I know what you did last summer!
…Well maybe not everything! But I know you were on your mission aligned journey. And we all need to share that journey with the world, so others can learn from our successes and non-successes and follow our trails.
Our founder, Hal Taussig, kept his work a secret. Meanwhile, he was carrying out all sorts of beautiful and innovative things decades ago. For a while, he paid his staff – and himself – the same thing, then he just paid himself nothing at all! He directed the profits from Untours travel to his new foundation. He practiced mission aligned investing at the foundation from the beginning – though there was no term for it at the time. And he didn’t tell anyone about the foundation since he equated foundations with “charity” and not real “change.” But Hal’s friend, Ben Cohen (of Ben & Jerry’s), told him that if he didn’t tell others about his work, he was missing a tremendous opportunity to change the world. So, Hal took that to heart and applied to a contest and won! Yes, he won $250,000 from Paul Newman and JFK, Jr. for having the “Most Generous Company in America.” The owners of And-1 took notice, and this helped inspire them to come up with the B Corporation concept – B Corps! See how it works! It’s more than ripples. It’s a good tsunami. So, yes, please share what you did last summer and all year!
With gratitude always,
Elizabeth
Featured Paradigm Shifter
Alexandra “Mindy” Aldridge
President of The Grace S. and W. Linton Nelson Foundation
Mindy heard the arguments for mission alignment and has been diving in since!
At Work…
What inspired you to align your endowment with your mission? The spring and summer of 2022 and the Nation’s racial reckoning was the catalyst for centering racial equity and social justice at the Foundation.
What have been the biggest obstacles at your foundation for mission alignment? One obstacle has been the breadth and depth of centering racial equity and social justice. We are a small-staffed foundation and had to prioritize our grantmaking and some internal work before launching into working on the endowment. Another obstacle has been where to start – the Investor Policy Statement (IPS), hiring a new advisor, or determining the details of a revised endowment strategy.
How far along is your foundation in this journey? We’ve made significant external progress on aligning the mission with the work of the Foundation. This year, we are starting in earnest and more formally on what this means for the endowment. To date, the Foundation has made one Program Related Investment and has made or has committed to two Mission Related Investments, which have provided a lot of meaningful experience and learning. This year, we are working on an overarching mission aligned investment strategy and making some modifications to the Foundation’s IPS. We are also looking at an opportunity to provide a loan guarantee to an organization in Philadelphia. By the end of the year, we hope to be in search mode for the best investment advisor to support our goals.
What’s next in your mission alignment? Working with our Board on setting the broad strokes of our mission aligned strategy.
What about perpetuity or spending down? The Board has not had any explicit conversation on the questions of perpetuity. However, I expect it to come up as part of a series of conversations on the Foundation’s spending rate that is planned to be done before the end of 2024.
What’s a favorite mission aligned investment (MAI) of yours? As mentioned previously, we only have a small number of MAIs. Given the small pool, it hardly seems fair to select one, but I would say that is the loan the Foundation made to Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP).
Have you ventured into shareholder advocacy? How so? We have not yet, but it is on the implementation plan to address and incorporate.
What’s the most convincing thing to get others on board? The most important step was getting the Board to agree to dip their toe in the water of mission aligned investing to gain experience and knowledge.
After work…
Guilty pleasure: A 90 minute massage
Kickback film: It’s a Wonderful Life
Last series you binge-watched: The Derry Girls
Favorite caffeine source: Coffee in the morning! I have a good three cups, and then I am done for the day.
Sweet or salty: Dark chocolate in any form
Happy place: Beach in North Carolina
A favorite novel: This is tough! I am a huge reader and like so many different genres and books. Some that I’ve really enjoyed: The Searcher, The Harlem Shuffle, The Thursday Murder Club, Hamnet, Killer Angels.
Animal friend(s): Currently, my best four-legged friend is a rescue dog named Hazel. She’s SOOOOO sweet!
Childhood ambition: Archaeologist – not sure why, but I think it sounded romantic to travel to far-off places and dig up the past.
Adult ambition: Not planned, but I’m doing it.
Embarrassing moment: Getting to the train station for an Amtrak to D.C. and realizing I didn’t have my wallet or ticket.
Nickname: Pooh or Pooh Bear
Biggest challenge: I’m experiencing the classic sandwich generation thing…
Soundtrack of your life: Hamilton
Music that lifts your spirits: Christmas Music
Most unusual gift given: Cooking class in Williamsburg Virginia
Most unusual gift received: Does winning a pony in a raffle count?
Last splurge: A pair of earrings that I fell in love with.
Our Shareholder Resolution Results
Our endowment is a revolving loan and equity fund with no investments in the stock market. However, we decided to try our hand at shareholder resolutions since we promote shareholder advocacy. We bought stock in a utility company, initiated dialogue with a president of that company, and filed a shareholder resolution in December under the wing and incredible experience of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and with guidance from As You Sow. The company met our request and we withdrew the resolution. What a surprise! We are continuing in dialogue with this company and will raise the bar. We are hooked on shareholder advocacy as a powerful tool for change.
We would be honored to teach you what we are learning or you can do one-stop-shopping and join in shareholder resolutions with As You Sow.
About Us
About the UnTours Foundation
We just launched a second investment fund called the Reset Tourism Fund. Since we own a travel company and know a thing or two about the industry, we decided to invest in other tourism-related companies that are addressing some of our most pressing issues of the day, including climate crisis, serving historically-neglected travelers, and honoring the cultures of host destinations. Tourism is responsible for 10% of global jobs, GDP, and emissions, so it’s an incredibly powerful lever to achieve positive impact around the world. Let us know if you have an interest in supporting this focus or come across potential investees for the fund!
All good things to you,
Elizabeth Killough and Jonathan Coleman
UnTours Foundation Co-CEOs
