Blue Haven Initiative is an environmentalist-aligned “impact investing” firm associated with members of the wealthy and politically involved Pritzker family. Founded in 2012, the Initiative is one of the largest U.S.-based investment funds dedicated to generating financial returns and left-of-center social ^[1] and environmental changes. ^[2]

The Initiative manages its funds for both financial performance and potential “public benefit.” ^[3] Its funds include investments across the innovation sector, emerging markets to “strengthen democracy,” ^[4] and a strong emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. ^[5] The Initiative also makes political and advocacy investments in the U.S. and abroad, with some grants geared towards left-of-center environmentalist issues including carbon pricing. ^[6]

Blue Haven Initiative’s partners include the left-of-center Omidyar Network, Power Africa, Shell Foundation, U.S. Global Development Lab, GIIN, Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, and others. ^[7]

History and Leadership

Blue Haven Initiative was founded in 2012 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ^{[8] [9]} The Initiative is one of the largest U.S.-based investment funds dedicated to generating financial returns and left-of-center social ^[10] and environmental changes. ^[11]

The Blue Haven Initiative was co-founded by Democratic political donor Ian Simmons and his wife Liesel Pritzker Simmons, a member of the prominent Pritzker family of businesspeople and Democratic politicians. ^{[12] [13]}

Pritzker Simmons has a “passion for social justice” and joined left-of-center billionaire George Soros, Abigail Disney, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, and others to call for a wealth tax during the 2020 presidential campaign. ^[14] She has said that “systemic racial bias” has taken countless lives and led to everything from misallocated capital to untapped innovation ^[15] and expressed concern that the critical race theory-influenced concept of “racial justice” movements are not happening quickly enough. ^[16]

In 2014, the couple attended an event hosted by the Obama administration at the White House which was focused on finding common ground between government actors and philanthropies. ^[17]

Activities and Funding

Blue Haven Initiative is a left-of-center and environmentalist-aligned “impact investing” firm associated with members of the wealthy and politically involved Pritzker family. ^{[18] [19]}

The Initiative manages its funds for both financial performance and potential “public benefit.” ^[20] Its funds include investments across the innovation sector, emerging markets to “strengthen democracy,” ^[21] public equities through third-party managers, and gains exposure to fixed-income markets, with a strong emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. ^[22] The Initiative also makes political and advocacy investments in the U.S. and abroad, with some grants geared towards left-of-center issues including carbon pricing and “strengthening democracy.” ^[23]

Blue Haven Initiative’s partners include the left-of-center Omidyar Network, Power Africa, Shell Foundation, US Global Development Lab, GIIN, and Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs. ^[24]

Activities and Funding

Blue Haven Initiative is a family practice and was initially funded by Ian Simmons and Liesel Pritzker Simmons. ^{[25] [26]} The Initiative manages a $50 million portfolio of direct investments in the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa in-house. ^[27] It also works with outside private portfolio managers and advisers like Goldman Sachs to deliver returns as a part of its ongoing investment portfolio. ^{[28] [29]}