{"id":36084,"date":"2022-10-26T09:56:08","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T13:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=36084"},"modified":"2022-11-24T11:45:23","modified_gmt":"2022-11-24T16:45:23","slug":"its-not-a-nice-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/its-not-a-nice-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Not a \u201cNice Thing\u201d!"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to November 2022 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n

\"MarkOne of the most frequent comments I get following any presentation on the real-world impacts that are possible through one of Praxis\u2019 five mutual funds, is how \u201cnice\u201d it is that we\u2019ve decided to commit 1% of each of these funds to community investing. While I appreciate the appreciation, in my head I\u2019m usually screaming \u201cIt\u2019s not a \u2018nice thing!\u2019\u201d The allocation of concessionary, catalytic capital to marginalized people and communities is \u2014 or should be \u2014 much, much more, especially for people of faith.<\/p>\n

For too long, community investing has been seen as an act of charity, equated with largesse or evidence of excess resources in one\u2019s economic life.\u00a0 And while charity \u2014 financial gifts drawn from excess finances and given to causes and organizations that require such support to do their good work (disaster recovery, the arts, crisis food and shelter, ministry support, etc.) \u2014 can be an important aspect of one\u2019s faith and worship life, community investing fulfills a different function. Far from just a \u201cnice thing\u201d, community investing is something altogether different.<\/p>\n

But before we explore some of the deeper motivations community investing has for people of faith, particularly those in the Judeo-Christian tradition, perhaps a definition is in order. Community investing \u2014 or community development investing (CDI) as we frequently call it at Praxis \u2014 is distinguished from other good\/responsible\/social\/faith-based\/ESG investing by the primary intent of the investment being to help deliver the benefit of economic opportunity for others even at the cost of a competitive return for the investor. This intentionally concessionary capital can take many forms but it plays a critical \u2014 catalytic \u2014 role between truly charitable contributions (or grants), which are frequently limited, and the scale of impact offered through more traditional, market-rate, socially-oriented investments.<\/p>\n

Arguably, there appears to be a clear contradiction between an \u201cinvestment\u201d and a deliberately concessionary rate of return (a conversation I and my colleagues have regularly had with SEC examiners!). It seems to defy convention and the common understanding of investing to begin with. Yet, therein lies the true power of community investing \u2014 and its importance for faith-based investors. Community investing combines the rigor, prudent management and economic sustainability of traditional investments with a deep vision and understanding for the special challenges faced by organizations seeking to bring opportunity and long-term financial viability to individuals and institutions on the margins of our society. Where charity seeks to do good work, community investing seeks to leverage an organization\u2019s charitable and inherent community resources to expand that \u201cgood work\u201d by multiples.<\/p>\n

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