Calvert Giving Fund Sets High Bar for Donor Advised Funds: 100 Percent Socially Responsible Strategy Outperforms S&P 500 in Down Market

BETHESDA, MD., August 26, 2009 — As interest in donor advised funds (DAFs) heats up, Calvert Foundation announced today that the assets in its donor advised fund, the Calvert Giving Fund, outperformed the S&P 500/Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond 60/40 Index by 6.55 percent over the last year. And what is just as newsworthy: the Calvert Giving Fund achieved this performance through a 100 percent socially and environmentally sound investment strategy.

Calvert Giving Fund clients have the ability to make a deeper philanthropic impact with their donations by choosing from a wide array of socially responsible themed and structured investments in which to park their donated assets until they are granted out to charities. The Calvert Giving Fund also offers the “Global Impact Ventures” (GIV) platform, which provides donors access to an unprecedented range of professionally managed funds that have private debt and/or equity stakes in social enterprises, innovative nonprofits and microfinance institutions.

Clients also pick from the Calvert Group’s industry leading sustainable and responsible mutual funds, including the newest additions of the Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund (CGAEX) and the Calvert Global Water Fund (CFWAX). They also select to invest their donated assets in Calvert Foundation’s Community Investment Note, which allows investors to support over 250 organizations worldwide that provide affordable housing, microfinance, and essential community services.

A donor advised fund allows today's philanthropists to invest a tax-deductible donation and then grant the proceeds to their favorite causes over time. While the assets wait to be granted out, they are invested so that they may grow, creating more dollars available to grant out. Its simplicity and ease of use, especially regarding tax and administration, has led to a surge in interest in the product, which is often used as an alternative to a private family foundation. The Calvert Giving Fund goes one step further. By only offering socially responsible investment options for donated assets, it enables the philanthropist's money to make a positive sustainable difference while it is invested as well as when it is given away in grants to nonprofits, thereby magnifying its charitable impact.

Tim Freundlich, senior vice president at Calvert Foundation, said: “Donor advised funds are growing in popularity at an astounding rate, as they provide donors with the philanthropic tools available to those with private family foundations, but without the high costs that accompany such an endeavor. As more philanthropists discover DAFs, Calvert Foundation’s Giving Fund has experienced a surge in interest. And our Giving Fund donors have given us nothing but positive feedback over the past year.”

The fact that the Giving Fund’s assets outperform the general market provides hope to nonprofits at a time when so many of them are struggling to stay afloat and to provide services to those who need it most.

Calvert Foundation President and CEO Shari Berenbach said: “The Giving Fund uses donated assets awaiting grant making to invest in organizations that provide grassroots solutions to social and environmental problems such as environmental degradation, lack of affordable housing, and poverty in the developing world. This means donated assets get to work for important causes right away, guaranteeing a sustainable difference from day one. These continued gains over the past year – the consistency we are seeing – is reassuring for our donor advised fund clients who need to make charitable grants from their investment portfolio every year.”

Interviews with Calvert Giving Fund investors will be made available to the news media. To arrange to speak with a Calvert Foundation CGF investor, contact Carrie McGarry at (301) 280-1383 or carrie.mcgarry@calvertfoundation.org or Patrick Mitchell at (703) 276-3266 or pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com.

ABOUT CALVERT FOUNDATION
Calvert Foundation has raised more than $170 million from 9,000 caring investors to lift people out of poverty while delivering a financial return on investment. We do this through our Community Investment Note, which starts at $1,000 and is available in various terms and rates up to 3%. At maturity, you get your money back with interest. While invested, your dollars are hard at work revitalizing poor communities, reversing inequality and creating hope and opportunity where it’s needed most. We rely on grants and contributions to offset operating expenses and to extend the reach of our investors’ dollars.

Calvert Foundation offers additional programs, including the Calvert Giving Fund – the only 100% socially responsible donor advised fund, and Community Investment Partners, a team of professionals that help organizations set up and manage investments that support low-income communities around the world.

Calvert Foundation has more than 15 years of experience bringing together investors and community organizations. Our team asks the right questions and structures deals that are both financially sound and offer long-term benefits to communities in need. Learn more at www.calvertfoundation.org.