As described in our recently released Annual Report, 2023 was a significant year for FaithInvest, with new partnerships and gratifying confirmation of growing interest in faith-consistent investing among faith groups – alongside increasing demand for support in how to implement it.
In the Foreword to the Annual Report, CEO Dr Lorna Gold and Dave Zellner Chair of Trustees provide numerous examples of firsts in 2023, notably the development of our first course on faith-consistent investing, Faithful Finance - created in response to the growing demand for training - and the publication of our first case study, which described our work with the UK Buddhist organisation, the English Sangha Trust.
Dr Lorna Gold and Dave Zellner also write about key successes: 'Where we have had most significant impact is in the ongoing development of a vibrant faith-consistent investing (FCI) ecosystem. The first goal of our Strategic Plan calls on us to play a central role in building a broad-based, well-coordinated FCI movement, and we believe we have certainly made a significant contribution in this area through the delivery of a wide range of events, presentations, webinars and thought leadership.'
The watchword for 2023, which has continued on into 2024: growth! For example, our newsletter outreach more than doubled last year, from a base of 700 recipients to 1,699 in December 2023, a figure which has nearly doubled again as we approach mid-year 2024, a testament to the strength and utility of our network.
Third party media is taking notice too; we increased our coverage in online and traditional news media, with 41 mentions in Impact Alpha, Impact Investor, BBC World TV, BBC Radio 4, The Church Times, National Catholic Reporter, The Tablet, The Economist, Pioneers Post, Green Money, The European Times, Al Jazeera English, South China Morning Post, and more.
But perhaps most importantly, we delivered targeted one-on-one support to a number of faith-based asset owners (FBAOs) to enable them to align their investment policies with their faith values; accompanying FBAOs in this way is at the very heart of our mission.
To read more about the growth of FaithInvest in 2023 and our strategic plan going forward, click below.