Our Investment Approach

We are committed to stewarding the charitable funds entrusted to us by our donors to get as many dollars as possible out to the causes, nonprofits and communities that they care about.

Our Investment Committee consists of board members and volunteers with extensive institutional investment experience and varied perspectives. With oversight by our board, the committee is responsible for developing and implementing our investment policy, recommending investment managers, and monitoring our investment performance.

The committee works with our investment managers at Brown Brothers Harriman and Boston Trust Walden to preserve and grow our endowment through prudent investment strategies. Our three-pronged asset-allocation approach centers on growth, risk reduction and inflation protection.

• All of our donors’ funds are pooled together and invested in a well-diversified portfolio, which includes large, midsize and small-cap U.S. equities, international equities, real estate, alternatives and fixed-income securities (bonds).
• As we continue to bring an equity and justice lens to our work, we also continue to explore ways to align our investments with positive community impact. Both investment portfolios are designed to reduce exposure to tobacco-related products, fossil fuels, gun manufacturers or distributors and private prisons. BTW is a longtime specialist in actively applying additional Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) screens to that investment portfolio, with special attention to the environment and animal welfare.

Recent Investment Performance

Recent investment performance has followed general market trends for similarly allocated investment portfolios. Our 5-year annualized rate of return keeps us in line with our objectives of achieving perpetuity and making annual grant and scholarship awards that keep pace with inflation from the more than 560 funds we oversee.