Acknowledging the urgency of addressing climate change, the Rachel’s Network Finance Committee approved a plan to move the organization’s reserve fund to a 100% fossil free portfolio focused on environmental solutions.
You might not read about these startups on mainstream tech websites, and none of them are based in Silicon Valley. But they’re all advancing the fields of clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and other carbon reduction goals, Paris accord or not.
We aren’t effective health and environment donors if we aren’t also supporting the innovation and commercialization of truly safer alternatives to toxic chemicals. To address this situation, Rachel’s Network Member Alison Carlson and her Forsythia Foundation studied how to invest in scaling green chemistry solutions—also known as “benign by design” solutions or safer alternatives. Thus, Safer Made was born.
It’s no great surprise that funders have taken up the fossil fuel divestment cause. For many, unloading these stocks and investing in positive social and environmental projects goes hand-in-hand with good grantmaking. As environmental funders, a number of Rachel’s Network members have made a commitment to divest from fossil fuels, both personally and through the foundations they direct. As we celebrate Global Divestment Day, they offer tips for those ready to move their money.
Each year for the past four years Rachel’s Network Member Annarie Lyles has been shifting 2% of her assets away from conventional stocks to businesses that align with her values. Here’s how she got started in impact investing, and how you can too.
