Pathway 02
Who this pathway serves
The PRI instrument is the same across audiences; the desk that approves it varies. Each entry point shares the §4944(c) qualification logic and differs only in which compliance stack signs off.
Foundation PRI desks
Balance-sheet desks placing returnable capital with primary charitable purpose under IRC §4944(c). The instrument satisfies the foundation's PRI policy stack and the recovery profile is honest about what bioregional regeneration timelines actually look like.
Charitable trusts
Charitable trusts seeking IRS-qualified mission-related deployment with a documented charitable purpose primary, income purpose secondary. The Kinship Earth fiscal-sponsor pairing carries the §4944(c) documentation burden on the recipient side.
Institutional impact-philanthropy programs
Institutional programs running blended-capital portfolios where recoverable charitable capital sits alongside grants and program-related investments. The pathway slots into existing impact-investment due-diligence workflows without bespoke structuring.
What flows through this rail
The capital form is a Program-Related Investment qualifying under IRC §4944(c). The rail is Kinship Earth’s 501(c)(3) fiscal-sponsorship governance, the same rail that has carried roughly $370,000 of charitable deployment across 30 or more bioregions since October 2024. The recovery horizon is 3 to 7 years; recovery flows back from Protocol revenue surfaces, not from new fundraising. If recovery proves infeasible, the instrument converts to non-recoverable grant under a default clause the foundation documents at inception.
Key terms
The full template lives in the legal vault. These six terms anchor every PRI variant.
Securities posture
A Program-Related Investment qualifying under IRC §4944(c) is a regulated charitable-tax instrument, not a security under Section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act. The instrument’s primary purpose is charitable; income production is secondary by qualification. The §4944(c) safe harbor excludes the PRI from the jeopardy-investment regime. Treas. Reg. §53.4944-3 elaborates the qualification standards. No federal securities registration is required; the foundation’s own tax counsel issues the qualifying opinion at close.
Why this rail, not the other
Recovery, on this rail, is the move that lets the foundation be more generous over time. The same balance-sheet dollars seed a bioregional activation today, return over a 3 to 7 year horizon as the Protocol’s revenue surfaces ramp, and seed the next bioregion when they come home. The recoverable instrument is not a hedge against the giving line; it is a parallel doorway for capital the foundation cannot give up to a one-time grant and cannot move to a market-rate vehicle. PRI is the rail that lets a foundation underwrite catalytic philanthropy with the discipline of returnable capital, inside the IRC §4944(c) safe harbor it already operates within.
The same dollars on the catalytic-grant rail give up the recycle the PRI desk exists to preserve. The same dollars on the Nalu’ea Trust rail step outside §4944(c) and lose the charitable-tax shelter the foundation’s tax counsel underwrites. Recoverable PRI is the doorway in between: returnable enough to recycle, charitable enough to qualify, patient enough to honor the bioregional pace the work actually runs at.
What happens next
PRI desks underwrite the §4944(c) qualification through their own tax counsel. That step is expected, not friction; the cadence below makes room for it and treats the counsel opinion as a normal part of closing, the way every well-structured PRI moves.
Step 01
A 30-minute conversation with the Planetary Party stewardship team to align on PRI thesis fit, recovery profile, and the Protocol's revenue surfaces. The foundation's PRI policy is referenced; no language is exchanged yet.
Step 02
A short LOI exchange to align on principal amount, recovery horizon, interest rate (below-market for PRI qualification), and reporting cadence. Kinship Earth holds the LOI on the charity side.
Step 03
The foundation's tax counsel reviews the §4944(c) qualification documentation. Kinship Earth provides charitable-purpose recitals and supporting documentation. This step is standard for PRI desks; the timeline is theirs.
Step 04
A full Kinship Earth PRI agreement is drafted from the template. The instrument names primary charitable purpose, recovery mechanism, default-to-grant conversion clause, and the sovereignty firewall covenant.
Open the conversation
The first conversation begins by reaching the Planetary Party stewardship team directly. A short note to Syd Griffith opens the door; Kinship Earth’s PRI documentation is shared at the appropriate moment in the cadence.
syd@planetary.partyRead deeper
The two-rail explainer on /flow shows how charitable balance-sheet capital moves alongside the patient investment rail without crossing it. The PRI agreement template lives on /agreements, carrying the §4944(c) recital language counsel reads against the foundation’s own qualification opinion. Both stay open whenever the work calls for them.
