What We Do
University Impact (UI) helps you fund companies and nonprofits solving social and environmental problems.
UI hosts a unique Donor-Advised Fund that helps you create the most impact with your investments, while creating the next generation of social impact leaders.
The University Impact DAF
A donor-advised fund (DAF) allows individuals to make a charitable contribution with an immediate tax deduction and then recommend grants and impact investments from the DAF over time.
Learn about the aspects of the UI DAF.
Tax Deductible & Open Architecture
Contributions to a DAF qualify for an immediate tax deduction while keeping the freedom to donate/invest in many different companies and causes. With the UI open architecture, you can select your preferred financial advisor, custodian, and investment strategies.
UI actively curates impact investment and grant opportunities for clients based on their impact, geographic, and investment preferences. You can think of us as your personal team, helping you to find and fund the most impactful organizations worldwide. We also perform all the financial and impact due diligence for you and submit it to our Investment Committee.
John Curtis
US Congressman
“Over the last few months, I’ve been working with the associates at University Impact and am impressed with the commitment to impact that they have. There are so many incredible companies, making a difference, in need of funding and now I know where to find them. It’s with UI.”
Richard Winwood
Managing Partner at Ridge Rim Partners
Together we can improve the standard of living for the impoverished and increase access to food and clean water.
With your help, we can combat climate change, conserve and sustainably use the oceans, and protect ecosystems.
We can help ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Together we can utilize health and science innovations to improve the global standard of living for all.
Women and Underrepresented Groups
We can help achieve gender equality and empower all minorities.
Local Communities
As partners, we can promote economic growth in local and foreign communities, by helping make them inclusive, safe, and resilient.
Impact investments are made with the intention of generating positive social and environmental impact while earning a financial return. Impact investments can be made in both emerging and developed markets and target a range of returns depending on investors’ goals. When you make an impact investment out of a DAF, the financial returns go back into the DAF for future giving.
You can make both donations and impact investments from your UI Triple DAF.
Your Opportunities are Worldwide
“Now this is critical: many times in the nonprofit world, we go awry not because we expect too much of those we’re trying to help, but because we expect too little. Oftentimes, when we’re about giveaways and grants to solve problems for people, we actually cripple those that we’re trying to assist. What I’ve seen at University Impact is that they find great opportunities and provide sustainable investing to solve problems.”
Joseph Grenny
New York Times Best Selling Author & Chairman of The Other Side Academy
“One of the powerful things that University Impact does is uncouple the fees otherwise combined at commercial DAF hosts. Large institutions use DAFs as a trojan horse to then layer hidden fees on DAF holders – such as mutual fund and transaction fees.”
Michael Folker
Head of Advisor Development at TownSquare Capital
“What is shocking is the reality that it’s gonna take over 5 trillion dollars to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goal objectives set for 2030. There’s a lot of money out there, but it’s not yet allocated to these businesses that provide a more sustainable approach to how customers and citizens consume and act on the day-to-day.”
Alisée de Tonnac
CEO of Seedstars
University Impact Students Have Come From
Thembi Zulu
At University Impact I was able to apply myself in an environment that encouraged learning and growth. Immersing myself in the impact investing space gave me a better understanding of the fundamentals of the field and the potential role that it can play in shaping emerging economies. I believe that my experience at UI left me more equipped to change my part of the world.
Steven Shakiba
I have learned so much in the short time I’ve been here, from financial analysis and industry research to critical thinking and presentation skills. The culture at University Impact is one of collaboration, teamwork, and passion for what we do, which made the experience working here all the better. I now feel better prepared to pursue a career in a variety of disciplines.
Rohan Jain
My summer at University Impact was both more productive and more enjoyable than I could possibly have hoped. The formal and informal learning opportunities University Impact provides and the freedom the fund offers associates to tailor their work to their interests and expertise is second to none. The fund feels like a family both inside and outside the office (which made settling into Utah easy) and the people are some of the best I’ve ever met.
Michelle Zhang
At the tail end of my experience at University Impact, I started to focus on impact investing through the lens of gender equality—where the greatest need is and how we as a fund could support gender equality efforts. This is an issue close to my heart, so it meant a great deal to me that we could spend time doing in-depth research and have our findings shape the way University Impact approaches investing.
Ritvik Bodducherla
Working at University Impact has opened my eyes to how I view new companies and the potential they have to affect the communities around them. Spending a summer dissecting how companies can impact individuals around the world with ingenious solutions that attack the root of the problems instead of the symptoms helped me understand what truly brings revolutionary progress to those who need it most.
Marianna Giordano
Working in the impact investing space has broadened and completely transformed my perspective in terms of how I see the world and how I view my own potential. On a more personal level, my eyes have been opened to professional opportunities that I had never before considered. University Impact has provided me with an incredible space to learn the necessary skills to evaluate the financial and social returns of a start-up company.
Interested in creating your University Impact DAF today?
We partner with you the individual, financial advisor, or family office to fund socially impactful organizations. Some of those organizations are nonprofits and some are for profit companies. Both can make large social, economic, and environmental change possible where it’s needed most.
Research & Insights