GREAT RESOURCES:

Social Investment Forum

Comprehensive information, contacts and resources on socially-responsible investing

First Affirmative Financial Network

Investment Advice

Social Funds

Personal finance guide

Socially responsible financial planners

GOODFUNDS.COM

BLUE MARBLE INVESTMENTS

MONEY WITH A MISSION

PROGRESSIVE ASSET MGMT

M ALLISON BEEZER

ShoreBank Pacific ‘Walks the Talk’

Five Years and Counting!

"At ShoreBank Pacific, we believe business can change to become more sustainable, less wasteful and more environmentally benign without sacrificing the bottom line. We've created a bank to prove it."

In 2001, ShoreBank Pacific and its non-profit partner Shorebank Enterprise Pacific built a new headquarters that boasts the latest in sustainable building technology and practices, including optimal energy efficiency, recycled materials and storm water retention. ShoreBank Pacific also opened a loan production office in the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center, a restored warehouse located in Portland, Oregon.

The Core of ShoreBank’s Success

ShoreBank Pacific continues to raise money from its EcoDeposits® program in order to fund businesses and non-profits that are committed to improving their environmental footprint. EcoDeposits include many FDIC insured deposit products, at competitive rates, that serve to provide the funding base for ShoreBank’s loan programs.  As a mission-driven institution, all loans are reviewed by the bank scientist using ShoreBank Pacific's loan evaluation process.  These criteria are firmly grounded in the guiding principles of The Natural Step.  ShoreBank’s goal is to keep eighty percent of the portfolio in mission-based loans. Through these efforts, ShoreBank Pacific helps loan customers:

• Use energy efficiently;
• Reduce waste and pollution;
• Conserve natural resources; and
• Plan for the long term.

Going Green - Good For Your Wallet
By Andy Summa

Many green activists rue investment as a tool to pay for industry’s environmental degradation. But, as evidenced by Green Century Funds, your investment doesn‘t have to fill the pockets of polluters.

Green Century Funds, an environmentally responsible mutual fund, donates all profits earned through the management of the funds to a partnership of non-profit environmental advocacy organizations. The Funds utilize a simple guideline: shun the polluters, encourage the green companies.

The funds also coordinate shareholder efforts to influence companies to adopt cleaner, safer, healthier practices and products.

In response to a shareholder resolution co-filed by the Green Century Balanced Fund, Intel agreed to share information on potential environmental and safety hazards and to allow community and environmental activists to monitor the implementation of its new Environmental Health and Safety Policy.

After the Green Century Balanced Fund filed a shareholder resolution calling for more aggressive solid waste programs, PepsiCo agreed to roll out a new lid which will save 25 million pounds of aluminum annually and to replace disposable shipping containers with recyclable shells.

The ten-year-old Green Century Equity Fund filed a shareholder resolution to press Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) to cancel any future plans for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is the only conservation area in the nation that provides a complete range of Arctic and sub-Arctic ecosystems balanced with a wide variety of wildlife. The 125-mile Coastal Plain is the only section of Alaska's 1100 mile North Slope not open for oil drilling.

Funds are no-load and require a minimum $2,000 initial investment. But that’s a small price for economic and environmental security.

For more information, call 800-93-GREEN. or visit their website: www.greencentury.com

Andy Summa is a freelance writer in Sugar Land, Texas.

Looking for a great home-base business that helps the environment?

Arbonne offers a full line of natural products including: face, body, hair and nutritional needs. They use recyclable packaging and all of their products are cruelty-free.  For more information about them and the business opportunity click here.

Interested in Tax Free?
reprinted from Blue Marble's
BluePrint Newsletter

In a world of sugar-free, pesticide free and emission free, how about some tax-free interest? Not tax deferred until you take a distribution (like a traditional IRA), but tax free—permanently. There are a select number of investments that provide tax-free income, among them are Roth IRAs and Life Insurance. But if you’re interested in no contribution limits and avoiding the inconvenience of dying, then read on.

Each year tens of millions of Americans pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes on interest earned from CDs*, savings accounts, and money markets. Fortunately, for many of these investors there is an alternative—and no, it’s not in the stock market: It’s Municipal Bonds.

Building a Tax-Free Future
Municipal Bonds are bonds that are issued by state or local governments in order to build schools, hospitals, pave roads and other things most of us take for granted. The way a bond works is actually quite simple. It is a contract whereby a lender purchases a bond, issued by an institution, for a specified amount of time and for a specified amount of interest. In other words, it’s an I.O.U. between an investor and an institution. There are many institutions that issue bonds, among these are U.S. Corporations, the United States Treasury, States and Municipalities.

The beauty of municipal bonds, in particular, is that if you buy a municipal bond of the state in which you are a resident, the interest you receive is state and federal tax-free. Think about it, the government helping you with your taxes! In states with high income tax rates (ex. California and New York) this tax-free boost can mean a 30% increase on your yield when compared to a taxable alternative (see chart below).

Quality and Maturity Matter
As with any investment there are things to keep in mind. The first involves the quality of the bonds. Municipal bonds come in varying grades ranging from high quality to speculative. For the investor looking to invest in the highest grades, a good tip is to find “Investment Grade” quality. This designation refers to the highest grades offered by the various municipal bond rating agencies.

After deciding on the quality of the bond, the second issue is the length of the bond. Municipal bonds have maturities ranging from just a few years to over twenty years. As a general rule, if you plan on holding the bond until maturity then your principal and interest are guaranteed. However, if you sell a bond prior to its maturity date then your principal will vary based on whether interest rates are higher or lower from when you purchased the bond. Simply put, if interest rates are higher, then your principal will be reduced; if interest rates are lower, then your principal will be increased.

Understanding how bonds work can take a little effort, but for many, this effort is well worth the luxury of earning tax-free interest on their money. If you would like learn about how tax-free investing can work for you, give us a call at 866-B-Marble (262-7253) and experience what it’s like to finally keep all that you’ve earned!

* Municipal bonds have greater volatility than CD, are subject to market fluctuation, are not FDIC Insured, may be worth less than original cost upon redemption or maturity and are subject to availability.

Arturo Tabuenca is the founder of Blue Marble Investments (BMI), a socially active investing firm in Pasadena, CA. You can contact BMI at 866-2-MARBLE. Securities offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member NASD/SIPC.
 

Check out a totally green business opportunity manufacturing EcoCover mulch mats!
 

First Stop for Earth Conscious Investors
by Andy Summa

Investing is often a daunting task for environmentalists. Many industries are notorious about trashing the environment for profit, and most environmentalists don‘t want to support companies that routinely damage the world. But not all companies wreak havoc on Mother Nature. And socialfunds.com can find them for you.

Known primarily for its mutual fund research, Social Funds offers numerous other valuable financial services, including money management, stock brokerage and financial planning. Extensive daily financial news and detailed corporation research are also popular functions. More than 1,000 companies are listed in the Corporate Social Research Center. Check up on ExxonMobil’s latest environmental report or find out how General Mills treats its employees.

But the most valued section of www.socialfunds.com is the mutual fund screener. You can screen for human rights, shareholder activism, community investment, environmentalism, employment, weapons, animal rights, nuclear power and alcohol/tobacco/guns. The site screens for this information, and displays pertinent contact, financial and history information.

SocialFunds.com is any prudent activist’s first stop on the way to financial (and environmental) security.

Andy Summa is a freelance writer in Sugar Land, Texas.
 

Donate!

Appreciated assets to your favorite environmental group and get a tax deduction.

Here's how it works. If you have a highly appreciated asset, you can donate it to your favorite environmental group, and in exchange, you will receive a tax deduction for the total amount of the donation, PLUS income for the rest of your life! The catch is once you donate the assets, it's final. This arraignment is called a Charitable remainder trust, and you should contact your tax advisor for more info.

Things to Consider...

When selecting an investment for your hard earned money, you can choose investments that match your beliefs. Here are some of the more common screening criteria for socially conscious mutual funds:

• Environmental Practices

• Human Rights

• Animal Testing

• Industry Segment

Why...

...is it so important whether I put my money in socially conscious funds or not? The answers lie in the big picture.

By investing in socially conscious investments, you divert money away from the companies that are polluting our rivers, pumping chemicals into the air, and selling cigarettes to kids, and drive money to companies that are good corporate citizens. Also, socially conscious investments have generally performed BETTER than their conventional counterparts!

Note: Red Jellyfish does not  endorse any of the advisers or companies listed on our website, and is acting only as a general  resource.