Blue Meridian Partners stands out as an innovative philanthropic model dedicated to identifying and funding effective, scalable solutions to address poverty and enhance economic mobility for young people and families across America.
This unique model amplifies the impact of philanthropy by aggregating resources and uniting investors with leaders in the social sector. By pooling funds, Blue Meridian Partners unlocks significant philanthropic capital to scale strategies that demonstrate strong promise in tackling complex social issues.
Established in 2016, Blue Meridian Partners evolved from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (EMCF), building upon EMCF’s extensive experience in performance-based investments and its leadership in aggregating growth capital. Blue Meridian provides substantial, long-term investments, offering visionary social sector leaders the crucial upfront capital needed to expand their reach and maximize their impact. For philanthropists, meridian partners offers an efficient and impactful vehicle for investment, distributing costs, risks, and successes collectively.
In a significant move in October 2018, Blue Meridian Partners announced its transition to an independent enterprise, marking a new phase of growth and expanding its capital base, which exceeded $3 billion by 2022.
Explore more about Blue Meridian Partners on their website.
Currently, Blue Meridian’s investments are strategically allocated across five key portfolios:
- Nationwide Solutions
- Place Matters Portfolio
- Justice & Mobility Fund
- The Studio @ Blue Meridian
- COVID-19 Emergency Relief
Blue Meridian recognizes the critical importance of a dual approach, investing in both nationwide and place-based strategies. This ensures maximum impact across the entire country while also addressing the specific needs of individual communities, ultimately improving more lives.
Blue Meridian Partners actively seeks new partners to join their mission of addressing the challenges faced by children and youth living in poverty in America, meeting the scale of the problems with commensurate resources.
Blue Meridian Partners in the Spotlight:
Blue Meridian – The Big Picture
CEO Nancy Roob articulates the vision of meridian partners: “to really move the needle on social problems in this country.”
Key Differences: Blue Meridian Partners vs. Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
While Blue Meridian Partners leverages EMCF’s rigorous approach to identifying, investing in, and ensuring nonprofit accountability, it expands upon this foundation in several key ways. Firstly, Blue Meridian explores investment opportunities in programs serving a broader age range, from infancy to age 30. The scope of program areas is also wider, encompassing early childhood development, K-12 education, postsecondary education, career training, child welfare, and juvenile/criminal justice systems.
Secondly, Blue Meridian Partners makes significantly larger and longer-term commitments compared to EMCF, with investments reaching $100 million or more over 5 to 10 years for each selected organization.
Finally, unlike EMCF’s previous capital aggregation efforts, General Partners actively participate in Blue Meridian Partners’ decision-making processes and are represented on its board, chaired by Stanley Druckenmiller.
