Ways AIN Members Fund Their Investments
AIN is a community of peer investors, not a pooled fund. Each member decides which AIN-sourced opportunities to pursue and deploys capital directly from the source that best fits the deal. Those sources fall into two broad categories: personal capital and charitable capital.
What AIN does: sources, screens, and facilitates collaborative diligence on faith-driven companies and funds. About 7% of deals are funded by AIN members. What AIN doesn't do: pool capital, take carry, or make investment decisions for you. You choose your deals. You choose your vehicle.
The Landscape, at a Glance
Members fund investments from two broad pools of capital. Charitable capital itself flows through one of two vehicle types, and most AIN members who use charitable capital do so through a donor-advised fund.
Investing Personal Capital
The most direct pathway. A member wires funds to the company (or fund) from a personal account, a family LLC, a family partnership, or a family-controlled investment entity. The investor owns the position outright. Returns and losses flow to the investor directly.
When it fits
- You have liquidity in taxable accounts you'd like to deploy
- You want full ownership of upside, accepting full tax treatment
- You want flexibility to follow on or exit without charitable constraints
What to know
- You receive K-1s or 1099s directly from the company or fund
- No origination or oversight fees beyond what the deal itself charges
- Many members use a family LLC as a clean wrapper for multi-generational participation
Investing Charitable Capital via a Private Foundation
A private foundation is a charitable entity the family itself controls and operates. Investments are made by the foundation's board, returns flow back to the foundation, and the foundation makes its own grants to qualified charities (subject to the 5% annual distribution requirement and other rules governing private foundations). Capital committed to a private foundation has been irrevocably committed to charitable use; the deduction was taken at the time of the original gift and returns never come back to the donor personally.
When it fits
- The family already has an established private foundation
- You want full board-level control of both investments and grants
- You're comfortable with the regulatory and administrative load of a private foundation
What to know
- Private foundations have stricter rules than DAFs (excess business holdings, self-dealing, jeopardizing investments)
- Direct investments in for-profit companies require careful structuring; coordinate with foundation counsel before closing
- The 5% minimum distribution applies at the foundation level, not per-investment
Investing Charitable Capital via a DAF
A donor-advised fund is a giving account held at a public charity. The member contributes assets, takes the charitable deduction, and then recommends how those dollars are invested and granted. The sponsoring charity has legal control; the donor advises. DAFs are typically easier to administer than private foundations and offer more flexibility on investment options. Two DAF sponsors are most commonly used by AIN members: National Christian Foundation (NCF) and Impact Foundation. Each is covered in its own section below.
Investing Charitable Capital via DAF: NCF
NCF is the largest Christian donor-advised fund in the country, with decades of experience helping families convert ordinary and complex assets into Kingdom resources. Many AIN members already hold an NCF Giving Fund. NCF offers two complementary routes for putting that charitable capital to work alongside AIN's deal flow.
NCF Alternative Investments · Pricing & Requirements
How NCF and AIN work together
- You source the fit: AIN identifies a faith-aligned fund or company; you evaluate whether it belongs in your charitable portfolio.
- NCF underwrites and approves: the recommended investment goes through NCF's internal underwriting; alternative investment fees must be reasonable as determined by NCF.
- Distributions are charitable: some or all distributions are retained by NCF until legal obligations to the underlying fund are satisfied, and all distributed dollars remain in your Giving Fund for future grants.
- AIN keeps you in community: the deal sits inside AIN's shared diligence, ongoing monitoring, and post-investment engagement, regardless of which vehicle holds your position.
NCF resources for members and prospective members:
- Alternative Investments overview — concept sheet covering how NCF Giving Funds can invest in faith-aligned alternatives
- 2026 Alternative Investments Pool presentation (PDF) — full giver deck covering fund strategy, allocations, and how to participate
- Alternative Investments Pool introduction video — overview presentation from NCF
Confirm specifics with your NCF representative and tax advisor.
Investing Charitable Capital via DAF: Impact Foundation
Impact Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity whose central program is built around direct charitable investment into private companies and funds. Members open an Impact Foundation Account, fund it with cash or appreciated assets (taking the charitable deduction at that point), and then recommend investments out of the account into specific AIN-sourced deals.
When it fits
- You want to invest directly in a specific company, not just a fund
- You have appreciated assets you'd like to give and then redeploy
- You want the closing workflow to integrate cleanly with AIN's deal process
What to know
- Returns flow back into your Impact Foundation Account and remain charitable
- Impact Foundation appears on the company's cap table as the investor of record
- NCF Giving Fund holders can fund an Impact Foundation Account by granting from NCF to Impact Foundation (see Route B above)
Track record: Impact Foundation has been AIN's most-used charitable vehicle. Since 2018, roughly $7.1M (26%) of AIN's deployed capital has flowed through Impact Foundation across 131 individual checks. The workflow is well-worn on both sides.
More on Impact Foundation: impactfoundation.org.
Round-Trip Flexibility Between NCF and Impact Foundation
Both NCF and Impact Foundation are donor-advised funds, and charitable capital can flow between them. This matters most in the Route B scenario: a member grants from their NCF Giving Fund to an Impact Foundation Account, the Impact Foundation Account invests in an AIN-sourced company, and eventually the investment returns capital. Once those returns arrive back in the Impact Foundation Account, the donor-advisor decides what happens next. The capital is not trapped in one place.
Many AIN members already operate an NCF Giving Fund for traditional grant-making and have years of established granting infrastructure built around it. Moving capital to an Impact Foundation Account for a direct AIN deal does not mean abandoning that infrastructure. When the investment returns capital, the donor can route those dollars back to NCF and continue granting the way they always have, redeploy through Impact Foundation for the next direct AIN deal, or grant directly to charity from the Impact Foundation Account. Two DAFs, fully complementary, with the donor in the advisor seat throughout.
What this enables
- Use NCF's broad granting infrastructure for ministries and charities you already support
- Use Impact Foundation's direct investment workflow for specific AIN deals
- Move capital between the two as deals and giving plans require
What stays the same
- The capital is charitable from the moment it left your personal balance sheet
- You took the charitable deduction once, at the original gift
- You are the donor-advisor in both vehicles; returns never come back to you personally
Side-by-Side Comparison
The four vehicles within these two categories are not mutually exclusive. Most active members use more than one over time.
| Personal Capital | Private Foundation | NCF Giving Fund | Impact Foundation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Personal | Charitable | Charitable (DAF) | Charitable (DAF) |
| Returns flow to | You (taxable) | The foundation (charitable) | Your NCF Giving Fund (charitable) | Your Impact Foundation Account (charitable) |
| Direct company investment | Yes | Yes, with careful structuring | Not directly; grant to Impact Foundation for direct deals | Yes. Central program |
| Fund-level investment | Yes | Yes | Yes, via NCF's alternative investments program | Yes |
| Investor of record | You (or your LLC) | The foundation | NCF | Impact Foundation |
| Administrative load | Moderate | High (private foundation rules) | Low to moderate (DAF rules) | Low to moderate (DAF rules) |
| Typical AIN use case | Default route for personal liquidity | Used when family already has a foundation | Most common for fund-level allocations | Most common for direct charitable deals (26% of AIN capital since 2018) |
Which Source Fits This Deal?
A few questions help sort it out. Most members find they use different sources for different deals.
Decision questions
Talk through the right source for your situation
The best next step is a short conversation with Will Thomas, AIN's Managing Director, to walk through your specific situation. We'll also coordinate with your NCF representative, your Impact Foundation contact, or your wealth advisor as needed.
Email Will Thomas Visit ambassadorsimpact.com