Applying the Six Ps to Mission-Aligned Investing | Commonfund

The case for mission-aligned investing continues to grow stronger — not simply as an ethical stance, but as a matter of institutional coherence, stakeholder trust, and long-term risk management. For a growing number of institutions, the question is no longer whether to engage with mission-aligned investing (MAI), but how to do so with the same rigor and governance discipline applied to every other dimension of endowment stewardship.

Our new paper, Principles of Investment Stewardship: Mission-Aligned Investing for Nonprofit Organizations — A Six Ps Framework for Integrating Values, Mission, and Financial Stewardship, applies Commonfund Institute's Six Ps governance framework — Purpose, Policy, Process, Portfolio, People, and Performance — to one of the most consequential questions nonprofit fiduciaries face: how to align the investment portfolio with the institution's values and mission.

As with the original Six Ps brochure, it is best used as a living reference — one that boards, investment committees, and senior staff revisit regularly as the mission-aligned investing landscape evolves and the institution's own practice matures.

The series: Purpose · Policy · Process · Portfolio · People · Performance · Progression

Commonfund Institute houses the education and research activities of Commonfund, providing the nonprofit investment community with information, research, and professional development resources. For more on mission-aligned investing, visit our Mission-Aligned Investing Research Center.