Financial Oversight

The Foundation’s Board of Directors and Investment Committee oversee the management of the endowment. The Investment Committee is a standing committee of the Board of Directors that assists in fulfilling responsibilities related to the invested funds held by HFPG, Inc.

Working closely with Foundation staff, the committee reviews and approves the investment policy and proxy voting policy statement, and provides direction for the investment of the donor funds entrusted to the Hartford Foundation.

In managing the endowment, we aim to achieve long-term investment results that exceed the Foundation’s spending policy plus the rate of inflation. We further recognize the need to provide sufficient cashflow from the portfolio to support current spending. 

In short, we seek to deliver strong investment performance while also preserving the future spending power of the Foundation and protecting the endowment from the risk of a permanent loss of capital. 

Spending Policy

The Foundation’s spending policy and investment strategy are designed to work together to provide a predictable stream of dollars for annual grantmaking to the region’s non-profits while also prioritizing the preservation of the inflation-adjusted value of the funds in the endowment so that the impact of future grantmaking can be as effective as it is today.

The current spending policy formula is calculated as follows: 5% of a trailing twenty-quarter average of the market value of each fund, provided that the resulting value falls between 4.25% (the floor) and 5.75% (the cap) of the respective fund value as of the most recent calendar year-end. If the value is higher than the cap, the annual spending policy allocation from the fund during the year will be limited to 5.75% of the most recent calendar year-end fund value. If it is lower than the floor, the annual spending policy allocation from the fund will be raised to 4.25% of the most recent calendar year-end fund value. Fees charged by the Foundation to administer donor funds are deducted from this amount prior to making funds available for grants.

Where the Hartford Foundation's dollars were spent in 2023

Grants*

$49,867,965

Operating Expenses

$9,479,049

Program Support and Foundation-Administered Projects

$2,431,634

*Does not include grants from agency endowments.