Making Money Make Change

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October 12, 2009

By Elizabeth Ü

There are two types of projects that wake me up in the night: the first kind, usually related to deadlines I’m sure I’m going to miss, keeps me up with worry. The second kind wakes me up with exciting ideas that just can’t wait until morning. A project firmly in the latter category is a conference session I’m helping to plan (working title: SRI, ESG, Impact Investing: Whatever You Call It, You Can Activate Your Portfolio for Social Change) for the Making Money Make Change (MMMC) conference.

Taking place November 12-15 in Falls Village, CT, MMMC is a national, multiracial gathering (hosted by Funding Exchange, Resource Generation, Third Wave Foundation, and Tides Foundation) for young people with wealth (ages 18-35) who believe in social change.  MMMC is a confidential space to explore issues related to wealth, privilege, philanthropy, and participation in grassroots movements for justice and equality. Through workshops, discussions, and community-building activities, my fellow participants and I will support, challenge, and inspire each other to align our resources with our values and work for personal and societal transformation.

At this conference, we ask each other hard questions, offer support, and challenge each other to take the next steps in our individual paths, whether that be drafting a giving plan, scheduling a meeting with a financial advisor to find out how exactly our money is invested, or meeting with a sibling to discuss how to go about fostering a healthier conversation pattern around money with a parent.

When I attended MMMC last year, I was thoroughly impressed with the giving-related sessions, but it seemed to me that the investing session was both a little overwhelming for those of us just beginning to explore our options, and a little flat for those of us ready for the most innovative approaches. So I volunteered to be part of the planning process this year to help craft a format for the investing sessions that will inspire young people at various stages of their investing journey. We’re inviting several wealth managers and impact investing experts to help provide solutions to common challenges that many of us encounter along the way.

Of all the social change oriented conferences I attend, MMMC is the most difficult – and rewarding – for me personally. I attend as a constituent, rather than as a representative of RSF, to explore, in community with others, the responsibilities that my own privilege and financial wealth warrants… though the distinction between “myself” and my role as an employee at RSF is a tricky one.

What is the connection between one’s personal relationship with money, and the work we do as an organization that works to transform the way the world works with money? You might think, “Sure, it makes sense that someone who works at a nonprofit financial institution like RSF should delve into her own money issues.” But which came first? Perhaps RSF exists because people like me need a place to gather – as staff, investors, donors, partners, and/or social entrepreneurs – to ask hard questions of ourselves and each other about how we view money in our lives… and beyond that, to actually conduct financial transactions in a different way – one that offers opportunities for social and spiritual renewal.

While our office isn’t big enough to invite all our constituents to the staff meetings in which we discuss our relationships to money, we are proud to host a variety of other small convenings (including the recent pricing meetings and RSF borrower gathering), in addition to participating in several larger conferences (as speakers, facilitators, sponsors, or members of planning committees). We will continue to invite you to join us at these (such as the upcoming Economics of Peace conference), and I also hope that more opportunities will arise for people to gather and collectively explore their own habits and beliefs around money.  For those of you between the ages of 18-35, I hope you will consider attending Making Money Make Change with me later this year!

To register for MMMC, click here.

Elizabeth Ü is Strategic Development Manager at RSF Social Finance.

• Published by Elizabeth U
• Categories: Giving, Investing, Money, RSF Culture
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