Charitable Asset Management Portfolio

The Charitable Asset Management Program is an investment program for our philanthropic clients that seek to maximize both financial and social returns. By blending innovative social investments with your philanthropy, you can greatly increase your impact in the world.

Professionally Managed Social Investment Portfolios

RSF philanthropic funds can be invested in any combination of three professionally managed social investment portfolios:

• RSF Equity Portfolio. The equity portfolio seeks to generate long-term returns while preserving capital by investing in a diversified mix of U.S. and international equities, private companies, and real estate.
• RSF Fixed Income Portfolio. The fixed income portfolio seeks to preserve capital, generate income, and retain liquidity by investing in corporate and government bonds and socially beneficial private offerings.
• RSF Cash Portfolio. The cash portfolio seeks to produce a high level of current income as is consistent with preservation of capital by investing in high-quality liquid instruments.

Social Investing Strategy

Direct Social Investments

Direct investments in socially motivated organizations generate the greatest social return. We make direct social investments in the following fields:

• Clean Technology. Clean technologies increase efficiency in the use of energy, water, and raw materials. Clean technology solutions include wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, clean fuels, information technology systems, and efficient electric motors and lighting.
• Green Real Estate. Green real estate increases the energy, water, and material efficiency of buildings while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment.
• Organic Products. Organic production practices improve energy efficiency, soil biodiversity, and environmental stability while enabling consumers to avoid exposure to toxic chemicals linked to severe health problems.
• Social Enterprise. Social enterprises are revenue generating for-profit and non-profit organizations addressing issues like fair trade, independent media, education, and health.
• Community Development. Community development organizations provide good jobs, affordable housing, and key social services in disadvantaged communities.
• Microfinance. Microfinance Institutions provide financial services to people living in poverty. Microfinance is a proven approach for reducing poverty by enabling the poor to build assets, increase incomes, and reduce their vulnerability to economic stress.

Qualitative Screening

Qualitative screening enables investors to align their investments with their values. We apply social, environmental, and corporate governance screens to our public investments to support good corporate citizens while avoiding companies that threaten the environment, manufacture dangerous products, or have poor labor practices. The following is a partial list of our supportive and avoidance screens:

We seek companies that are committed to:

• Global human rights, international justice, indigenous peoples’ rights, and animal welfare
• Opposing sweatshop and child labor and violence in media particularly against women and children
• Engaging in public policy dialogue on social and environmental issues
• Clean technology and/or environmentally friendly products and services
• Addressing issues of climate change, sustainable agriculture, and sustainable forestry
• Innovative employee benefits and programs

We avoid companies involved in:

• Conventional or nuclear weapons
• Discrimination related to gender, age, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation
• Sweatshop or child labor
• Repressive regimes
• Tobacco or gambling products
• Environmental controversies and violations
• Clear cutting
• Genetically modifying crop seeds
• Patenting plants, animals, and individual parts of DNA
• Factory farms

Shareholder Advocacy

Unlike qualitative screening, shareholder advocacy enables concerned investors to directly influence corporate practices. We utilize the following shareholder advocacy practices:

• Engagement. We work with our investment managers to engage companies in a dialog to address key social, environmental, and corporate governance issues.
• Shareholder Resolutions. We work with our investment managers to present shareholder resolutions addressing issues from third world pesticide use to indigenous peoples’ rights.
• Proxy Voting. We vote all of our voting shares in a manner consistent with our mission, from adopting policies to guard against predatory lending practices, to implementing human rights standards and workplace codes of conduct.