The Penney Family Fund believes that granting in areas of racial justice and economic & environmental justice is not enough — our investments also need to support our interests and values. Beginning in 2006, we have invested our portfolio in line with Environment, Social and Governance (“ESG”) and impact investing principles. In 2014, we completely divested from fossil fuels and in 2018, we completely divested from firearms and weapons. We are also authorized to make Program Related Investments (“PRI”) that further the organization’s charitable mission.

In July of 2020, our third and fourth generation board members signed the Emergency Charity Stimulus (ECS) and committed to increase grant payout to 10% from 2021-2023. With the converging global crises—the COVID-19 pandemic, an awakening to police violence and systemic racism, climate change, and a consequential 2020 election in the United States—we believed that it was the right time to begin the journey of redistributing philanthropic funds into grassroots communities and movements working toward a more just, anti-racist world.

Whenever possible, the Penney Family Fund applies a “Best of Sector” environmental screen when making investment choices. We invest in companies that are leaders in managing the environmental risks associated with their businesses.

The PFF Social Impact Screens Include:

Environmental & Natural Resource

  • 100% divestment from fossil fuel companies and their vendors

Employee Relations

  • avoids companies with poor union relations or employee human rights records

  • avoids companies that have inadequate management of employee risks from point of origin of a product to the consumer.

Product Safety & Quality

  • supports companies that shows leadership in product quality and safety

Human Rights & Community Impact

  • avoids companies with poor human rights records

  • avoids companies whose business negatively impacts the local community

Private Prisons & Detention Center

  • avoids any company with a business model that includes mass incarceration or the criminalization of immigration and those companies whose primary business is in the for-profit prison or detention center industries

Gambling

  • avoids investing in companies that derive 5% or more of their revenue from gaming activities, such as casinos, hotels with casinos, racetracks, and the manufacture of gaming devices and technologies.

Corporate Governance

  • avoids companies involved in excessive price fixing, antitrust, and/or corruption violations

  • includes companies with progressive governance policies like transparency in political disclosures and more

Animal Welfare

  • avoids companies involved in animal testing that is unnecessary and inhumane in nature.

Defense and Weapons

  • 100% divestment from companies who manufacture civilian firearms, conventional weapons, non-conventional weapons, and nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Power Reactor Ownership

  • avoids investing in companies that own 10% or more of any nuclear reactors

Tobacco

  • avoids investing in companies that derive 5% or more of their revenue from the manufacture of tobacco products