To provide a model of IRIS adoption by impact investors, the KL Felicitas (KLF) Foundation and the Global Impact Investing Network jointly released this case study which explains KLF's motivation for IRIS adoption and details the Foundation's application of IRIS across its active investment portfolio.
Charly and Lisa Kleissner founded the KL Felicitas Foundation in the year 2000 in Los Gatos, CA. After creating successful careers for themselves in Silicon Valley,
as a technology executive and an architect, Charly and Lisa embarked on second careers in philanthropy. Creating a private foundation was an obvious choice for the Kleissners—it allowed them to direct not only their grant funding, but also the foundation’s investment strategy.
The Kleissners are interested in seeing how impactful a small family foundation can be by using modern philanthropic tools and strategies. For instance, rather than only paying out the minimum legal requirement of five percent of assets, the Kleissners are working to allocate the entire investment portfolio to holdings consistent with their values and the purpose of the foundation. The foundation’s primary interest is to address poverty through its support of global early-stage social entrepreneurs and social enterprises, with a focus on rural communities.