Last week, SOCAP Global and the Sorenson Institute held their annual conference in San Francisco, at which I had the pleasure of representing FaithInvest. SOCAP Global describes itself as ‘the thought leadership platform for the accelerating movement towards a more just and sustainable economy’, and the schedule for the event certainly upheld that description.
Sessions were organised around eight content tracks tied to the theme Going Deeper: Catalyzing Systems Change, each with global and regional perspectives interwoven:
Deploying Climate Capital
Learning & Capital: Investing in Education
DEI, Ownership and Impact
Capital Flows for Impact: Dialogues Around the State of Impact Investment
Transforming Health Systems
Regenerating Food Systems
Catalytic Philanthropy
AI = Accelerating Impact
Though secular in nature, the conference clearly spoke to many of the concerns and goals of faith-based asset owners. In my many conversations with impact investors and product providers alike, values-based conference attendees noted with interest the size and potential scale of faith-based investors to make significant strides in addressing the urgent needs of people and planet.
Conversely, for faith-based investors seeking the intentionality and direct results of impact investing, the conference presented a range of approaches and considerations, many of which emphasised the ‘catalytic’ nature of investments that seek impact first, and – as noted in the conference’s theme – those that can drive systemic change.
For faith-based investors who have not yet explored impact investing, this is a growing area of investment worthy of consideration. As our friends at Calvert Impact have noted:
'Impact investing is practiced by many different faiths and traditions, all sharing a common purpose to create opportunity for communities and to protect the planet. Faith investors were among the first impact investors, and many continue to be at the vanguard.’
At FaithInvest, we encourage faith-based asset owners to apply their beliefs, teachings, and values to their investments, and impact investing can certainly be included. If you have not yet requested a faith-consistent investing evaluation of your organisation’s investment policies, this service is provided at no charge by FaithInvest, and we’d be delighted to hear from you! info@faithinvest.org