often give generously to support those affected by emergencies like this, but it takes time for the money to reach UNICEF. Time that children don’t always have. One initiative that donors have supported is the UNICEF USA Bridge Fund, which addresses the timing gaps between when funders commit capital and when UNICEF receives the money. UNICEF uses money from the bridge fund to deliver critical support to kids when they need it, saving more lives than they would be able to if they had to wait for donations to arrive to begin providing services. Once donations arrive, UNICEF then returns funds to the Bridge Fund investors. To date, the Bridge Fund has accelerated $15 million for UNICEF’s emergency response in Ukraine, helping provide safe water, healthcare, education, hygiene supplies, and more.
Blue Forest Conservation (BFC) is a nonprofit organization committed to creating sustainable financial solutions to meet pressing environmental challenges. Their flagship financial product, the Forest Resilience Bond, has provided them with a sustainable source of funding to implement wildfire mitigation projects in the Western United States. After piloting this funding vehicle, BFC now has a large pipeline of forest restoration projects ready to implement in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service. The challenge? They need a bigger team to do the work. Accomplishing their goals means moving fast to restore and protect vulnerable forest areas and ecosystems before wildfires burn them down. We are helping BFC access recoverable grant capital, which can enable them to scale their team and execute restoration projects significantly faster than would be possible using traditional grants alone.
These are just two examples of the dozens of incredible organizations we get to work with to create change. We’re proud of our team, partners, donors, and supporters and the work we’ve done together, but there is a lot more to do. There is nearly $1.2 Trillion in charitable assets just waiting to be put to use supporting our communities and the planet. We’re inspired. We’re excited. We’re ready. Come join us.
