Socially Responsible Investing. How to make your money work for a better future.

Socially responsible investing involves nearly every aspect of your spending dollars.

Every dollar you put into stocks, bank accounts, pension plans and insurance policies is invested around the world. Do you know how socially responsible investing can make a difference? Do you know how your money is working? Is it contributing to deforestation, greenhouse gases, sweatshop labor or weapons?

Responsible investing is a way to make sure your dollars work toward a better future.

Here are some simple steps.

*****BANKING*****

What is your bank doing? Most traditional banks only care about profits with little regard for social issues.

Check out community development financial institutions (CDFIs). These are community development banks, credit unions, capital venture funds and loan funds that are designed to improve economic conditions for individuals and communities by providing a range of financial products and services which often aren't available through mainstream banks and lenders.

They provide a wide range of services like financing for for-profit and nonprofit business, technical assistance, housing developers, and often low-income individuals looking for loans to buy or rehabilitate their homes.

The goals of these institutions is to stimulate economic growth and create jobs in low-income areas, create low-income housing, stabilize population decline in distressed areas, and improve the availability and quality of community facilities.

They also strive to increase the number of businesses owned by ethnic minorities and women and environmentally sustainable businesses.

CDFIs help people who are not able to obtain financing through more traditional sources, or who cannot obtain affordable financing.

In an era or mergers, mega-banks and acquisitions, development banks are a much needed alternative to traditional institutions who only look after their bottom line.

These institutions typically offer the full line of banking products including checking accounts,savings accounts, CD's and money market funds.

In addition to deposit and loan products, most offer some form of non-financial market building activity like job training, affordable housing development, or money management assistance.

For more information on these, check out the Coalition of Community Development Financial Institution, Green America, Social Funds.com, or the Green Money Journal. There are a lot of sources out there today.

Put your money into stocks that help the environment and other sustainable causes.

For years, the idea of socially responsible investing in businesses was a "fringe" market. Resources were hard to find and many thought it was not a place for serious investors.

This has all changed. In 2008, $2.71 trillion, roughly one in every eight dollars invested professionally just in the United States was invested in companies based on their environmental or social records.

This is up from $639 billion in 1995.

There are articles in all of the leading investor magazines, directories of socially responsible stocks and stockbrokers who specialize in socially responsible investing.

Look for companies who don't pollute the environment, kill animals or exploit workers.

Buy stocks in companies you want to be successful because they support fair trade principles, help communities in need, promote renewable energy, supply renewable energy, provide organic materials or promote organic agriculture, recycle and promote recycling, reuse and reducing waste,promote social equality for women and ethnic minorities.