Investment Services for Nonprofits and Associations
Raffa Investment Advisers is a fiduciary investment advisory firm built in 2005 to serve nonprofits and associations. We partner with your finance committee, board, and staff to build and manage an investment program that reflects how your organization is structured, how your reserves are used, and how your board oversees the process.
OUR SOLUTIONS
How We Support Nonprofit and Association Investment Programs
Managing investments for a nonprofit or association requires more than portfolio oversight. Volunteer boards rotate. Finance committees bring varying levels of investment experience. Reserves serve multiple purposes with different time horizons. The way those investment decisions are governed matters as much as the decisions themselves. Raffa’s services are built around these realities, covering the full nonprofit investment program from policy development and reserve strategy through portfolio and cash management, reporting, and the fiduciary education that supports your board’s oversight. In addition to supporting your organization’s investment program, we also partner with nonprofits and associations on their retirement plans, covering investment selection, vendor benchmarking, and participant education.
Reserve Strategy
Reserve Strategy
Investment Policy Development
Investment Policy Development
Investment Management
Investment Management
Cash Management
Cash Management
Board Education & Training
Board Education & Training
ESG or Values-Based Investing
ESG Investing
Investment Reporting & Dashboards
Investment Reporting & Dashboards
Retirement Plan Advisory
Retirement Plan Advisory
Why Raffa Investment Advisers?
In assets under management
nonprofit and association clients
nonprofit client retention rate over the past 10 years*
Disclosures: Data as of 12/31/2025. As of that date, Raffa provided investment management services to $1,698,115,468. For purposes of this advertisement, Client includes client relationships which include multiple distinct entities under common decision-making control. Clients who went out of business or spent down their reserves are not counted as terminated clients for purposes of calculating the retention rate. Clients whose organization was bought or consolidated by or with another organization are not counted as terminated clients for purposes of calculating the retention rate. Clients with whom Raffa initiated the termination of services with are not counted as terminated clients for purposes of calculating the retention rate. Including such clients results in a 10-year nonprofit client retention rate of 98.88%. This is not meant to be an endorsement or expression of opinion about Raffa Investment Advisers and therefore it is not known if clients approve or disapprove of the investment advisory services provided by Raffa Investment Advisers. The data used to determine client retention rates was compiled exclusively by Raffa Investment Advisers and has not been audited or verified by a third-party.
OUR APPROACH
How We Work with Nonprofits and Associations
Raffa was founded more than 20 years ago to serve nonprofit organizations and associations with volunteer leadership, committee-based governance, and policy-driven investment programs. That focus shapes everything about how we work, from how we manage your investments to how we communicate with your board and staff.
We center our engagement around your organization’s governance structure. That means participating in finance committee meetings, managing your investment portfolio in alignment with your Investment Policy Statement, delivering reporting your committee can act on, and providing fiduciary education tailored to your board’s experience level. When committee members transition, we help incoming members understand the investment program so oversight continues without disruption. All of our services are provided under a single, all-inclusive advisory fee. Purpose-built and with two decades of working with nonprofits and associations gives us a depth of understanding of the governance challenges, market environments, and organizational transitions your team is likely to face.
Who We Serve
Serving 174 nonprofit and association clients nationwide
Raffa served 174 nonprofit and association clients as of 12/31/25. Please note that the clients listed above have only agreed to be listed as clients of Raffa and are in no way endorsing or expressing an opinion about Raffa. Please reference important disclosures at the bottom of the webpage.
FAQs
What should a nonprofit look for in an investment adviser?
Selecting an investment adviser for a nonprofit or association requires more than evaluating investment performance. Organizations should also prioritize advisers who understand nonprofit governance, policy-driven investing, and the realities of working with volunteer boards. Other important considerations include whether the adviser is a fiduciary and willing to assume discretionary authority, whether they earn revenue directly from custodians or fund managers, whether they offer proprietary products, and whether their services cover the full investment program including policy development, reporting, and board education.
Why should a nonprofit work with a fiduciary investment adviser?
A fiduciary investment adviser is legally required to act in your organization’s interests. For nonprofits and associations with volunteer boards overseeing investment decisions, working with a fiduciary provides an additional layer of accountability.
What conflicts of interest should nonprofits watch for when selecting an investment adviser?
Nonprofits and associations should understand how an adviser is compensated and whether they have financial incentives beyond the advisory fee. Common conflicts include advisers who receive commissions on product sales, use proprietary investment products, maintain revenue-sharing arrangements with fund providers, or are directly employed by a broker-dealer or custodian. A fiduciary adviser with an open-architecture approach to investment selection helps manage these conflicts from the advisory relationship and investment selection process.
What is an OCIO and how does it work for nonprofits?
OCIO, or outsourced chief investment officer, is a term used to describe an investment adviser that serves in a discretionary capacity as a comprehensive partner for a nonprofit or association’s investment program. Rather than managing only the portfolio, an OCIO typically handles policy development, reporting, and board education alongside investment management.
When should a nonprofit consider hiring an investment adviser?
Common triggers include liquid cash reserves that have grown beyond what’s needed for the current budget year. At that point, reserve structure and investment strategy often becomes more specialized than what staff or the board can manage internally. Additional triggers include an outdated or missing investment policy, upcoming leadership transitions, a desire to formalize the governance structure around investments, or a need for independent oversight of an existing portfolio. Many nonprofits and associations also seek an adviser when they want to organize their reserves into distinct pools with different investment approaches.
What makes nonprofit investing different from individual or corporate investing?
Nonprofit investment management operates under a different set of considerations than individual or corporate portfolios. Boards must balance long-term growth with near-term liquidity needs while meeting fiduciary responsibilities and aligning investments with organizational objectives. Reserves often serve multiple purposes with different time horizons. Committee members rotate. Investment decisions require consensus among stakeholders with varying levels of investment experience. These dynamics require an approach built around continuity, discipline, and governance, not just asset allocation.