Tanishtha SenGupta, Partnerships and Stakeholder Manager, reflects on work with the Impact Investing Institute to map the values‑driven investment landscape and the support available to foundations looking to allign money with mission.
Foundations in the UK hold significant financial resources, yet these assets have not always been used to reflect their social or environmental goals.
Across the UK foundation sector, more foundations are rethinking how their endowments are used, underpinned by a simple idea: “every pound – whether granted or invested – can be a tool for change”.
This shift has been gaining momentum in recent years. More foundations are considering how their endowments can better support their mission, and many are looking for clear, practical guidance.
Access’s own work reflects this direction of travel. Since 2016, we managed our £60 million endowment through a “total impact” approach that embedded mission into every financial decision.
As foundations recognise the untapped potential of their endowments to advance their charitable purpose; the question is shifting from whether to invest in line with values to how to do so confidently, collectively and at scale.
Since 2023, Access has convened a series of roundtables with a small group of trusts and foundations playing a leading role in the values-driven investing space. These roundtables created space for participants to share practice, challenges, and emerging thinking. They also provided an opportunity to explore how collective spaces such as networks and support organisations are helping foundations to adopt values-driven investment approaches and to identify where gaps remain.
As part of this work, Access supported new research published today by the Impact Investing Institute: Mapping the UK Values Driven Investment Landscape: An analysis of support infrastructure for trusts and foundations. The research provides a clear picture of the organisations, tools and networks supporting foundations to align their investments with their missions, while also identifying the structural gaps that continue to slow progress.
The research is accompanied by a growing bank of case studies, tools and resources, spanning organisations at the very beginning of their journey through to those with more established practice. This offers an important evidence base to help foundations understand where to start, who to learn from.
Key takeaways form the research
The research identifies four cohorts at very different stages of adopting values-driven investment.
At one end are a small number of advanced first movers, actively deploying capital across the spectrum from responsible investment through to impact and social investment. Alongside them sit fast followers, expanding commitments made in recent years. Further back are foundations with emerging interest, often stuck in early strategy development. Finally, a large untapped potential group continues to operate largely outside existing networks and conversations.
Long-standing cultural and structural barriers continue to hold foundations back from engaging more fully. These include a separation between investment and mission delivery, trustee conservatism and risk aversion, and limited access to advisers who combine mainstream financial expertise with impact and social investment knowledge. Existing guidance and tools often reach only well-connected organisations, making it harder for smaller or newer foundations to get started.
Despite these barriers, the research also highlights important enablers. Greater transparency and peer learning are helping foundations understand what values-driven investment looks like in practice. A growing body of case studies, tools and examples is making the journey more practical and achievable.
Overall, the findings provide a clearer map of the landscape and point to opportunities for stronger collaboration, reduced duplication, and better support across the sector.
Read more and get involved
We encourage anyone interested in the future of values-driven investing to explore the research and reflect on how your organisation might contribute to a more coordinated support ecosystem.
If you would like to learn more about this work, contribute resources, or connect with the networks involved, we would be pleased to hear from you.
