7 steps to aligning your charity’s investments with its mission

27 April 2026

For trustees, the question is no longer whether investments should reflect their charity’s mission—but how to do it in practice.

Article last updated 27 April 2026.

From principle to practice: aligning your charity’s investments with its mission

Aligning your portfolio with your purpose doesn’t mean compromising returns. It means being clearer about how your investments support your long-term objectives—financial and missional.

Here are seven practical steps to get started.

1. Define what “alignment” means for your charity

Start with your mission.

Are there sectors you want to avoid?
Are there themes you want to support?
Are reputational risks a concern?

Clarity here avoids confusion later.

2. Review your governing documents

Your investment approach must sit within your charity’s legal framework. Ensure alignment with:

Your governing document
Charity Commission guidance (e.g. CC14)
Trustee duties

This creates a strong foundation for decision-making.

3. Update your investment policy statement (IPS)

Your IPS should clearly articulate:

Financial objectives (income, growth, total return)
Risk tolerance
Any ethical or responsible investment considerations

If it’s not written down, it’s difficult to implement consistently. Learn more about developing your Charity investment policy.

4. Prioritise what matters most

Not all objectives can carry equal weight. Trustees should agree:

Which exclusions are essential
Where flexibility is acceptable
How trade-offs will be managed

This is often the most important—and challenging—step

5. Choose the right investment approach

There are different ways to align investments with mission, including:

Negative screening (whether excluding certain sectors or companies breaching certain norms)
Positive allocation (investing in aligned themes)
Stewardship and engagement

A blended approach is often the most effective.

6. Work with your investment manager

A good investment manager should help you to:

Translate values into a practical portfolio
Explain implications for risk and return
Provide transparent reporting

Alignment should be embedded—not bolted on. Learn more about selecting and working with investment managers.

7. Review regularly

Alignment is not a one-off exercise. Revisit your approach:

Annually
When trustees change
When your strategy evolves

This ensures your investments remain relevant and defensible.

Mission alignment is not about perfection—it’s about progress. Taking a structured, pragmatic approach allows trustees to balance purpose and performance, while maintaining confidence that their investments support the charity’s long-term goals.

Discover more

Useful resources to support Charities Trustees.

Investment support

Explore Rathbones' latest charity publications including research, insights and guidance.

Find out more

Trustee support

See our range of market insights, quarterly webinars and educational tools to help you, help others.

Find out more

Let's talk

Ready to start a conversation? Please complete our enquiry form, and our distribution team will be in touch.

Enquire

The value of your investments and the income from them may go down as well as up, and you could get back less than you invested.