The Toniic Institute is a left-of-center organization aligned with the environmental, social, and governance movement that advocates for shareholder divestment from non-weather-dependent sources of energy, increased investment in weather-dependent sources of energy, and the adoption of corporate hiring and workplace policies that prioritize race and gender in hiring, as well as broader social policies focused on race.

Background

The Toniic Institute was founded in 2013 by Morgan Simon. ¹ Simon founded the organization after working for the United Nations in Honduras, for ForestEthics, and for the Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment. ²

Investment Consulting

In 2020 the Toniic Institute provided investment consulting services to its 226 members, which include individual investors, foundations, and family investment offices. ³

The Toniic Institute’s consulting services are informed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ 17 factors. Investors are advised on how they can align their investments with those factors, which include increasing worldwide reliance on weather-dependent energy, reducing in food and energy consumption, and heightening restraints on corporate decision-making. ⁴

Toniic Investment advocates for an investment policy referred to as “100% activation.” ⁵ Clients that adopt this investment strategy transition all of their assets to investments in line with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ⁶

The Toniic Institute publishes the T100 Report, a manual that encourages investors to adopt the 100% activation model. ⁷  The report asserts that an investment portfolio completely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals will underperform benchmarks over a three-year horizon, but would likely outperform benchmarks over a seven-year horizon. ⁸

Finances

In 2020 the Toniic Institute received $2,022,709 in contributions, ⁹ $728,063 in program service revenue, ¹⁰ and $2,750,882 in total revenue. ¹¹ The same year, the organization incurred $2,791,176 in expenses ¹² and had $1,483,312 in net assets. ¹³

Leadership

Adam Bendell is the CEO of the Toniic Institute. Prior to joining the Toniic Institute, Bendell was the chief innovation officer of FTI Consulting, a global consulting firm. ¹⁴ Bendell received a bachelor of arts from Cornell University and a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. ¹⁵

1. “Morgan Simon.” Toniic. https://toniic.com/morgan-simon/
2. “Morgan Simon.” Toniic. https://toniic.com/morgan-simon/
3.  Toniic Institute. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part III, line 4(a).
4. “Impact Investing – the Toniic Approach.” Toniic Institute. https://toniic.com/impact-investing/
5.  “Impact Investing – the Toniic Approach.” Toniic Institute. https://toniic.com/impact-investing/
6. “Impact Investing – the Toniic Approach.” Toniic Institute. https://toniic.com/impact-investing/
7. ^[1] “T100 Focus Report.” Toniic. https://toniic.com/t100-focus-report-foundations-on-the-road-to-100/
8. “T100 Focus Report.” Toniic. https://toniic.com/t100-focus-report-foundations-on-the-road-to-100/
9. Toniic Institute. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I, line 8.
10. Toniic Institute. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I, line 9.
11. Toniic Institute. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I, line 12.
12. Toniic Institute. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I, line 18.
13. ^[1] Toniic Institute. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I, line 22.
14. “Adam Bendell.” Toniic. https://toniic.com/adam-bendell/
15. “Adam Bendell.” Toniic. https://toniic.com/adam-bendell/