Investment Strategy
In 2016, the Grove Foundation decided to align all of its assets with its mission to ensure that all people have access to resources, respect and a sense of belonging, and the opportunity to live and contribute fully as themselves. We began the process by rewriting the investment policy statement and then transitioning approximately $150 million from more traditional investments to mission-aligned investments.
Black Led Power Building
In early 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grove Board member Eva Grove made an additional financial contribution to the Foundation. The board and staff decided to allot an equal amount for each program area, and the remaining amount would be used for flexible or discretionary funding. Grove staff decided to reallocate the foundation-flexible money specifically to Black-led organizations working on power building, and civic engagement, or that focused on ending state violence.
Racial Equity & Shared Leadership
The Grove Foundation’s staff and board thought about our racial equity approach for a few years before embarking on a formal learning and implementation journey in 2016. There was already an organizational commitment to racial justice, particularly at the program officer level, before it became an institutional priority. We concentrated internally on creating a distributed leadership model honoring our commitment to racial justice.
Trust-Based Philanthropy
The Grove Foundation’s trust-based philanthropy model was ignited by our racial equity lens and core belief that the people most impacted by oppression and injustice – those living at the intersection of racism, sexism, transphobia, disability, xenophobia, and classism, to name a few – should be resourced so that they can design, implement, and sustain solutions. We believe that true, trust-based collaboration is essential among nonprofits and funders.
Spend-Down Strategy
Many private foundations were established to exist in perpetuity. They manage their assets to ensure they can continue to operate. This means that when the economy suffers, these foundations often decrease resources. Unfortunately, this is when grantees and their communities need the most support. In contrast, Grove was set up with the requirement that all assets be “spent down” within 25 years of the deaths of both founders, Andy and Eva. We believe that our generation is best equipped to solve the problems of our time, and those closest to the issues are best equipped to find the solutions.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Black Led Power Building
- Oakland’s Black Organizing Project which is doing specific work around getting law enforcement of schools.
- The Power Coalition For Equity & Justice in Louisiana, a state coordinating table for 501c3 and 501c4 focused on voter engagement. They also provided relief dollars after Hurricane Ida hit in 2021.
- After the Jackson Water Crisis in Mississippi, Grove committed rapid response funding to the People’s Advocacy Institute to get folks essentials like water and diapers.
Investment Strategy – Carveout Investments
In 2017, the Foundation board allocated a carveout that aimed to align more deeply its programmatic and grantmaking goals and to serve a catalytic role in advancing its mission within the investment space. This portfolio utilized a hybrid approach focused on private and public investments such as cooperatively owned and stewarded land and real estate projects, community-controlled institutions, and investments in community-led loans, funds, and renewable energy. Grove invested in companies and helped launch funds to support reproductive health, immigration, economic inclusion, and climate justice, with a focus on Black, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities. A list of some of our carveout investments is below:
- Bloomlife
- California Rebuilding Fund
- Cooperative Energy Futures
- EcoTrust Forest Management
- Grid Alternatives
- IRC CEO (loan fund)
- Mission-Driven Finance (Freedom 100 Fund)
- Navajo Power
- NexLegacy
- Pigeonly
- The People’s Land Fund
- Rainmakers Collaborative Fund at the Rural Community Assistance Corporation
- Reproductive Health Company (confidential)
- Solar Holler
- The Southern Opportunity and Resilience Fund (SOAR Fund)
- The International Rescue Committee’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CDFI Loan Fund)
- Working Power Impact Fund