We make an impact again and again through investments , rather than grants.

We want to make more impact than a single grant. We want the capital we provide to multiply, creating more dignified jobs and transforming more lives. That’s why we are a nonprofit that makes investments.

Katie Boland, The Delta Fund

“By enabling philanthropic money to be used more than once, it is our hope that more people can be offered economic justice through stable jobs that pay a living wage.

Philanthropic money should be used to disrupt the existing power structures and financial models, so that we can learn and and make a more equitable world.”

Katie Boland, The Delta Fund

Every $1 we invest generates $3 in income for jobholders, their families, and their communities.

Upaya pioneered the idea of bringing together philanthropic funds to create a pool of recoverable grants, similar to a for-profit investment fund. Thanks to the support of progressive philanthropists, we are able to invest this patient capital in early-stage companies creating dignified jobs for vulnerable people in India.

We call this model Recycling Philanthropy.

The Pool of Recoverable Grants II

We are currently raising our second pool of recoverable grants. The $3 million pool will fund Upaya’s impact investments in India and beyond. To extend this opportunity to more donors, Upaya is partnering with University Impact, an impact investing firm that helps donors fund nonprofits through a donor-advised fund.

Download our information packet or contact us to learn how to get involved!

FAQs

  • Upaya raised its first $1 million pool of recoverable grants in 2019. We have so far successfully deployed investments from the first pool into 12 companies in India. Nine of the investments were finalized in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, a stark increase over Upaya’s average of two investments per year.

  • Because this grant can be returned, only foundations and donors with a donor-advised fund (DAF) can join. Our partnership with University Impact enables any individual to join the pool by creating a simple DAF with them. Learn more about the UI DAF.

  • The minimum donation for foundations and independent DAF holders is $20,000 per year for five years. However, donors who hold or open a DAF with University Impact can commit to a lower amount. Talk with us to learn more!

  • University Impact (UI) is an impact investment firm directing capital to organizations and companies solving social and environmental problems. UI hosts the unique Triple DAF, a donor-advised fund that helps donors fund nonprofits and social ventures by targeting their charitable giving towards outcome focused organizations around the world.