Context
From 2019-2021, Center for Economic Democracy convened a “Brain Trust” of grassroots organizers, funders/donors/investors and capital strategies practitioners to inform the development of the Social Movement Investing framework.
In 2022, CED released the Social Movement Investing Paper which draws on frameworks from both social justice organizing and impact investing fields and is the foundational text that shapes Movement Finance Forum’s capital strategies work.
In 2023, CED convened Capital Strategies Camp with Climate Justice Alliance, Justice Funders and New Economy Coalition. This gathering brought together grassroots organizers, practitioners, and funders/donors/investors advancing and resourcing community-controlled infrastructure (e.g. loan funds, land trusts, land back projects).
The Brain Trust, the release of the Social Movement Investing paper, and Capital Strategies Camp all played a critical role in setting the stage for Movement Finance Forum (learn more about the first convening here) and the evolution of these core concepts.
Core Concepts
Capital Strategies = the set of tools and tactics that encompass the Divest, Contest and Invest levers. They’re oriented towards building power in working class BIPOC communities.
Divest = Withdrawing capital resources
Contest = Challenging the capital forces we’re up against (corporate, private, state, etc)
Invest = (Re)Directing & collectively managing capital resources
Coordination between different actors, organizations, issue areas, and/or sectors is a critical foundation of Capital Strategies. This can look like:
- Identifying and taking collective action against shared targets
- Using multiple levers (e.g. divest/invest or contest/invest) for a campaign or project
- Building shared practices for how we use the levers across our organizations and sectors
Art by Haley McDevitt (Illustrating Progress)
DIVEST
- Screening/selling shares in specific public funds, companies and industries
- Redirecting municipal bonds, investments and other state resources
- Initiating consumer boycotts
- Selling private real estate and other holdings
- Targeting corporate actors and industries
- Coordinating short selling of stocks of a specific public company or industry
Examples:
CONTEST
- Filing shareholder resolutions
- Organizing proxy votes
- Directing corporate engagement and targeted corporate campaigns
- Filing Derivative or Affirmative lawsuits
- Running/opposing corporate board candidates
- Initiating hostile corporate takeovers
- Coordinating engagement, direct actions and disruptions at corporate Annual General Meetings
- Developing campaigns targeting private equity and holdings in pension funds
- Engaging in state and municipal budget fights and participatory budgeting initiatives
- Developing campaigns to disrupt private development of land + housing
- Disrupting the privatization of public goods and the financialization of industries
- And many more…
Examples:
INVEST
- Moving zero & low-interest loans
- Deploying integrated capital (grant + loan)
- Providing loan guarantees
- Supporting land rematriation
- Engaging in a property transfer
- Building coop conversions and worker/housing coops
- Building collectively governed land & housing projects (e.g. land trusts, real estate trusts)
- Developing community-controlled capital funds
- Drawing down state resources for public goods (e.g. social housing, guaranteed income)
- Building strike and community defense/legal and mutual aid funds
- Developing multi-entity movement structures
- Building community-owned infrastructure (e.g. climate resiliency hubs, commercial space)
- And many more…
