Our Crowdfunding Groups
From its inception, the Haas Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Fund has been lauded as both ambitious and groundbreaking. The first and largest student-led SRI fund at a leading business school, it offers Berkeley-Haas students real-world experience in how to deliver a strong financial return and have a positive social impact. Since 2008, the student principals have grown the initial investment of $1.1M to $2M+, a more than 50% return on investment over six years, and outperformed their environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmarks.
With this proven track record, now is the time to scale up and think big. Our aim is to provide students hands-on learning with sustainable finance and asset diversification, shape the future of sustainable finance and create a sustainable source of funding for the Center for Responsible Business (CRB).
We are thrilled to announce our campaign to raise $100,000 in donations for the Fund between February 24 and April 4, 2014. We have a time-limited opportunity to double your impact. Alumnus Charlie Michaels (BS ’78), a force behind starting the Haas SRI Fund, will match every dollar you give during this campaign (turning our $100,000 goal into $200,000).
Your doubled donation will:
Contributions to this campaign are considered tax-deductible donations and donors will not receive financial returns (positive growth will be reinvested).
However, as a donor, you are eligible for perks specifically lined up for this campaign as well as those available for general Berkeley-Haas donors (perks available depend on the donation level). We will also send you the Haas SRI Fund's Annual Reports so you can be kept apprised of its performance and how the students are learning with and investing your donation.
Help us get the word out about this great opportunity to invest in the future of student learning and socially responsible investing. Personal emails and chats with friends and colleagues are the most impactful, but social media posts also help. Sample language is provided below:
Support future leaders in sustainable finance. Give to grow the Haas SRI Fund! Donate: tiny.cc/HSRIF #HSRIF @respbus
Email/Facebook/LinkedIn
Support future leaders in sustainable finance. Join me in giving to grow the Haas Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Fund. Your donation will provide students hands on learning in SRI, shape the future of sustainable finance and ensure the ongoing success of CRB by making the center self-sustaining. All money raised between Feb 24-Apr 4 will be matched by Haas alumnus Charlie Michaels too. Details and donate here: tiny.cc/HSRIF.
Launched by the Center for Responsible Business (CRB), the Fund is part of the CRB’s mission to ensure that Berkeley-Haas students become leaders who bring a sustainability lens to the businesses that they lead and invest in—now and in the future. The Fund is one of many reasons Berkeley-Haas is recognized as a pioneer and global leader in the field of corporate responsibility and sustainability, consistently ranked as one of the top business school programs in these areas by groups such as The Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Princeton Review.
Our thanks to Scott Pinkus, Vivienne Hsu, Dave Stangis, Erik Peterson, Larry and Victoria Johnson, Margo Alexander, Tom Perkins, and Amelia Forrest Kaye for their offline donations of $40,000, $3,000, $1,000, $5,260, $25,000, $5,000, $10,000, and $29, respectively. Our thanks also to US Trust, the Campbell's Soup Company, Deutsche Bank, Yahoo, and the Dow Chemical Company for their corporate matches.
In addition to each and every other person contributing to this campaign to support student learning, we are also grateful to the original donors of the Haas SRI Fund: Haas alumni Al Johnson, BS 1962 and MBA 1969, and his wife, Marguerite; Charlie Michaels, BS 1978, and his wife, Doris; and Larry Johnson, BS 1972, and his wife, Victoria.
We also thank the generous companies supporting this campaign through exciting donor perks (check them out on the right):
Receive eternal gratitude from the CRB team and double high-fives (get it?) whenever we see you.
Get your name on the CRB website, in the next Fund Annual Report, and in a personal shout-out on the CRB’s Twitter account.
Score a $50 gift certificate from Levi Strauss & Co. to buy yourself, or a lucky friend, a pair of their Water
Join a tasty tour of Revolution Foods, Back to the Roots, and Clif Bar on May 9 afternoon. Get a behind-the-scenes look at these leading sustainable food companies, sample their products, and meet some of the Haas alumni working there. Details: http://bit.ly/HSRIFperks
Tour Autodesk’s acclaimed Gallery and its normally closed-to-the-public Pier 9 design space on May 16 afternoon. Participate in a sustainable design thinking workshop and enjoy drinks at the pier with fellow campaign supporters to wrap up the week. Details: bit.ly/HSRIFperks
Mix and mingle at a salon hosted at CRB Faculty Director Kellie McElhaney’s home (date TBD), with current Fund principals, advisors, and donors, and hear a special lecture from Berkeley-Haas professor and Fund advisor Lloyd Kurtz.
Get two spots for you and a guest at the CRB’s VIP tables at the exclusive annual Gala in San Francisco in November. You will meet executive business leaders and the who’s who of impact investing.
Have an intimate group lunch with Laura Tyson, director of the new Haas Institute for Business and Social Impact and former Haas dean, chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, and chair of the National Economic Council.
Become the newest member of the Haas SRI Fund Investment Advisory Committee, where you’ll join other executive-level investing leaders in guiding the future direction of the Fund.
Give us the honor of naming the Haas SRI Fund after you!
