The Vermont Community Foundation has hired Adam Bornstein as a Mission Investment Manager. Adam joins the Community Foundation after more than 25-years in finance, social impact investing, and community development—both domestically and abroad, including Africa and Asia. Most recently, Adam worked as the Head for Innovative Finance & System Change at the Danish Red Cross, where he was responsible for developing transformation public-private partnerships as well as structuring and implementing technology-driven response and recovery programs, globally. Prior to that, Adam held roles at Ashoka, a foundation that supports social entrepreneurs, and USAID, where he led the Innovative Finance team for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
“Community foundations are pillars of rural and urban communities and vital sources of catalytic philanthropic funding necessary to stimulate equitable, systemic change at the grassroots level,” says Bornstein. “I look forward to working with the mission investment team to seed future employment opportunities, strengthen family resilience, advance social equality, and strive to elevate and extend the Foundation's legacy of creative, transparent, and mission-driven social investments.”
In his new role, Adam will be working closely the Vermont Investment Pool, and the Vermont Investment Committee, helping the Community Foundation manage the portfolio, as well as structure internal reporting and metrics. He will be responsible for working directly with impact partners, and the portfolio companies and community projects—from Mamava and High Mowing Organic Seeds, to Working Fields, Vermont Housing Finance Authority, and Flexible Capital Fund. This new role will bring together the Community Foundation’s focus on place-based grantmaking with our strategy of integrated capital investment in Vermont’s communities.
“Our Vermont Mission Investment Pool complements foundation grantmaking to help create communities that are stronger, healthier, and more resilient,” says Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation. “Adam’s depth of experience in community development and finance will be instrumental in building our capacity for impact. We look forward to investing more philanthropic assets here in Vermont to close the opportunity gap and creating more opportunities for fundholders to engage in place-based mission investments.”
Adam recently relocated full-time to Vermont with his wife, Maral, two kids, eight-year-old Anoushka and six-year-old Ze’ev, and dog Bankhar. The family is currently in the process of building a net-zero, passive home.
The Vermont Community Foundation inspires giving and brings people and resources together to make a difference in Vermont. A family of hundreds of funds and foundations, we provide the advice, investment vehicles, and back-office expertise that make it easy for the people who care about Vermont to find and fund the causes they love.
The heart of the Community Foundation’s work is closing the opportunity gap—the divide that leaves too many Vermonters struggling to get ahead, no matter how hard they work. We are aligning our time, energy, and discretionary resources on efforts that provide access to early care and learning, pathways to college and career training, support for youth and families, and community and economic vitality. We envision Vermont at its best—where everyone has the opportunity to build a bright, secure future. Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information. For information on our COVID-19 response, visit vtcovid19response.org.