just money
Economic democracy and self-determination depend on access to financial services, without which communities are excluded from the economy and forced to rely on predatory financial service providers.
Colab’s Just Money program researches, documents and promotes inclusive banking practices and institutions that use finance as a tool for addressing social, environmental, and economic challenges.
In 2015, CoLab joined a partnership with the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) and the Presencing Institute. The GABV is a global network of 63 financial institutions and 16 supporting partners operating in countries across Asia, Africa, Australia, South and North America and Europe. Together they serve more than 67 million customers, hold over $200 billion USD in combined assets under management, and employ over 76,000 people. On a global scale, these financial institutions outperform mainstream banks on financial returns and growth while focusing on the real economy and clients’ needs, the delivery of social and environmental impact, and transparent and inclusive governance. They reduce risk by developing long term relationships with clients that allow for direct knowledge of clients’ economic activities. Many publish all of their loans on their websites so customers can have visibility into where their money is being invested.
The GABV Leadership Academy, launched in 2015, brings together mid-career leaders from values-based banks and financial institutions around the world to advance their leadership and innovation skills and connect to the growing values-based banking movement. Since 2015, 110 GABV member-leaders have participated in the program. In 2016, GABV, Presencing Institute, and CoLab launched a free Massive Open Online Course on the MIT EDx platform, “Just Money: Banking as if Society Mattered.” The course drew more than 7,000 participants from over 150 countries. To date, the course has trained approximately 20,000 people.
In 2021, the Just Money program, in partnership with the Presencing Institute, released Just Money: Mission-Driven Banks and the Future of Finance (MIT Press, 2021).
