What We're Reading: Toledo Museum of Art makes impact investment with Upstart Co-Lab
From Toledo Museum of Art: The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) has committed to invest $1 million in the new Inclusive Creative Economy Strategy launched by Upstart Co-Lab, a nonprofit impact investing leader that connects capital with creative people and companies in the creative industries delivering both social impact and financial return. This Strategy is the first of its kind in the U.S.
TMA is the first museum to commit to the Inclusive Creative Economy Strategy and stands as a model other cultural institutions can follow as they align their endowment investment strategies with their values and mission. Returns from the investment will bolster TMA’s operating budget and help the Museum fulfill its mission.
The Inclusive Creative Economy Strategy will invest in fashion, film and TV, video games, food, the creator economy, the visual art market, immersive experiences, health and beauty and other creative industries. Priority will be given to businesses founded by women and people of color with commitments to developing quality jobs, anchoring vibrant communities and enabling sustainable creative lives.
"The Toledo Museum of Art’s existing investment portfolio is diversified, managed with the help of a third-party consultant and governed by the Museum’s Investment Review Committee. As a hedge to any downside risk, TMA developed a novel strategy and found a generous anonymous donor with a deep passion for creative industries and a history of arts advocacy to fund an account to guarantee any future losses to the Museum’s investment.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have the Toledo Museum of Art be the first museum to commit to this inaugural impact investing strategy for the U.S. creative economy," said Laura Callanan, the founding partner of Upstart Co-Lab and former senior deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. "Levine and TMA are showing leadership to their cultural peers. They have innovated an approach that we hope other museums and arts organizations will follow.”
Investors in the Inclusive Creative Economy Strategy include the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Souls Grown Deep Foundation and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, among others.