Mission Investors Exchange

History

In 2002, the Annie E. Casey Foundation convened a meeting in Baltimore, Maryland of other major left-of-center grantmaking nonprofits that included the Ford Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, the Heron Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Prudential Foundation, and the Rasmuson Foundation to determine ways to use their capital. ⁴

These groups held follow-up meetings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2003, New York City in 2004, and San Diego, California in 2005. Attendees at the 2005 conference established PRI Makers Network. PRI stands for “program-related investments.” In 2008, the PRI Makers Network gained a fiscal sponsor: the Seattle-based Philanthropy Northwest. In 2012, the organization More for Mission combined with PRI Makers Network under the umbrella of Philanthropy Northwest. ⁴

In 2015 in New York, Missions Investors Exchange spun off from Philanthropy Northwest to be an independent organization. ⁴

The organization now has more than 200 members and represents more than $270 billion in total foundation assets. ²

Beyond founding groups, other members of Mission Investors Exchange include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation. ⁵

Activism

Mission Investors Exchange’s 2021 agenda included targeting investments for COVID-19 relief, opposing racial inequity, and addressing climate change. ⁶

At the MIE 2018 National Conference, the organization called for more philanthropists to focus on racial justice issues. ⁷

MIE has pointed to a 2017 report by BoardSource that says of 111 private foundations surveyed, 85 percent of total board members were white. Further, the survey found 40 percent of foundations had boards that were 100 percent white. ⁸

MIE says it seeks to be an “anti-racist” organization and announced it set goals to reduce bias in recruitment. It further announced it would ensure its board compositions reflects the diversity of race, diversity of life experiences, and diversity of the types of member foundations. Further, MIE announced it would ensure consultants, vendors, and financial institutions that it works with reflects similar diversity goals. ⁹

MIE is also actively tracking other foundation progress having people of color and women in leadership positions. ¹⁰

Leadership

Matt Onek is the president and CEO of Mission Investors Exchange. He has held the top spot since the official founding in 2015. ¹¹ Onek was a former Special Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff for the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Obama administration. He helped establish the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. He previously worked at Citigroup, where he advised the Citi Foundation. He also previously was senior counselor to the New York City Schools during Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration. ¹²

Ken Jones was elected as chairman of the board of directors for Mission Investors Exchange in 2021. Jones is the vice president and chief financial officer of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. ⁶ Jones was previously the vice president of CFO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Before that, Jones was the CFO of Danya International, a public health group, and Jhpiego, a health nonprofit affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. He also held corporate finance positions at Ford Motor Company, Pfizer Corporation, and Prudential. ¹³

Melanie Audette is the senior vice president for member and partner engagement at Mission Investors Exchange. She previously worked in the U.S. Foreign Service. She is a board member of the Energy Foundation and a founding member of the Impact Investing Committee for the Council of Michigan Foundations and Invest for Better. ¹²

Elizabeth Katzenbach is the director of finance and operations for Mission Investors Exchange. A certified public accountant, Katzenbach previously worked for Corsair Capital, a private equity investor. ¹²

Partners

According to its website, Mission Investors Exchange listed their “sustaining members” partner organizations between 2019-2020: ¹⁴

• Alabama Power Foundation
• Anchorum
• Bader Philanthropies
• The California Endowment
• Margaret A. Cargill Foundation
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation
• The Colorado Health Foundation
• Community Development & Investment Group at Northern Trust
• Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
• Ford Foundation
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• The George Gund Foundation
• F.B Heron Foundation
• Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• The Kresge Foundation
• Lumina Foundation
• The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
• The McKnight Foundation
• Nathan Cummings Foundation
• Northwest Area Foundation
• The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• The Rockefeller Brothers Fund
• The Rockefeller Foundation
• Surdna Foundation
• Walton Family Foundation

Financials

According to its 2022 990 form, Mission Investors Exchange reported a revenue of $5,523,951, expenses of $3,467,387, and total assets of $7,567,685. ¹⁵