In July, Calvert Foundation launched the Jubilee Assembly, our community of faith-based investors, and introduced me, Jeffrey Dekro, as the new Director of Faith-based Investing. I couldn’t be more honored to step into this role. In my life’s work growing socially responsible, community investment and organizing faith-based investors, Calvert Foundation stands out as one of the most committed, innovative and impactful organizations that I’ve worked with. In my first months in this role, I’ve seen the energy there is among Calvert Foundation investors who speak to their values and turn towards their faith as motivation and inspiration for their investments. I’ve also been grateful for the opportunity to speak to individuals and organizations who want to align their money with their values and are eager to learn about the opportunity to do so with Calvert Foundation.
As the season turns I’d like to update you on our progress in building the Jubilee Assembly and Tzedek Alliance. Most recently I celebrated Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival and a time to celebrate abundance in our lives. During Sukkot it is customary to eat our meals with family, friends, and extended community. We ritually welcome guests, both symbolically inviting in spiritual ancestors and intentionally welcoming new people to our sukkah. It is in this spirit that I’m excited to update you on our work’s harvest, what we have grown so far, and invite you to join us, old and new friends, in this journey.
Our Harvest
In the months since I’ve joined the Calvert Foundation, I’ve been honored to speak to dozens of organizations and hundreds of individuals about faith-based investing. Passionate individuals are pushing their faith communities to invest their money, time, and energy into building this movement. We’ve taken on a faith-based investing intern, rabbinical student Jessica Rosenberg. Her internship is supported in-part by a generous donation by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Social Justice Organizing program, demonstrating their commitment to socially responsible investing as part of religious leadership. Next month we will have our first meeting of the Jubilee Assembly Advisory Council, an impressive and diverse group of national leaders in the work of faith-based investing. In upcoming weeks we will be excited to share profiles of these movement leaders and what drives their work!
Welcoming You
In this, our first year, we are focused on gathering a multi-faith group of people who seek to create economic opportunity for disadvantaged people all over the world, protect the planet, and to align our investments with these values. We hope that you will join us as we grow the Jubilee Assembly and Tzedek Alliance. To join us:
- Sign up to receive email updates about our work, including resources for talking about and opportunities to learn about faith-based investing, profiles of organizations and people leading the way in faith-based investing, and highlights of Calvert Foundation’s inspiring investment portfolio.
- Invest in the Calvert Foundation Community Investment Note, and encourage your faith-based organization and congregations to do so as well. Every dollar invested in the Note goes to a professionally managed portfolio of high impact organizations creating jobs, building affordable housing, promoting education, protecting the environment, and creating numerous other social impacts. When you invest, let us know that you are motivated by your faith to do so, so that we can tell your story and spread the word about the power of faith-based investing.
- Bring faith-based investing to your congregation or community of faith! There is a great deal of scriptural foundation for aligning our investments with our religious principles, and I would honored to come talk with your community about the inspiration for this work, and about the practical questions of how to do it. Get in touch with me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
If you have other ideas about building the Jubilee Assembly and the Tzedek Alliance, please get in touch! Our intern, Jessica, would love to hear your ideas and questions, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
This post was originally published on CalvertFoundation.org
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