Can the mission statement guide an investment policy?
Yes. An institution’s investments may give it an additional means for achieving its mission. Since the mission statement guides the organization as a whole, it must direct investment decision-making. Positive social change begins with the institution itself, with a process of self-examination and self-understanding. A part of that process must be an analysis of the purposes an institution’s financial resources may serve. This process permits an informed — and effective — advocacy that reinforces the organization’s purpose. Another important means of implementing an advocacy program is social screening. Can mission serve as the basis for social screening of a portfolio? Yes. Social screening is the inclusion of ethical, moral, or religious criteria in investment decision-making. Institutions do not choose these criteria randomly. Implicitly or explicitly, institutions look to their missions for their expressions of their core issues and sustaining values. Thus, their investment polici
