The next FCI Interest Group Quarterly Forum coming up soon on June 6th
Discussion paper released on grant alternatives: From Aid to Investment
Webinar replay: Practical Conversations on Ecological Economics
FaithInvest Trustee Hayu Prabowo featured in NYT 'Green Islam' story
New video series equips faith investors to shape a sustainable future
The next FCI Interest Group Quarterly Forum: June 6
Building Coalitions and Maintaining Momentum
Join us at the next FCI Interest Group Quarterly Forum on 6 June at 10.00 ET, 15.00 BST.
We've spent the last 12 months accompanying and listening to many of you on FCI journeys – through our educational course Faithful Finance, research, and projects – and we have trends and learnings to share.
In particular, we'll address two related but distinct challenges that many faith organisations have told us they face: getting started with FCI on a solid footing by building internal coalitions, and subsequently maintaining the momentum needed to make significant progress on the FCI journey.
One of our speakers will be David Marett, Finance Director at the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, which recently undertook a significant project to create an Investment Policy and Guidelines statement (IP&G) more in line with their values. David will share insights from this experience and we'll hear from other faith-based asset owners as well.
Don't miss this insightful and practical Forum! As usual it will be a fast-paced, 45-minute online session.
Faith-based aid agencies are 'very interested' in innovative ways of funding development such as impact investment – but have concerns: New discussion paper
In an era of growing humanitarian needs and tighter aid budgets, faith-based aid agencies are increasingly interested in other ways to fund international development such as impact investing, development impact bonds and 'recoverable grants'.
However, while many can see the benefits of adopting such models of financing, including greater sustainability and increased impact, others are concerned about the risks – including the perception that they are 'making profits on the backs of the poor'.
That's the finding of a discussion paper, From Aid to Investment, subtitled 'Learnings for faith-based NGOs, foundations and other grant recipients', published by the NGO FaithInvest and Christian Aid's Salt Business Network.
It is released this week ahead of a roundtable in London on Thursday 23 May, entitled Social Impact Investment in Development, that will discuss the role of impact investing and other 'grant alternatives' by NGOs.
The discussion paper found that 61% of NGOs contacted were 'very interested' and 39% were 'moderately interested' in using grant alternatives alongside traditional grant giving. Grant alternatives are financial mechanisms that involve seeking social or environmental benefits alongside an expected financial return. In addition, 78% of respondents said it was likely or very likely that they will use such financing options within the next three years.
A recent webinar, Practical Conversations on Ecological Economics, was co-hosted by FaithInvest and the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, and attended by nearly 800 individuals seeking actionable guidance on making ethical investment choices and financial decisions that not only benefit them, but also contribute to the health of our planet.
Speakers included Felipe Witchger, co-founder of the Francesco Collaborative, Ricardo Flores, economist at the Francesco Collaborative, and Mathew Jensen, Director of Faith-consistent Investing at FaithInvest.
During this webinar, these experts in the field of ecological economics explored principles of sustainability and how these can be integrated into personal and organizational financial practices.
The webinar is available in full on the Laudato Si' Action Platform's YouTube channel and it is also available in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French.
FaithInvest Trustee Hayu Prabowo featured in NYT 'Green Islam' story
FaithInvest Trustee Hayu Prabowo was recently featured in a New York Times article, What Can ‘Green Islam’ Achieve in the World’s Largest Muslim Country? The article describes how 'clerics in Indonesia are issuing fatwas, retrofitting mosques and imploring congregants to help turn the tide against climate change'.
The story describes the efforts of clerics in Indonesia to inform and inspire the faithful in this country of 200 million – mostly Muslims – to recognise the theological basis for environmentalism, and to take action.
FaithInvest Trustee Hayu Prabowo, the head of environmental protection at the Indonesian Ulema Council, the nation’s highest Islamic authority, is quoted in the story saying that people 'listen to religious leaders because their religious leaders say you can escape worldly laws, but you cannot escape God’s laws'.
The short films explore how faith-based investors can align their values with their investing practices to create a more sustainable future.
'Earth Day reminds us of our responsibility as stewards of creation,' said Revd Dr Darrell Hannah, Operation Noah's Chair of Trustees. 'This video series provides a practical roadmap for faith communities to put their values into action. By investing in a sustainable future, Churches send a powerful message to decision makers to do likewise.'
Operation Noah is a Christian charity that works to inspire and equip churches and individuals to care for God's creation by addressing the climate crisis. Operation Noah and FaithInvest co-hosted a conference entitled Financing a Liveable Future: Church Investments in Climate Solutions in November 2023.
Join the FCI Interest Group!
Discover the key issues that our community of faith-based asset owners is focused upon and keep up to date with weekly faith-consistent investing (FCI) research posts, our quarterly FCI Interest Group Forum and news about faith-based and faith-aligned investing.
To be added to the FCI Interest Group, reach out to us via email HERE.
Faithful Finance course to be offered again!
The response to our online, live-taught course Faithful Finance: An Introduction to Aligning Investments with Faith Values has been very positive.
The course enables faith-based investors to learn how they can incorporate their values into their financial decisions.
For those of you who would like to attend this insightful and practical four-week course, we will be offering it again later this year. For details click HERE
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If you are able to, please consider supporting FaithInvest. By donating to FaithInvest, your gift helps us develop the free-to-access tools, programmes and resources needed to support faith groups across as wide a range of geographies and capacities as possible.
