New website launched to boost charity ethical investment

Charity workers can happily click away and put their hard earned funds where their mouth is with new website Charitysri.org that has launched today. Charitysri.org has been developed by the EIRIS Foundation and the UK Social Investment Forum (UKSIF) as a free online resource to address the disparity which exists between those charities who express an interest in investing their money ethically and those actually doing it.

Alastair Hanton, Chair of the EIRIS Foundation, said: “Recent research by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Charities Aid Foundation highlights that interest in ethical investment is growing within the charity sector. But a lack of awareness and understanding means that many charities are failing to ensure that their investments complement rather than counter their work. In addressing these barriers we hope that Charitysri.org will get many more charities to incorporate ethical issues within their financial planning.”

Not only does it give information on ethical investment, but it also offers clear guidance on the approaches, issues and options available – from how to adopt ethical or socially responsible investment (SRI) to the legal context and financial performance. Charitysri.org also includes a section for service providers to explain the benefits of providing SRI products and services for charities to encourage more of them to do so.         

Graham Collins, Sustainable Funding Project Manager at NCVO, said that the website is ‘just what the sector has been waiting for’. ‘(This) enables charities and their trustees to find appropriate and relevant guidance on ethical investment. This can only help strengthen the role of the voluntary and community sector in building a fairer society.”  

With any luck this will bring an increase in UK charities investing ethically and being true to the cause.