Whether you are part of a foundation working to end domestic poverty, a women’s rights organization promoting gender equality in government policy, a not-for-profit building sustainable housing in Asia, a donor agency that wants to invest in people who can better translate and bridge between gender and finance, or an impact investor who wants to incorporate gender analysis, TOOLKIT is designed to help you tackle your sticky problems in a safe space while simultaneously learning about and experimenting with ways you might use the systems of finance as a tool for social change.

While TOOLKIT was originally designed as part of an in-person workshop, we have posted the card deck on our site for easy access. If you are interested in a private TOOLKIT workshop, please email us to learn more.

Please note that TOOLKIT is best viewed in a desktop browser and is not currently optimized for mobile devices.
Navigating TOOLKIT

TOOLKIT is divided into five primary sections. These sections help us to dissect the logic of finance. You can toggle between sections using the TOOLKIT dropdown menu in the upper left of each page.

Sections also have Social Change Strategies. These strategies align with their respective sections, but can also be used more broadly.

Packet Categories

Each section has between two and five categories (they come in packets in the physical TOOLKIT) and contains various cards defining key financial terms. For example, in the Invest in Opportunities section, there are four packets:

A sector refers to a large segment of the economy, while the term industry describes a much more specific group of companies or businesses within a sector.

How finance categorizes enterprises.

Simply put, an asset is anything that can be converted into cash. And because of this, assets can be bought, sold, traded, borrowed, licensed, and so on.

In the end, investment capital goes to enterprises. We can withdraw capital from enterprises that create harm, shift capital to enterprises that actively create good, or expand what enterprises have access to capital.

Each packet is color coded, with each card matching the color of the packet.

Packet Cards

Packet Cards contain a term on one side of the card and a definition on the other side of the card. On this site, hovering your mouse over a card will “flip” the card to reveal the definition. For example, here are some cards from the Sectors & Industries packet within the Invest in Opportunities section.

ENERGY
ENERGY
Exploration, Production, Refining, Marketing, Storage, and Transportation of Oil, Gas, Coal, and Consumable Fuels. Oil and Gas Equipment and Services
MATERIALS
MATERIALS
Chemical Manufacturing, Construction Materials, Glass, Paper, Forest Products and Related Packaging Products, Metals, Minerals, Mining Companies, Steel Production
INDUSTRIALS
INDUSTRIALS
Capital Goods, Commercial and Professional Services, Transportation

Cards within the physical TOOLKIT have an additional pattern on them specific to their Category. Those have been omitted in the online version for enhanced readability.

Criterion Institute, 501(c)(3) 81 Church Hill Rd · Haddam, CT 06438 860-345-3520 (main) · info@criterioninstitute.org ©2023, all rights reserved.

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