Our ApproachCatholic Social Teaching, put to work
"...the pursuit of social justice should not be considered a separate issue that follows only after the production of wealth, as if the economy existed solely to create wealth… Indeed, justice concerns every phase of economic activity, from resource acquisition to financing, and from production to consumption; every choice has moral consequences"
(Magnifica Humanitas 162).
Charism Capital invests globally, with a deliberate commitment to deploy capital in the Global South (across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia) where the need for patient, mission-aligned capital is greatest and where frontline communities must shape the flow of investment. We invest primarily through fund intermediaries: CDFIs, private impact funds, and mission-aligned lending vehicles that extend capital to individuals, enterprises, and communities that conventional finance often neglects. This intermediary-first approach allows us to reach communities at scale while partnering with managers who carry deep relationships, local knowledge, and alignment with our values.
Charism Capital uses Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as our starting point — a tradition that has been thinking about the relationship between capital, dignity, and human flourishing for over a century.
CST grounds investments in our humanity and care for our common home. It aims to shift our economic systems and structures to support the flourishing of life.
It demands not just access to capital's benefits, but genuine participation in capital itself: through ownership, governance, and the kind of wealth that passes between generations.
It also invites us to consider that how we invest forms us — as individuals, communities, and institutions. The habits of discernment we practice, the relationships we build, and the standards we hold ourselves to are all part of the work.
CST principles we hold close
Sacredness and Dignity of the Person
Recognizes that every person is made in the image of God, matters, and is deserving of respect and opportunity.
Solidarity
Expresses a commitment to mutual responsibility by prioritizing collective wellbeing—especially of those suffering the most—over individual gain.
Subsidiarity and Participation
Brings the lived experience and wisdom of community-level stakeholders to into decisionmaking, directly shaping the design and implementation of solutions and investments.
Common Good
Contributes to conditions that enable each and every individual—and with them, their communities—to flourish.
Preferential Option for the Vulnerable
Seeks first and foremost to benefit the most vulnerable in our society.
Integral Ecology
Builds and sustains meaningful, mutual relationships with the people, places, and systems impacted by an investment.
Universal Destination of Goods
The earth and its goods belong to all of humanity and ownership carries the obligation to use what we hold in service of the common good, especially those who lack what they need to live with dignity.
Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers
Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in Gods creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected--the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.
Our Core Convictions
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How we invest is not neutral.
Capital carries moral significance. Every allocation expresses a set of priorities — about whose flourishing matters, whose risk we are willing to underwrite, and what kind of world we are helping to build. The moral measure of any economic system is how it treats those on its peripheries. We see accountability to excluded communities as a first principle.
Impact is the mandate. Return is the constraint.
The financial return floor is defined by what investors need — putting the concept of enough into practice. Solidarity returns are not a failure mode. They are sometimes the faithful outcome.
Risk doesn’t disapear.
It moves. We seek to ask hard questions: who bears i the risk of this investment, and do they have the capacity and consent to bear it?
Ownership and governance matters.
Most impact frameworks ask whether investments serve vulnerable communities. We ask whether they shift who owns and who governs. Access to capital's benefits is not the same as participation in capital itself.
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How we invest forms us.
The habits of discernment we practice, the relationships we build, the standards we hold ourselves to — these are part of the work. Investment is not only an act of allocation. It is an act of formation, for individuals, communities, and institutions.
See the legacy this work continues
Charism Capital's approach is rooted in fifty years of faithful Catholic finance. Trace the lineage.
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