HAN member UMass Memorial Health’s (UMMH) forward-thinking utilization of impact investing is spotlighted in an article focusing on how health systems are having to address upstream determinants of health because of the direct impact on hospital financial performance. UMMHC has pledged 1% ($4 million) of its unrestricted cash portfolio towards impact investing, as a signatory of the HAN Place-based Investing commitment.
From the article:
Concurrently, many hospitals are taking a fresh look at their mission-oriented strategies. For years, hospitals have provided grants to various causes in their communities to augment efforts around mission. Now, many forward-thinking organizations are considering impact investing. Impact investing takes community benefit one step further by looking for a small financial return on that contribution, essentially to cover costs and inflation. The return ensures that the lending program can continue as the investment allocation is refilled, unlike a one-time grant or depletion of allocated funds. A mission with a margin, so to speak.