Demystifying Program-Related Investing: Live on LinkedIn
Many foundations assume program-related investments (PRIs) are too complex, risky, or time-consuming — but the truth is more nuanced.
Join the Social Finance Institute, the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative at The Wharton School (Wharton Impact), and the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania for a LinkedIn Live conversation designed for foundations, donors, advisors, and other leaders interested in deploying capital more effectively in support of social impact. This one-hour interactive discussion will explore what it really takes to make PRIs work — and why they may be more accessible than many funders assume.
The session will pull insights from recent paper Demystifying Program-Related Investing: Lessons from Recent Adopters, authored by Wharton Impact’s Michael Brown, which draws from interviews with professionals at 36 U.S. foundations that made their first PRI between 2016 and 2023. The paper challenges the conventional wisdom that PRIs are inherently too complex, risky, or burdensome to use effectively. Instead, foundation experiences vary widely based on a small number of practical factors, including how much complexity organizations build into their deals, how they access the capacity needed to execute them, and how well PRIs align with their mission, culture, and internal processes.
Agenda
1:00–1:05pm: Welcome and Introductions
- Karen Anderson, Managing Director, Social Finance Institute
1:05–1:15pm: Research Overview
- Michael Brown, Research Director, Impact Investing Research Lab at the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative (Wharton Impact)
1:15–1:35pm: Roundtable Discussion
Moderated by:
- Katherina Rosqueta, Founding Executive Director, Center for High Impact Philanthropy
Confirmed panelists:
- Michael Brown, Research Director, Impact Investing Research Lab at the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative (Wharton Impact)
- Tracy Palandjian, Co-founder and CEO, Social Finance
1:35–1:55pm: Audience Q&A
1:55–2:00pm: Adjournment