{"id":24231,"date":"2019-03-04T14:44:10","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T19:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=24231"},"modified":"2020-01-03T14:40:16","modified_gmt":"2020-01-03T19:40:16","slug":"make-every-dollar-count-is-your-cash-sleeping-with-the-right-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/make-every-dollar-count-is-your-cash-sleeping-with-the-right-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Every Dollar Count: Is Your Cash Sleeping with the Right Partners?"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to March 2019<\/a><\/div>\n

\"\"Impact investing has emerged as a major force in philanthropy. Last year the Global Impact Investing Network conducted a survey showing that the estimated value of the impact investing sector doubled between 2017 and 2018, increasing from $114 billion to $228 billion in assets under management.[1]<\/span> The rise of impact investing signals a shift from a \u201cdo-no-harm\u201d approach to a demand for investments that actively produce measurable positive social and environmental outcomes.<\/p>\n

With the growing commitment to impact investing, investors are beginning to set a higher standard for all of their funds\u2014including cash. Socially-conscious investors want every dollar to align with their mission and values. Who or what are their funds supporting when they aren\u2019t directly deployed for projects or grants? What is the impact of their entire<\/em> portfolio?<\/p>\n

These aren\u2019t easy questions. For individual investors, \u201clooking under the hood\u201d of investment vehicles can be confusing and time-consuming. Even for foundations and institutional investors, the challenge is daunting. Under federal law, foundations must distribute at least five percent of their endowments each year. For most, the bulk of their funds are \u201csleeping,\u201d typically in Wall Street investments, bank accounts and other funds. That means, for example, that foundations could be directing their grant dollars toward fighting climate change while the majority of endowment funds \u2014 including their cash \u2014 are funneled to the worst polluters.<\/p>\n

Move your Money!<\/em><\/h2>\n
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The Dakota Access Pipeline is an example of a fossil fuel project that spurred people to think not just about where they invested but also where they banked. Opponents of the pipeline were very concerned about its environmental and human impact. When many realized they were keeping their money in banks that supported the pipeline developers, they were galvanized to launch a divestment campaign. That campaign resulted in divestment from banks estimated at $4.4 billion.[2]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The FB Heron Foundation, a private foundation that fights poverty, faced this kind of scenario head-on. A few years ago, Heron\u2019s board members were dismayed when they discovered that, unknowingly, their investments were supporting a large corporation that runs private prisons \u2014 an industry notorious for abuses, and certainly not aligned with Heron\u2019s mission.[3]<\/span><\/p>\n

Heron responded by conducting a meticulous screening of their entire portfolio to assess every dollar for mission alignment. As a result, they now have moved over $150 million of their funds to impact-screened investment products.[4]<\/span><\/p>\n

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