Question: What expenses associated with socially responsible investing should be reporting as community benefit.
Recommendation: We recommend counting the following expenses under Community Building, F7. Advocacy:
- Dues, grants, and gifts to organizations that support social justice (such as NETWORK)
- Cost associated with advocating for social justice, environmental responsibility, and human rights (such as fair treatment of workers) through investments as shareholders, including:
- Dues to organizations such as the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility
- Voting proxy Management Fees
- Consultant fees
- Staff time
We recommend not counting:
- Normal investing costs; only additional costs specifically related to socially responsible investing should count as community building
- Investment losses related to socially responsible investing, that is the difference between what the investment returns as opposed to traditional investing.
(Updated November 2015)