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. ⁴

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. ⁶

History and Leadership

Blue Haven Initiative was founded in 2012 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ^{7 8} 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 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. ^{7 8}

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. ⁹ She has said that “systemic racial bias” has taken countless lives and led to everything from misallocated capital to untapped innovation ¹⁰ and expressed concern that the critical race theory-influenced concept of “racial justice” movements are not happening quickly enough. ¹¹

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. ¹²

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. ^{5 5}

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 public equities through third-party managers, and gains exposure to fixed-income markets, with 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 issues including carbon pricing and “strengthening democracy.” ⁴

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. ⁶

Activities and Funding

Blue Haven Initiative is a family practice and was initially funded by Ian Simmons and Liesel Pritzker Simmons. ^{7 8} The Initiative manages a $50 million portfolio of direct investments in the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa in-house. ¹³ It also works with outside private portfolio managers and advisers like Goldman Sachs to deliver returns as a part of its ongoing investment portfolio. ^{7 8}

1. Longley, Liz. “How a Pritzker-Backed Philanthropy Channels Impact Investing Toward Private Schools in Ghana.” Inside Philanthropy. August 4, 2021. Accessed January 23, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2021/8/5/how-a-pritzker-backed-philanthropy-channels-impact-investing-toward-private-schools-in-ghana.
2. Moran, Michael. “Can Global Regulators Save the EST Movement From Itself?” Foreign Policy. January 10, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2022. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/10/sustainablility-esg-investing-sec-gensler-greenwashing/.
3. “A Total Portfolio Approach and a High Bar for Returns.” Blue Haven Initiative. Accessed January 23. 2022. http://www.bluehaveninitiative.com/strategy/.
4.  “Blue Haven Civics.” Blue Haven Initiative. Accessed January 23, 2022. http://www.bluehaveninitiative.com/portfolio/civics/.
5.  “Blue Haven Ventures.” Blue Haven Initiative. Accessed January 23, 2022. http://www.bluehaveninitiative.com/portfolio/ventures/.
6. “Informed Investing: It Takes a Team.” Blue Haven Initiative. Accessed January 23, 2022. http://www.bluehaveninitiative.com/partners/.
7.  “Blue Haven Initiative LLC.” Bloomberg. Accessed January 22, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0914425D:US.
8. “Blue Haven Initiative, LLC.” Better Business Bureau. Accessed January 22, 2022. https://www.bbb.org/us/ma/cambridge/profile/investment-advisory-services/blue-haven-initiative-llc-0021-410341.
9. Reeves, Benjamin. “Liesel Pritzker Simmons’ Family Values.” Worth. October 15, 2019. Accessed January 23, 2022. https://www.worth.com/liesel-pritzker-simmons-family-values/.
10. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted June 10, 2020. Accessed January 22, 2022. https://twitter.com/_BlueHaven/status/1483821996198797316?cxt=HHwWiIC5lc6PzJcpAAAA.
11. Feigenbaum, Cliff. “GreenMoney Interviews: Liesel Pritzker Simmons.” GreenMoney. February 2021. Accessed January 22, 2022.  https://greenmoney.com/greenmoney-interviews-liesel-pritzker-simmons/.
12. Johnson, Jamie. “Including the Young and Rich.” New York Times. April 18, 2014. Accessed January 22, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/20/fashion/white-house-hosts-next-generation-young-and-rich.html?_r=0
13. ^[1] “Blue Haven Initiative.” Medium. Accessed January 22, 2022. https://medium.com/blue-haven-initiative.