Impact Investments
To see that everyone in the U.S. has the opportunity to live their healthiest life possible, capital must flow equitably to communities that have faced a lack of investment through the impact of generations of racist policies and structural racism. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. We make impact investments—deposits, loans, equity investments, and guarantees—and partner with public and private sector investors to bring more capital to these communities.
We envision flourishing communities where everyone has access to clean, safe drinking water and safe, stable housing; where jobs pay a living wage; and where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to thrive. Since 2010, RWJF has committed $625 million to impact investments to help advance this vision, aiming to address the structural barriers that have shaped the health inequities we see today. These include the historical and present lack of investment in housing, jobs, water, infrastructure, and other community conditions.
We work to improve health and economic opportunity for communities, small business owners, and households that historically have experienced a lack of investment—such as rural communities, communities of color, and communities with low incomes. Our 2020–2025 goal is to attract or “leverage” $1 billion from other investors, including banks, commercial lenders, insurance companies, and private investors to help advance progress toward a U.S. where everyone—no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they make—has the resources they need to live their healthiest lives possible. At the end of 2023, we were halfway to that goal.
Our Strategies
Our impact investments focus on three areas:
Advancing Racial Equity:
Reducing the racial wealth gap by increasing and preserving Black and Brown homeownership as a lever to strengthen financial wellbeing and fostering intergenerational wealth transfer. Learn more about this strategy.
Strengthening the Community Development Finance System:
Strengthening the community development finance system with a focus on communities that historically have experienced a lack of investment, especially communities with low incomes and communities of color. Learn more about this strategy.
Program-Directed Investments:
Complementing grantmaking portfolios across the Foundation with program-linked investments, such as to improve a community’s water infrastructure. Learn more about this strategy.
Featured Content
How We Drive Capital to Communities that Need it Most
RWJF uses impact investments to advance racial equity, strengthen the community development finance system, and complement our grantmaking work, helping ensure everyone, no matter their ZIP code, has what they need to live their healthiest lives.
Case Studies
Community Foundations Spur Local Development for Health and Wellbeing
Building Generational Wealth and Greater Wellbeing through New and Better Homes
Housing and Economic Development Agency Removing Barriers to Homeownership in Wisconsin
Featured Resources
Impact at Work: An Examination of Corporate Impact Investing Strategies and Their Durability
The goal of this report is to examine corporate impact investing, or the leveraging of a corporate’s balance sheet or investment capital to advance positive social, economic and environmental outcomes alongside financial considerations.
Impact Investing Opportunities to Advance Water, Health, and Equity
There is an opportunity for philanthropic impact investors to align investment strategies toward an equitable water future. An RWJF-funded report from the Environmental Policy Innovation Center shares three recommendations that offer strategies for impact investors to support and finance improvements in water infrastructure.
From the Blog
Using Impact Investments to Boost Economic Growth in Latino Communities
Who Finances Healthy Communities?
How We’re Investing to Advance Racial Equity
Related Content
Funding to Center Equity in Municipal Bonds
The $4 trillion municipal bond market is one of the largest pools of private investment capital flowing into America's states and localities, shaping the built environment in communities across the country and directly impacting health and equity. In a first-of-its-kind effort, a $4 million grant from RWJF aims to empower communities across America to leverage municipal bond market investments to disrupt historic systemic racial inequities.