Our HistoryA Legacy of Catholic Sisters
The timelessness of our charisms meeting the timeliness of the moment.
Pioneers of faith-consistent investing (clockwise from top-left): Valerie Heinonen, OSU, presents a shareholder resolution at a company annual meeting; Sr. Corinne Florek, founder of the Religious Communities Impact Fund, speaks at a national gathering; Dominican Sisters celebrate the launch of the Morgan Stanley Climate Solutions Fund in New York City; Sr. Carol Coston, Founding Director of Partners for the Common Good
“Catholic Sisters have been asking a question for a long time: with whom do we cast our lot?”
The answer has shaped everything. It shaped how Sisters built schools, hospitals, and institutions in communities that society had overlooked. It shaped how they filed many of the first shareholder resolutions challenging corporate conduct on apartheid, labor rights, and environmental destruction. And beginning in the 1970s, it led them to lend their own savings to the communities that conventional finance had walked away from — seeding what would eventually become an established field of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) that created loan funds for low-income borrowers, affordable housing developers, and small enterprises in underserved places.
In the face of a culture that measures success primarily in financial returns, Sisters insisted on something different: that how we invest is an expression of our mission, not merely an enabler of it. For those steeped in the demands of solidarity, the dignity of every human person, and the sacredness of our planet, investing is never just a financial act. It’s a moral one.
Charism Capital is not a new idea. It’s a long tradition that’s been given new infrastructure.
30 leaders from 11 religious congregations gathered in Chicago in 2025 to co-design a new investment vehicle, by and for the community
Charism Capital exists to continue and broaden this legacy. Like the Sisters before us, we ask how we can be faithful with our finances, and we invite a wide community of investors to join us in that question. Together, we seek to continue this legacy in the shared spirit of the charisms that gave it life.
A Brief TimelineFifty Years of Faithful Capital
A short chronology of the tradition we stand within — and the moments that shaped what Charism Capital is becoming.
1975
1970s-80s
1995
1990s-2000s
2008
2024
2025
2026
Portfolio Advisory Board established
The Adrian Dominican Sisters establish their Portfolio Advisory Board. Early shareholder advocacy work begins — the first generation of religious investors asking corporations to answer for their actions.
The first institutional impact investors
Sisters of Mercy begin mission-aligned community investing. Women religious are among the first institutional impact investors in the United States — lending their congregational savings to credit unions, community loan funds, and minority-owned banks.
Mercy Investment Services formed
Multiple Mercy communities pool resources, formalizing what becomes Mercy Investment Services.
The CDFI field takes shape
Sisters drive growth of the CDFI movement; faith-based investors help establish the field of impact investing.
RCIF launches
Ten congregations in RCRI Region 11 pool their community investment funds to seed the Religious Communities Impact Fund (RCIF), creating a nonprofit collaborative ministry of values‑driven capital for CDFIs and nonprofits advancing economic and racial justice.
Documenting the gap
Landscape assessment by Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative and Francesco Collaborative documents the gap: dozens of congregations want to deepen their impact investing but face barriers of access, expertise, and administrative capacity.
The Chicago convening
Thirty leaders from eleven religious congregations gather in Chicago to co-design a new investment vehicle — by and for the community. This becomes the basis for Charism Capital.
Charism Capital launches
Charism Capital launches with a founding group of investors consisting of women religious congregations and family offices, carrying the legacy forward.
Contact Us
Learn more about our efforts to build a community and culture of investing deeply rooted in Catholic Social Teaching (CST).
“I think the difference between me and some people is that I’m content to do my little bit. Sometimes people think they have to do big things in order to make change. But if each one would light a candle we’d have a tremendous light.”