Independent Investment Committee Member Profile
About the Nathan Cummings Foundation
Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) is a multigenerational family foundation honoring the Jewish tradition of social justice. NCF invests in systemic solutions that advance racial, economic, and environmental justice and prioritizes partnerships with organizations led by those most impacted by and most capable of dismantling systems of oppression, particularly communities of color. NCF is committed to leveraging 100 percent of the Foundation’s assets, in pursuit of people-centric impact. Learn more at nathancummings.org.
In 2018, NCF made a commitment to activate the entirety of our endowment (approximately $500 million) as a tool to advance our mission. We seek opportunities to align our investment practices with our mission and values, while optimizing the impacts of our investments and continuing to meet our financial goals. Seven years into our journey, we have taken some important steps, including hiring a values-aligned partner as our full-discretion OCIO and issuing the first report on our early progress. We are currently working to embed principles of racial, economic, and environmental justice into our investment practices and to implement impact metrics and key performance indicators to measure our progress.
About Investment Committee Membership
- The Investment Committee (IC) provides fiduciary oversight and strategic direction for the foundation’s endowment, in alignment with NCF’s mission. This includes fostering progress toward NCF’s financial and impact goals. Since 2010, the committee has outsourced management of the endowment to a full-discretion OCIO. Our current OCIO, appointed in 2021, is Bivium Westfuller. Committee members do not vote on individual investments, although they may contribute potential ideas to the OCIO.
- The IC consists of members of the Board of Trustees, the Chair of the Board, the President/CEO, and several independent committee members. Independent IC members are elected by the board for three-year terms and may be re-elected for up to three additional terms. Independent members play a critical role in developing NCF’s mission-aligned investing strategy, enhancing fiduciary oversight, and identifying opportunities for greater impact and alignment. They are fully equal to trustee members, including in voting power and eligibility to chair the committee.
- The primary responsibilities of the Investment Committee are:
- Evaluate and provide advice to the board and staff as to how NCF’s investment policy and strategy, investment activities, risk management controls, and processes are aligned with the foundation’s mission, values, and goals.
- Monitor and evaluate the performance of the OCIO, such as by regular review of quarterly reports, participation in investor calls, and attendance of IC meetings.
- Periodically report to NCF’s board on endowment assets, performance relative to the foundation’s investment objectives, mission impact, and other matters the IC deems relevant.
- Retain or dismiss outside professionals when appropriate to ensure effective execution of the IC’s responsibilities.
Investment Committee members should also:
- Provide continuing education and mentorship to the board and staff around general portfolio theory, mission/impact investing philosophy and strategies, or other timely topics.
- Be a thought partner with staff in shaping the execution of NCF’s investing goals, particularly as they relate to mission-alignment and optimizing the total mission-impact of the institution.
- Think creatively, raise insightful questions, and bring a fresh and unique perspective to IC deliberations on key issues like market dynamics, economic analysis, or investing strategy.
- Partner with NCF to expand the foundation’s connections, networking, sourcing, and thought leadership in the fields of foundation/endowment management and mission/impact investing.
Meeting Requirements & Acknowledgment of Service
- Participate in four IC meetings per year and be available to provide reports or answer questions at up to two Board of Trustee meetings per year.
- Note: At least one IC meeting per year is in-person and requires an overnight stay. The remaining meetings are generally virtual. Board reports may be virtual or in-person.
- IC members may occasionally be invited to participate in other foundation meetings or strategic initiatives to promote greater understanding and integration of NCF’s overall work.
- IC members may occasionally be invited to represent the foundation in the field, such as through speaking engagements and conference participation.
- Reasonable and appropriate foundation-related business expenses will be reimbursed.
- Independent IC Members may also participate in NCF’s Board Recommended Grant (BRG) Program and recommend up to $24,000 in mission-aligned discretionary grants. Alternatively, they may opt to receive an honorarium ($24,000) in recognition of their service and attendance.
Member Profile
The new independent Investment Committee member will ideally possess many of the following characteristics:
- Highly capable and experienced in the fundamentals of institutional asset and portfolio management; CIO-level experience with university or foundation endowments, family offices, and/or private or public pension funds is a plus.
- Experience with mission/impact investing. Interested in exploring the intersection of financial performance and institutional impact across the capital spectrum.
- Passion for NCF’s mission and familiarity with the nonprofit sector; experience related to racial, economic, and/or environmental justice is a plus.
- Comfortable communicating technical investment concepts and terminology clearly to individuals with less investment experience.
- Intellectually curious, able to offer probing questions, and comfortable examining alternate points of view in a respectful, collaborative, and rigorous way.
- Culturally competent and self-aware. Engages in thoughtful and constructive dialogue, respects group decisions, and promotes cohesion with the foundation’s mission and values.
- Understands ethical responsibilities and consistently upholds the highest professional standards of conduct. Avoids situations where personal interests conflict with the foundation’s.
NCF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind, including but not limited to discrimination based on any race or color, religion or creed, caste, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity or expression (including the use of preferred pronouns), sexual orientation, sexual and reproductive health decisions or decision making (of employees or their dependents), height, weight, marital or familial status, military or veteran status, caregiving responsibilities, gender-based violence survivor status, credit or salary history, age, disability, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, pre-employment arrest record, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Contact Information
Interested parties should submit a resume and letter of interest, describing your motivation for applying and the contributions you would like to make to our progress, to ICSearch@nathancummings.org no later than July 31, 2025. E-mails should contain the subject line “Application: Independent IC Member.”
