StartingUpGood

Morningstar makes a compelling case that ESG hasn't disappeared. It has quietly embedded itself into conventional investing practice. Key takeaways: For the first time since 2018, investors pulled money from ESG-focused funds. But $3.7 trillion in global ESG fund assets remain About 88% of PRI signatories now incorporate financially material sustainability factors across major decisions 69% of the US market ($42.7 trillion) was covered by an active stewardship policy in 2025, even though only 11% of US investments are officially labeled "sustainable" 72% of private market respondents incorporate ESG factors into their investment process, per PitchBook's annual survey Renewables have gone mainstream, and advances in fintech and data science are helping portfolios reflect specific exclusions and priorities while staying competitive Nearly half of institutional investors expect to grow or maintain their sustainable investing market share The bottom line from US SIF CEO Maria Lettini: ESG integration has "taken root" in conventional investing. The label may be under fire, but the practice is now part of how serious investors manage risk. morningstar.com/markets/is-sus… #SustainableInvesting #ESG

When USAID locked its doors last year, thousands of aid workers were left scrambling. One of them turned that disruption into a new model for emergency cash delivery. Leith Baker, a former senior adviser in USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, joined @GiveDirectly to build what he calls a "startup within a nonprofit" focused on getting cash to crisis-affected communities faster. Key takeaways from this @Devex piece by Catherine Cheney: - GiveDirectly used AI and machine learning to identify and deliver cash to people in need 4-8x faster with improved accuracy - GiveDirectly has partnered with Data Friendly Space (DFS), which built a generative AI tool trained on humanitarian frameworks to support rapid data review and analysis - Baker is championing "saturation targeting," providing cash broadly within affected communities rather than narrowly screening recipients, which can be cheaper, faster, and more dignified As aid budgets shrink and crises multiply, this approach represents a real shift in how the sector thinks about speed, dignity, and targeting in humanitarian response. #AIforGood devex.com/news/how-gived…

#ICYMI @JustCapital released its annual ranking of companies & CNBC breaks down the findings: ow.ly/uxxf50YzRko

Philanthropy's favorite question for 20 years has been "Can it scale?" But what if that question is filtering out the very solutions we need most? Tanya Kak of @RNP_Foundation argues in @SSIR that our obsession with scale is warping how we fund, measure, and even define social problems. Key takeaways: 🔹 Impact spreads in multiple ways. Scaling "out" (replication) gets all the attention, but scaling "up" (influencing policy) and scaling "deep" (shifting norms and relationships) often matter more for lasting change 🔹 The world no longer behaves like a scalable system. Climate shocks, geopolitical fragmentation, and economic volatility demand local adaptation, not cookie-cutter replication 🔹 Philanthropy over-funds the "ships" (program-delivering organizations) and under-funds the "lighthouses and bridges" (shared governance platforms, knowledge networks, open-source tools) 🔹 What funders can do differently. Invest in social infrastructure, back community-stewarded technology, fund the commons, and strengthen the intermediaries that translate ideas across contexts When crises hit, communities don't rise to the occasion. They rise to the level of readiness built quietly in ordinary times. ssir.org/articles/entry… #SocialInnovation #Philanthropy #ClimateResilience

Catch up on the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.'s vision for the future of United Nations: ow.ly/v1HY50YzPVL

This week's Pioneers Post Impact Finance Bulletin highlights a soon-to-be published report produced by Miller Center for Global Impact that tackles the controversial question of whether investors can really have positive impact and market-rate returns. One key report finding: impact-first investing costs about 13 cents more than traditional funds per dollar invested. pioneerspost.com/news-views/202…

Impact investing has grown to $1.6 trillion. But the nonprofit organizations that built this field are competing for resources from a stagnant funding pool. A provocative @ImpactAlpha opinion piece from Margot Brandenburg of the Ford Foundation and Antony Bugg-Levine argues that funders should stop funding competition and start funding consolidation. Fewer, stronger organizations will do more for inclusive capitalism than a fragmented ecosystem competing over the same shrinking pool of grants. impactalpha.com/impact-funders… #ImpactInvesting #InclusiveCapitalism

This self-proclaimed "carless reporter" from @techreview explains that until we’re able to truly decarbonize our entire economy, high fuel prices will impact everyone even EV drivers: ow.ly/Xt6W50YzqCM

The most valuable #SocialImpact conferences create space for candor, complexity, and real leadership conversations argues Muneer Panjwani, CEO, @EngageforGood in @FastCompany: fastcompany.com/91516340/moder…

Only 1% of the $326 billion in DAF charitable assets are invested for impact, despite 72% of DAF donors expressing interest in #ImpactInvesting. Donor-advised funds are the fastest-growing charitable vehicle in the U.S., nearly doubling from $152 billion in 2020 to $326 billion in 2024. But only about $3-4 billion — roughly 1% — is invested in strategies designed to generate social or environmental returns. The rest sits in conventional portfolios, waiting to be granted. This isn't a demand problem. It's a plumbing problem. A new article from Sydney England (Georgia Social Impact Collaborative) lays out what's blocking the flow and what could open it: 1) Fiduciary duty doesn't require return maximization. The Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) explicitly directs charities to consider mission alongside financial performance. 79% of impact investors already target market-rate returns. 2) The warehousing critique has teeth. The median DAF payout rate is just 9.7%, and $4.4 billion cycles between DAFs annually without reaching operating nonprofits. Impact investing turns idle assets from a liability into a tool. 3) A demographic wave is coming. $124 trillion in wealth is changing hands through 2048. 99% of Gen Z and 97% of millennials express interest in sustainable investing. Sponsors and advisors who don't adapt will lose them. Read the full article for additional insights: gasocialimpact.com/staring-the-im…

MacKenzie Scott has channeled $4B to collaboratives - intermediaries where donors pool resources and expertise to more efficiently fund a wider range of organizations and causes. Learn more: devex.com/news/how-macke… (paywall) @Devex #philanthropy

Get your first look at the @AIforGood Global Summit (7-10 July 2026) program - now live: 4 stages, 4 days, 1,000 speakers, 150+ sessions, 50+ exhibitors, 50+ workshops aiforgood.itu.int/summit26/progr… @ITU

Geopolitical volatility means #CleanEnergy and #ClimateTech are finding European institutional investors more open to #EnergyResilience plays, reports @ImpactAlpha: ow.ly/CXT250YyNgB

New report distills #PRI lessons from 36 foundations into practical guidance. Key findings: PRIs are not inherently difficult. Success depends on the organization's ability to manage complexity, capacity, and congruity. @SocialFinanceUS Learn more: ow.ly/MowJ50Yylnw

“#AI will create significant economic value. Ensuring that participation in that growth expands alongside it is both the challenge and the opportunity.” @BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in his annual letter theguardian.com/technology/202…

Children make up 1/3 of the world’s population and all future workers & innovators but are rarely considered in investment decisions. That's why @UNICEF & the GIIN joined forces in #ImpactInvesting: ow.ly/1EU450Yyk4E

The ILO's ten-year review of SDG labor data: 284 million workers still in extreme poverty. Informality virtually unchanged at 58%. Women earn 52 cents for every dollar men earn. 1 in 5 young people are not in work, education, or training. ilostat.ilo.org/blog/the-world…

A new @Devex piece from the Global Philanthropy Forum captures a tension many people feel about the gap between the sector’s language and its operating model. - Philanthropy talks more and more about trust, systems change, and shifting power. - But many funders still struggle to move from conversation to practice. Two practical examples stood out: - @EdelGive brought together 37 funders to provide $12 million in unrestricted support to 100 grassroots organizations in India. More than half later raised significant additional funding. - The #HalfMyDAF campaign used $2 million in matching funds to help spur $24 million in giving from donor-advised funds. Will philanthropy move away from capital preservation and toward capital deployment? devex.com/news/special-e… #Philanthropy #ImpactInvesting #SocialImpact #DevelopmentFinance

Leading companies continue efforts to reduce environmental impact. 2 recent #ESG News reports highlight @Lego_group's on-site #solar scaling & @hm's adoption of science-based targets for land use. esgnews.com/lego-scales-on… esgnews.com/hm-adopts-scie…

@ImpactAlpha reports how the equity-in-tech movement made its case at #SXSW 2026 - @OmidyarNetwork, @SiegelEndowment, @MacFound: ow.ly/v10I50YxKVx @SDGCounting explores human agency in the AI era: ow.ly/cGOA50YxKVz #EquityInTech #SXSW