Call us a "community investment"
By Sally Hatch
Here’s a question we’re asked all the time: Is an investment in the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund considered a “socially responsible” investment?
It’s not as easily answered as you might think. Although the Community Loan Fund is certainly aligned with many of the values and tenets of what is commonly known as socially responsible investing – especially those that promote social good – it’s not a label we put on ourselves.
When most people think of socially responsible investments, or SRI, they think of publicly traded stocks and funds. SRI funds “screen out” certain industries or products (such as tobacco, alcohol and gambling) and/or corporations (such as those with irregular governance issues). Some funds “screen in” companies with a perceived public benefit, like alternative energy, or those whose corporate practices promote the environment, for example, or human rights.
Some SRI investors also participate in shareholder activism – voting their proxies to encourage better environmental accountability, say, or better benefits for workers.
To avoid confusion with those widely understood practices, we call the money loaned to the Community Loan Fund a community investment. That’s because our funds don’t go into the stock market; they go directly into New Hampshire communities, to create or preserve affordable housing, jobs, and child care.
Community investment is considered a subset of SRI by many financial managers and investors, and, thanks in part to the current economic upheaval, its popularity may be growing. Investment into the Community Loan Fund has soared since the market turmoil started in 2008, and we’ve just seen our best year ever for investments from individuals.
We aim to be responsible to the low- and moderate-income people we serve, to our donors and investors, and to New Hampshire’s families and communities. But community investment is the label we wear. With pride.
Sally Hatch is the Community Loan Fund’s Director of Investor Relations.