Fast Forward

“Impact investing is a practice and it’s something you get better at or you get more comfortable with," says Elizabeth McGeveran who joined The McKnight Foundation in 2014 as director of impact investing. She is responsible for the foundation’s $200 million investment in businesses and funds that are building the low-carbon economy, improving the water quality of the Mississippi River and contributing to a thriving, sustainable Minnesota. This portfolio represents 10 percent of the foundation’s $2 billion endowment. McGeveran also provides environmental, social and governance expertise and evaluation across the entire endowment. On this episode, McGeveran talks about how the foundation looked at ways to leverage its assets and came to view its endowment's market earnings as an underused resource. She talks about the process the board went through to assess potential shifts in alignment, describes the Midwest Climate and Energy Program and the Carbon Efficiency Fund.