When Resources Work Against Mission: Why the One-Pocket Mindset Matters
(Originally posted November 2017, updated September 2025)
Imagine this Scenario
You are deeply committed to the dignity of every person. You dedicate evenings and weekends to raising awareness about human trafficking, you support survivors through local organizations, and you give generously to charities dedicated to ending exploitation.
Now imagine discovering that the very organizations you’ve trusted with your time, energy, and money are investing their endowment dollars into companies with supply chains dependent on forced labor, exploitative wages, or opaque labor practices. In fact, many endowed foundations have 20 times their annual operating budgets invested in companies that at best have nothing to do with their mission—and at worst are working against it.
This isn’t hypothetical. It’s the reality of how most endowments are managed today.
The traditional model: two pockets, divided
By law, U.S. foundations must distribute at least 5% of their assets annually toward charitable purposes. This has unintentionally created a two-pocket mindset:
One pocket: the 5% grant-making budget aligned with mission.
The other pocket: the 95% managed purely for financial return, often invested in industries counter to the foundation’s values.
This mindset assumes that financial return and human flourishing cannot coexist. In reality, it means the majority of resources may be reinforcing the very systems foundations claim to fight.
The Access Ventures approach: one pocket, aligned
At Access Ventures, we believe every dollar should matter. That’s why we embrace a one-pocket mindset—an integrated approach where all assets are directed toward building inclusive economies that enable human flourishing .
We define flourishing as when people experience:
Access & Agency – the ability to participate and shape their future.
Opportunity & Autonomy – the freedom to pursue meaningful work and choices.
Security & Freedom – stability and dignity that enable resilience .
This framework drives not only our grant-making but also how we invest our endowment.
Program-Related Investments (PRIs) in action
The one-pocket approach is most visible in how we deploy program-related investments (PRIs) alongside other forms of catalytic capital:
Render Capital – a $15M regional investment strategy we launched in 2019 designed to increase entrepreneurs’ access to capital. Through initiatives like the nation’s first community round match fund, Render has unlocked millions for underserved founders .
Village Capital – supporting entrepreneurs in overlooked markets through a peer-selection model that directs capital toward founders solving real-world problems in health, education, energy, and financial services .
The Reconstruct Challenge – applying venture philanthropy principles to systemic issues like housing insecurity. By deploying catalytic, risk-tolerant capital, the Challenge surfaces scalable solutions that traditional philanthropy overlooks .
Each of these examples illustrates how capital—when aligned with mission—creates dignity, opportunity, and resilience.
Does one-pocket compromise returns?
The short answer: no. A mission-aligned portfolio can achieve competitive returns while driving measurable social impact. This isn’t about trade-offs—it’s about integrity.
Consider just a few of the organizations we partner with:
Ethic – A technology platform that builds custom, sustainable portfolios aligned with values. Ethic now manages over $6 billion AUM across 250+ institutional and advisory partners.
Flourishing impact: advances Opportunity & Autonomy by giving investors real choice in aligning capital with mission.
Community Investment Management (CIM) – An institutional impact manager providing responsible credit to underserved borrowers. CIM has $1.09 billion AUM and has facilitated $18 billion in credit to 12 million underserved borrowers globally.
Flourishing impact: expands Access & Agency and strengthens Security & Freedom for those excluded from traditional finance.
Lendable – A fintech credit platform that has raised and deployed $544 million across emerging markets, serving 43 portfolio companies in 19 countries. In 2024, IFC backed Lendable with $45M to further scale fintech lending in Africa.
Flourishing impact: builds Opportunity & Autonomy for entrepreneurs and small businesses, while reinforcing Security & Freedom through financial resilience.
Virtuous – A nonprofit CRM and fundraising platform enabling organizations to build deeper donor relationships. Virtuous has raised $150M+ in growth equity since 2022 and powers generosity for thousands of nonprofits.
Flourishing impact: drives Access & Agency for organizations and donors alike, helping generosity scale effectively.
When the metrics for success include flourishing—not just financial benchmarks—we build portfolios that are both resilient and just.
The cultural difference
In most foundations, investment work is outsourced and siloed away from mission. At Access Ventures, investing is part of the mission.
Our team engages directly in portfolio construction, asking how each decision advances flourishing. This alignment builds transparency, trust, and a culture where no dollar works against our purpose.
The challenge—and the invitation
We know the one-pocket model can be misunderstood. Some assume we are just an investment firm; others assume all our investments are concessionary. In reality, we manage a blended portfolio that ranges from catalytic grants to market-rate investments—all aligned toward flourishing.
We’re not alone. Foundations like the Omidyar Network, Skoll Foundation, and the Blue Haven Initiative are also embracing integrated models. But the sector still has a long way to go.
A call to action: align every dollar with your mission
If a foundation’s mission is to protect dignity, end exploitation, or build opportunity, then its resources cannot simultaneously fuel the systems that perpetuate harm.
At Access Ventures, we believe the future of philanthropy is catalytic capital for a flourishing society .
We invite you to:
Read our blog posts that explore mission-aligned investing:
Conscious Portfolio Construction: Aligning Capital With Mission – how we intentionally design portfolios around values.
Impact and Profit: A False Choice – why financial returns and social impact don’t have to conflict.
What is Human Flourishing? – grounding our thesis in access, agency, opportunity, and security.
Values In Your Public Equity Portfolio – how platforms like Ethic help us live our one-pocket mindset.
Listen to More Than Profit episodes that go deeper into values-aligned investing:
“Nothing About Us, Without Us with Regina Kline” — on closing the disability wealth gap and expanding agency for people with disabilities.
“Pioneering Better Investing with Fran Seegull” — lessons from decades of impact investing, and how the field is evolving.
“Rooted in Values and Pursuing Market Returns with Liesel Pritzker Simmons” — how to balance market returns with values and mission integrity.
Download our resources like the One-Pocket Investing guide, the Alternatives to Equity whitepaper, and the Reconstruct Playbook to see catalytic capital in practice.
Because when every dollar matters, flourishing becomes possible for everyone.