“Occupy Your Retirement Plan? – What do you mean?”
- Take a look at your retirement fund investments and ask yourself: Am I comfortable enabling them with my money? Is what they do ethical? Is it controversial and likely to come under public scrutiny?
- Vote with your dollars. If, for example, you are opposed to for-profit prisons that warp the motivations of the justice system, you should divest from funds that own companies that operate state prison facilities.
- Manage your reputation. If your company’s mission statement includes a pledge to conduct business in a socially and environmentally responsible way, you should avoid enabling known violators of human rights and the environment.
Take responsibility for where you invest.
Move Your Money.
Occupy Your Retirement Plan.
A record number of organizations and corporations chose to move their money to Social(k) in 2011. Mission-driven organizations are taking the leading role in the movement to demand more Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) screens be applied to retirement plan investment options. In this new age of instant communication and transparency, it is no longer a “safe bet” to invest in companies that blindly pursue profit, especially when it means supporting genocide in Darfur.
Companies that value global citizenship and sustainability are the AAA investments of the digital era and the future looks bright for these companies.
Here are some of the 30+ socially responsible companies who decided Social(k) was a better fit than any other retirement services providers in 2011:
Busboys and Poets, Washington DC – Mission Hub, San Francisco CA – US Green Building Council, Northern CA – Chesapeake Climate Change Network, Takoma Park MD – Sustainable Fishery Advocates, Santa Cruz CA – Sun Light & Power, Berkeley CA – DC Project,Washington DC – NC State AFL-CIO, Raleigh NC – Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Los Angeles CA
Social(k) provides more ESG screened funds and Exchange Traded Funds, ETFs, than other platforms. And, that’s only the beginning of what makes us different. As a 
Founding B Corp, 1% For The Planet, Slow Money, Green America member, we have certain benchmarks we choose to hit. One is donations. Over the last half a dozen years we have donated a bee hive for every plan on our books, every year. That’s over 1,000 hives so far. This year we sent a larger donation to a bee sanctuary, Spikenard Farm and Honeybee Santuary in Floyd VA, to help with their work to prevent the devastation of Colony Collapse Disorder. We also supported One World Futbol in Napa CA, and donated 100 indestructible soccer balls to a Washington DC inner city sports program, United Soccer Club, through the local pro soccer team, DC United. From what we hear all 100 are still fully in-play.
If, in 2011, you found yourself wondering what you could do to fight corporate corruption, consider 2012 the time to “Move Your Money.”
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