PROGRAM-RELATED INVESTMENTS (PRI)
The California Endowment has committed $100 million of our corpus to Program-Related Investments (PRIs). PRIs are one tool in The California Endowment’s continuum of philanthropic capital available for advancing its programmatic vision and supporting its current work through Building Healthy Communities (BHC).
Specifically, our PRI capital is intended to address market failures, fill financing gaps, and promote innovative ideas that affect the health of vulnerable populations and low-to-moderate-income communities in California. As such, we seek to support innovative opportunities that not only demonstrate social impact but also deliver financial returns. We typically structure our PRIs as financial instruments that must be repaid but also provide more favorable terms to our partners than traditional financial institutions. The California Endowment’s current portfolio of PRIs consists of loans but we will consider other financial products which advance The California Endowment’s mission.
PRIORITY ISSUE AREAS
Our PRI activity is structured to complement and support The California Endowment’s programmatic priorities and advance our current 2020 goals. Current priority issue areas include:
- Increasing access to quality health care and improving the capacity of community-based primary care health delivery and prevention
- Addressing the lack of opportunity and health and wellness of youth
- Improving neighborhood conditions in distressed and unstable communities
OUR PRIs
The California Endowment made its first PRI in 1999 as part of a significant investment in a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI): Rural Communities Assistance Corporation (RCAC). As of March 31, 2016, The California Endowment has made program-related investments totaling $65.5 million. In addition to RCAC, our PRIs have supported a range of programmatic priorities including:
- Fresh food financing
- Community health facilities
- Affordable housing plus supportive services
- Community reinvestment and wealth building
PRI CUMULATIVE GROWTH OF DOLLARS DEPLOYED (IN MILLIONS)

The California Endowment PRI program has also achieved significant programmatic impact as of March 31, 2016, including:
- 250,000 people projected to have increased access to health clinics
- 800,000 people with increased access to fresh food
- 4,400 affordable housing units created
PRI REPORTING
PRI recipients should refer to their executed legal documents for details on their reporting schedules and requirements. It is the responsibility of the PRI recipient to notify The California Endowment about any potential delays in reporting.
Please note that PRI recipients must create online accounts to access PRI and reporting information. Your account will be generated based on the Monitoring Form that goes out with the PRI documents.
If you have questions regarding online reporting, please contact impactinvesting@calendow.org.