Week 11

 

Summary:

This week I learned about impact investing and how it differs from giving to charity.  Though impact investing has changed in definition over time, today it represents people and organizations who want to make social and environmental impact through profitable, long-term sustainable solutions.  I also learned ways that everyone can get involved (not just the rich) from conscious consumption to spending money within my own community.

Response to a reading/video:

The last section of the article “Impact Investing, just a trend or the best strategy to help save our world” and the end of the video, “Impact Investing:  Your money doing good in the world – and your wallet” sparked interest for me.  The article gave good advice on the need to make investments that are aligned with our values.  This seems like obvious advice, as I do not know a lot of people who just give their money freely to organizations without finding out the mission first.  However, to take it a step further and work with specialized impact focused funds, you need to first get in the habit of making it personal.  The video opened my eyes on how to do that by starting now.  I do not need to be an impact investor in the traditional sense but I can do my part now by investing in my community by spending money locally.  Doing this long enough just may introduce me to organizations local businesses support, giving me an opportunity to invest locally in the future. 

Weekly prompt:  Muhammad Yunus would like poverty to only exist in museums. Is that possible?

I believe that not only is it possible but that it will one day exist…but only when Christ returns.  History has shown us that men or groups of people have tried to think of ways to eradicate poverty only to fail.  Communism and Marxism are examples of ways government has gotten involved in trying to make things equal or fairer but always ended up taking away freedom.  The Bible gives us hope, however, in scriptures that tell us that one day Christ will have dominion and that it will be done in righteousness.  Until then, I do not see men leading movements that will put poverty only in museums.  Men should always try in making poverty as scarce as possible, though.