New Tool Launch – Introducing the Racial Equity Investment Database
We are thrilled to launch the Racial Equity Investment Database, including hundreds of firms and investable products across asset classes.
The Racial Equity, Economics, Finance, and Sustainability (REEFS) program is designed to encourage stakeholders in finance to think holistically about integrating racial equity across their investment portfolios, to advance opportunities for greater representation of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) in the field, and to support frameworks and approaches that support wealth-building in these communities. This multi-faceted approach seeks to acknowledge and address the persistent structural race-based discrimination in the US, which underpins the significant gaps in access to career and financial opportunities.
Since its launch in 2014, Croatan Institute has made tackling structural racism in finance central to our mission. In response to the persistent racial segregation and lack of diversity we observed within the sustainable business and investing community (and financial services more broadly), we organized an internal “brain trust” composed of some of the Institute’s advisory board members Sharlene Brown (now Director of REEFS) and Henry McKoy, as well as senior fellows like Josh Humphreys, and our late colleague Fern Jones, to begin grappling with these challenges. In 2018, after years of engagement with professionals of color working on equity issues, the Racial Equity, Economics, Finance, and Sustainability (REEFS) program and its Steering Committee were formalized.
At the 2018 Croatan Forum, the first REEFS Roundtable was held, bringing together more than 40 stakeholders to advance opportunities for black and brown communities.
In 2021, we launched our first cohort to support underserved farmers on their journey toward financial health. Now, we’re taking that mission to the next level with FARMWISE: Financial Agriculture Resources for Maximizing Wealth, Income Stability, and the Environment—a transformative initiative designed to empower farmers like never before
Building on the work of our Financial Health Investment Project, which takes a place-based and individualized approach to supporting farmers on their financial resilience journey, we are thrilled to introduce the FARMWISE Hub, an innovative platform designed to break down barriers and provide underserved farmers, ranchers, and landowners with the financial knowledge they need to succeed. FARMWISE offers comprehensive tools and guidance to navigate USDA programs and improve financial health.
In line with our commitment to inclusivity, the FARMWISE platform and its services are accessible in both English and Spanish—ensuring that we increase access to those on the journey to financial empowerment.
Together, we’re cultivating a future where underserved farmers have the tools they need to build sustainable, prosperous, and resilient operations.
The RE-Allocate campaign is part of our work to encourage investors and capital allocators to pursue racial equity investing within their investment portfolios. This campaign builds on the research of the Capital at a Crossroad report and its complementary webinar series Redirecting Capital. The goal of the campaign is to encourage investment managers and decision-makers to reallocate 15% of AUM over three-years to invest in America’s emerging majority.
We are thrilled to launch the Racial Equity Investment Database, including hundreds of firms and investable products across asset classes.
Since the events of 2020, our nation has arrived at a crossroads. To create a more equitable future for all Americans, our nation must address our history ridden with racial inequities that have unleveled the playing field.
This project aims to increase the financial health of Black and other minority farmers and landowners through online financial coaching workshops supplemented by one-to-one coaching. This work will help build strong financial systems that lead to greater resilience and improved access to wealth-building opportunities for these farmers.
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