Graustein Memorial Fund lent $10M from its endowment to New Haven’s ConnCAT Place at Dixwell. Developers will pay the loan back, with interest.
“Most foundations don’t invest their endowments in line with their mission. They can invest in things that are counter to their mission,” Strawter-Anthony said. For example, a foundation with a mission to end poverty might be invested in for-profit companies that don’t paying living wages or offer benefits, she said.
“A lot of the harm in the world has been created through investments,” she said. “When I look at the foundation, I look at us becoming conscious of the harm in our actions and changing the way we behave and our impact on the world overall.”