Millennials, Money and Meaning

By Guest Editor Patrick Davis, Community Reinvestment Fund and formerly with Calvert Foundation   The Millennial Generation has been a source of much debate in recent years. Commentators seem to disagree passionately about what the ultimate legacy of this generational cohort will be. Will Millennials answer the call and step up to solve some the pressing environmental and social challenges of our time? Or will they confirm the beliefs of skeptics who have labeled them apathetic, entitled, and generally oblivious to the larger context in which they are living? To be certain, every generation is much more complex than the labels that it earns. The difference in this case is the high stakes of the time in which we are living. The collective choices of this generation may very well dictate the viability of life as we know it for all future generations. At the same time, vast improvements and efficiency gains resulting from new technologies are creating potential solutions to the biggest challenges we face. In addition to new technologies, new ideas and values that prioritize collective benefits are emerging. In this series of articles, we’ll take a look at the convergence of these dynamics through the lens of the economy, money, and meaning.Our guest authors are each Millennials themselves. They represent different experiences, but they share a common desire to contribute to a reimagined economic paradigm that puts people and planet before a relentless pursuit of profit. Their approaches are at once idealistic and realistic. They recognize the imperative of change — that today’s systems are not suited to the reality of the challenges we face. We’ll hear from Katie Hoffman, principal of the Resilience Collaborative about the power of movements and organizing to shift institutions towards a more sustainable investment model; Chris Lindstrom, co-founder of Catalyst Bioenergy Group and the great-great grandson of John D. Rockefeller, talks about the “Regenerative Economy” and market opportunities to not only improve, but restore the environment; and Rianka Dorsainvil, the founder and president of Your Greatest Contribution, a financial planning firm primarily serving Millennials, discusses trends affecting younger investors and how they think about money. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to work with each of the writers. I hope you enjoy their articles, find inspiration in their pursuits, and join all of us in forging a path to building a more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable economy for future generations.

Article by Patrick Davis, the newly appointed Vice President of Program Strategy and Development at the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF), http://www.crfusa.com a CDFI and small business lender that invests in job creating businesses in low-income communities. Through January 2016, Mr. Davis worked at Calvert Foundation, a nonprofit financial services firm, where he worked with investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and philanthropic institutions to incorporate social and environmental impact into investment portfolios. He was responsible for the creative direction, development and implementation of Calvert Foundation’s strategy to engage new, diverse and younger investor audiences through combined online/offline campaign tactics. In his role on the Investor Relations Team, he provided strategic, operational and communications support for the launch and ongoing cultivation of new impact investing initiatives across different themes including women’s empowerment, place-based community revitalization and international development.