The five pillars of our 10-year strategic plan represent the systems change we seek to effect in the world.
We aim to expand how the field of innovative finance understands the ways power, bias, and privilege operate and impact systems of finance.
Our goal is for investors of all types to assign value in their investments based on a methodology that assumes a more just and equitable future.
We empower social change organizations to design and implement strategies that engage systems of finance as part of furthering equity.
We support social change organizations, governments, and investors to design and implement strategies that use finance to prevent and mitigate the effects of gender-based violence.
We partner with government agencies to support them in using their power to align their innovative finance programs with their social and gender policies, thereby influencing what is expected of organizations using finance to increase equality and justice.
Explore our extensive library of resources on using finance as a tool for transformative social change. Browse by category and sub-categories to find the most relevant materials for your needs. Our library contains reports, case studies, toolkits, and other content aimed at investors, governments, civil society organizations, and anyone interested in harnessing capital for positive impact. Dive in and discover insights and guidance to help drive progress on critical issues.
Criterion Institute is making a long-term commitment to addressing gender-based violence, directing one third of our resources over the next five years toward re-imagining possibilities for using finance as a tool to effect change on this critical issue.
Since our founding, we have partnered with churches because they inspire a large number of people to imagine greater possibilities.
This issue of Criterion Connections, featuring Oxfam America’s Laté Lawson-Lartego, is adapted from a Conversation for Change led by Criterion Institute’s Director of Engagement, Christina Madden, at Opportunity Collaboration.
Building on years of existing work and partnerships, Criterion Institute launched the Power of Policy Program this February of 2020.
This poem was inspired by a wonderful quote used by both Martin Luther King Jr., and President Barack Obama in their speeches: “the arc of the moral universe — of history — is long but it bends toward justice…”
From the beginning, Criterion has played a significant role in establishing the field of gender lens investing. We began with (re)Value Gender, which built key research methodology that bridges gender expertise and finance expertise and creates a space for leaders to practice, build insight, and produce evidence. We looked for examples of bias in investments, where gender patterns were undervalued and, as a result, risks and opportunities missed.
Our work spans research, design, and field-building. Below is a sampling of some of our recent work.
The Blueprints demonstrate how a variety of social change organizations can design strategies that use systems of finance as tools to create positive social change.
These roadmaps lay out insights for how finance can be used to address gender-based violence in a range of sectors, asset classes, geographies, and investor types.
The TOOLKIT is designed to support your journey as you explore how finance can be used as a tool to create social change.
1K Churches was launched in 2012 to galvanize a movement in the faith-based community and engage US churches to invest in the local economy.
These gender-based violence due diligence tools analyze existing due diligence categories – including political, regulatory, operational, and reputational risks – and show how they can be affected by gender-based violence.
Gender-based violence is ubiquitous. More than 1 in 3 women worldwide experiences physical or sexual violence, and millions of men, boys, and gender-diverse individuals are affected by physical, sexual, and emotional abuse daily.
Our work depends on an ever-expanding community of team members, advisors, donors, and other partners who help us demonstrate our theory of change and ultimately achieve our mission. Learn more about how you can become more engaged in our work.
Invitations to Engage