Step 2: Agree to move forward
This step is about helping a charity to reach agreement on the adoption of Responsible Investment. Charities may need guidance when discussing and deciding:
- why the charity wishes to invest responsibly
- what it is seeking to achieve
Gaining the support of trustees
During this stage the charity trustees will discuss the matter and may use the resources gathered in step one to become familiar with Responsible Investment. They may invite their adviser or fund manager to attend meetings and to provide guidance and information. It may be helpful for trustees to know what the charity could gain from Responsible Investment, or lose by not doing it. You may find it helpful to:
- share resources - such as the Investing Responsibly toolkit or other sections of this website, so that all trustees have a good basic awareness of Responsible Investment issues
- identify other charities that are already investing responsibly that could share their experience with the trustees
It may be at this stage that the trustees decide it is inappropriate for the charity to implement Responsible Investment. It is important that they are clear about the reasons for making such a decision. Or they may decide to move forward and define why and how the charity should invest in line with its mission.
Setting Aims
Trustees may need help to articulate the motivations for adopting Responsible Investment and consider how it links to the charity’s:
- objects
- core values
- strategy
- investment approach
- risk assessment (particularly reputation risk)
It may be useful to become familiar with the main reasons why charities adopt Responsible Investment outlined in the Why do it? Section.
