Faith in action: Our updated guide to impact investing for faith communities

By Patricia Redsicker & Annette Vogel

Earlier this month, we traveled to Orlando to attend the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) 70th Anniversary event, where we debuted our updated guide​ to impact investing for faith investors. The event brought together women and men from religious orders in Canada, the United States, and Latin America, organized around the theme “Many Charisms, One Spirit, One Call”. Calvert Impact has partnered with faith communities for decades and the event embodied the aspects of working with faith investors that we appreciate so much: a celebration of both diversity and unity, and a desire to respond comprehensively to the urgent, changing needs of the world.

Many investors step back from more nontraditional investments when the world gets especially uncertain, but faith investors tend to step up, and they’ve been doing so for centuries. Religious institutions were some of the earliest impact investors using their portfolios to promote environmental stewardship, human dignity and flourishing and have shaped the impact market we know today.

At the LCWR we heard from novices eager to explore how their communities could begin an impact investing journey and old hands looking to go deeper into new sectors and asset classes. Faith-based investors are natural leaders of the impact investing movement and we view our role at Calvert Impact as helping to provide examples of how they might pursue impact investing.

In that spirit we’ve recently updated our guide to impact investing for faith investors. This guide was written five years ago for religious institutions and their investment professionals as an introduction to impact investing and the opportunity it presents for their portfolios. Since then, the impact investing market has grown significantly. According to the GIIN, impact AUM has seen a 21% compound annual growth rate over the past six years, with an 11% increase in the past year alone.

The updated guide​ reflects the market’s development. It includes an introduction to impact investing, how to start incorporating impact investing into your institution’s portfolio, as well as a few case studies from faith organizations that are currently investing for impact.

Religious organizations own an estimated​ 10% of the world’s entire financial investment. Where and how faith investors chose to invest their money can have a huge impact in creating a more livable future for all. We’re inspired by the dedication of the faith communities we work with and thrilled to see the continued growth in interest as we did last week at LCWR.

If you’re interested in learning more download the full guide here​ and read more about our work with faith investors here. As always, Calvert Impact welcomes opportunities for conversation, collaboration, and partnership. Please contact us at info@calvertimpact.org or 800.248.0337.

This guide is for informational purposes only and you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. This guide does not constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto, nor does it address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing contained in this guide constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Calvert Impact or any third party service provider to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments. Calvert Impact is not a fiduciary by virtue of any person’s use this guide. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information in this guide before making any decisions based on such information.

There are risks associated with investing in securities. Investing in stocks, bonds, exchange traded funds, mutual funds, and money market funds involve risk of loss. Loss of principal is possible. Some high-risk investments may use leverage, which will accentuate gains & losses. Foreign investing involves special risks, including a greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods. A security’s or a firm’s past investment performance is not a guarantee or predictor of future investment performance.