This is a season of gifts. A gift is most wonderful when it is wrapped in a moment of grace and new sense of possibility. Criterion turns 15 years old in just a couple weeks. As we reflect on this that history, we have been struck by the recent gift of clarity in our present.

We have always worked at the leading, or perhaps bleeding, edge of social change. Many of you know what that means because you have been standing right beside us, standing in the face of power and intentionally shifting complex systems of finance. Twelve years ago we mapped the intersection of the work of churches and possibilities of sustainable finance, ten years ago we were at the meetings defining the the early days of impact investing, eight years ago we worked with so many of you to launch what has become gender lens investing.

When blazing new trails the direction is rarely clear, the trail is jagged, the signage obtuse, at best. The ability to work in ambiguity is the skill set required when the direction, the solution is not clear. Systems change leaders know you need to make the problem bigger, to see the whole solution.

Out of the mess comes clarity. Perhaps this is the core of faith, when clarity arrives wrapped as a gift from a friend.

Recently, we got a gift of clarity from the amazing Lorene Arey. Seriously, the woman is a rockstar in the branding world. She saw the impact in our work and offered to work with us to get to the essence of our brand. She led us and a set of long time friends to see clearly who we are.

Criterion is the leading think tank focused on using finance as a tool for social change.
After 15 years of purposefully holding space for ambiguity, focus and definition feels good.

This is our time.

There is no more important time for us to believe in our own ability to use financial systems to advance the social change we seek. The 15 years of holding space for innovation and discovery, pushing the boundaries, is paying off, just at the right time. Given the challenges facing all of us, we need to be using all of the tools of social change.

We begin 2017 with a clear plan, strong institutional partnerships and traction behind a methodology and set of practices for using the power of finance systems for social good. Early in the new year we will distribute newly minted implementation guides for making loans through local congregations, release a blueprint of how women’s funds can get involved in gender lens investing, and publish a guide for how to integrate gender analysis into fund management.

We invite you to join us. We need your wisdom, your voice, your collaboration, your time, your financial support, and your sense of justice. Without you, we could not imagine ourselves making a difference, and honestly, we don’t want to. Clearly, you make us, us.

Thank you,

Joy Anderson, Founder and President, Criterion Institute

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