Meet our members! AFN’s greatest asset is our members—a diverse network of national, regional, and community-based foundations, financial institutions, and grantmakers—investing in advancing equitable wealth building and economic mobility. Check back each month and meet your peers!
1: What is the mission of your organization and how is advancing equitable wealth building and economic mobility incorporated into the work?
Founded in Philadelphia, Spring Point Partners champions individuals, ideas and innovations that align with its values and areas of focus. These include water sector leadership; community ownership and wealth building; human-centered learning, community and equity; youth development; social justice thought leadership; animal welfare; and community-rooted leadership. We work throughout the U.S. I manage impact investments and a related economic justice strategy while Joanna Visser Adjoian leads our social justice grantmaking strategy, which includes economic justice as a pillar.
2: How does your organization bridge the racial wealth gap?
Our economic justice investment strategy supports investors and businesses who drive opportunity among historically excluded and under-invested entrepreneurs and communities. This portfolio is connected to our social justice grantmaking, which centers narrative change and self-determination in myriad strategies to address the roots of poverty and build collective wealth and power.
We use both internal and external tools and strategies to center the direct lived experience and self-defined needs of BIPOC and historically oppressed people. This includes directly investing in underrepresented entrepreneurs and fund managers, proximate leaders and community-rooted organizations, while also building partnerships and coalitions across the social justice movement ecosystem with an explicit focus on closing the racial wealth gap. Our investment and grant partners, as well as external advisors, advise on our strategies at multiple stages of development and implementation.
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3: Where are we lacking investments as a sector that will result in greater economic equity, and how can we address the gap?
Women of color consistently face income, wealth, and health gaps compared to other populations. Centering their voices, wellbeing and opportunity will result in greater economic equity with intergenerational impacts, especially given their prominent roles as heads of households and primary caregivers. This requires intentional investments in their businesses, career paths, housing options and access to affordable and responsive healthcare.
4: Share a question you would like to raise to your AFN community.
How are we building collective power and shared accountability to maintain a focus on equity and closing the racial wealth gap, despite mounting attacks in our sector that might otherwise lead to a chilling effect?
5: What have been some of the biggest benefits of being part of the Asset Funders Network?
I have greatly appreciated both the contacts with regional colleagues and the educational panels on key issues. We’ve also taken advantage of the REJ reflection cards and put them out in our cafeteria for colleagues and visitors to explore at their convenience.
6: What TV show are you watching and what do you like about it? Please include the network or streaming service.
The Bear – Hulu. It’s comedy, it’s drama, it is shot beautifully. The characters are complex and their stories gradually unfold like a mystery. Also most episodes are only 30 minutes long!
About Margot Kane, Chief Investment Officer, Spring Point Partners
Margot Kane serves as Chief Investment Officer for Spring Point Partners. Her leadership helps the organization deploy investment as a tool across the portfolio. Margot draws on her deep experience designing blended investment strategies to build the organization’s investment capacity and to activate SPP’s impact-first focus. Margot is a mother of two who enjoys cooking, tennis, and hiking.
