Episcopal Press and News
Investment Seminar Scheduled On Long Island
Episcopal News Service. June 22, 1989 [89115]
GARDEN CITY, N.Y.(DPS, June 22) -- The Diocese of Long Island, together with the Social Responsibility in Investments Committee and the Economic Justice Implementation Committee, has announced a conference on Economic Justice Through Investments in Garden City, Long Island, on September 15th and 16th. The conference is designed to aid dioceses and endowed parishes that may wish to implement a program in response to the resolution passed at General Convention in July 1988, calling for the establishment of a ministry of community investment and economic justice.
The Rt. Rev. Robert C. Witcher, bishop of Long Island, will address the conference on the theology behind the call for an economic justice program. Gloria Brown, staff to the Economic Justice Implementation Committee, will speak on the committee's work and findings in its first year of creating a national program. Crowell Baker, treasurer of the Diocese of Long Island, will describe the process of decision making that went into his diocese's investment in the Nehemiah Project, a successful housing initiative in Brooklyn.
A portion of the conference will be set aside for discussion of individual programs and the merits of an investment in their projects, from both the mission and the economic point of view. Presenters include Joan Shapiro from the South Shore Bank of Chicago (a community development bank), Bart Harvey from the Enterprise Foundation (which works to build a national system of housing for very poor people), Michael Moran from the Interfaith Nutrition Network (a response to homelessness), and Sonia Salzman from ACCION International (microeconomic lending in Latin America).
Another portion of the conference will focus on the specific legal considerations that fiduciaries of various Church funds must be aware of when making decisions on economic justice investments. What are the considerations prudence demands? How do these sorts of investments fare under scrutiny?
There will also be practical concerns addressed at the conference. How does one make these investments? How much work is involved for the portfolio manager? Does one hire a specialist in this field? These questions will be addressed by a panel of managers of alternative portfolios.
Workshops will be offered on a number of subjects. Nancy Deppen (staff to the Consortium of Endowed Parishes) will lead a workshop on the consortium. She will discuss membership criteria and what the benefits of membership are. Amy L. Domini (author of Ethical Investing) will offer a workshop on the integration of social or ethical criteria into a conventional portfolio of stocks and bonds. Tin Smith (executive director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility) will lead a workshop on shareholder activism.
The conference is scheduled to run from 6 p.m., Friday, September 15, through 9 p.m., Saturday, September 16. The conference will take place at the Cathedral House of the Diocese of Long Island. A conference fee of $50.00 is being charged to help defer costs. Conference fees include dinner on Friday and Saturday nights and luncheon on Saturday. Those attending must make their own travel plans and accommodations. The Garden City Hotel is very convenient to the conference center.
The conference is specifically designed to help treasurers and finance committee members formulate a policy of economic justice through investments in their own endowed parish or diocese.
For more information on the conference speakers or format, please contact Amy Domini, conference coordinator, at (617) 523-6531. For more information about local accommodations, please contact Evelyn Messagno, Diocese of Long Island, at (516) 248-4800. Individuals wishing to attend should register with Brian Grieves at the Episcopal Church Center; tel. (212) 867-8400; (800) 334-7626; or (in New York State) (800) 321-2231.