DISCLAIMER: This is not about investing for your direct financial security but investing in our common future, If interested, continue with this discussion of a new path toward Investing in a Progressive Future.

Political Mutual Funds

It is a complex challenge to decide how to donate money. There are so many important issues and causes. There are so many dedicated, hard-working, well-run and effective organizations. There are so many appeals for money, from slick to ham-handed. And, well, some of the slickest come from those not necessarily dedicated, hard-working, well-run or effective. Thus, the emergence of efforts like Charity Navigator.

When it comes to investing money, mutual funds claim to reduce by grouping together companies, enabling one to choose a sector to invest in or a style of investing rather than seeking to find the perfect individual stocks and creating one's own balanced portfolio.

Well, the New Progressive Coalition has taken a bold step toward a metric based path for combining these for financially helping create a progressive future.

NPC's Political Mutual Funds

The New Progressive Coalition has just activated three investment funds in a progressive future:

• Invest in Victory in 2008 & Beyond
• Invest in Health Care
• Invest in Energy Independence & the Environment

The organizations that make up the Political Mutual Funds were selected from over 100 examined organizations. To become part of a fund, each organization went through a detailed process examining their goals, effectiveness, approaches, and future opportunities. In addition, NPC looked at a wide range of metrics to gain a 'business' sense of how to provide a quantitative basis for judging organizations. But these are mutual funds, which suggests that there might be individual winners and losers, but providing a greater likelihood of 'return on investing' in a progressive future.

According to NPC

NPC's "Political Mutual Funds" are actively managed portfolios of vetted organizations that give you a confident way to contribute money and a simple means to maximize and track your "political return" over time. ... An Easy and Strategic Way to Create Political Change. ... to harness collective power and make a strategic impact without having to navigate the complex political landscape.
And, well, the NPC will actively manage the Funds.

NPC researches, evaluates and hand picks organizations for each of its funds so that its customers don’t have to. ... organizations are selected based on their overall effectiveness, relative performance against peers, and impact. NPC’s "Political Mutual Funds" are actively managed. To take advantages of political opportunities that arise, organizations may be added or removed to improve the political return of the fund.

But, let us return to the three funds.

Invest in Victory in 2008 & Beyond

This fund invests in organizations supporting progressive policies, infrastructure, and candidates. There is a critical need to build a pipeline of leaders, and the potential to make a big impact by supporting political entrepreneurs. The fund’s strategy emphasizes the electoral, leadership and infrastructure sectors and is diversified across organizations with innovative and proven models.

This diverse portfolio trains candidates at all levels, registers and mobilizes voters, advances progressive agendas, creates solutions for election-challenges, and advocates for transparency and accountability. Some of these groups also work to elect progressive candidates.

This fund has 18 organizations, including Netroots Nation, Act Blue, and Wellstone Action.

Invest in Health Care

NPC’s Health Care Fund invests in organizations working towards an accessible, affordable health care system. Experts agree that reform must happen first at the state-level, and will require the support of the medical community and small businesses, the latter of which provides 65% of all coverage. This “plan agnostic” investment strategy emphasizes the advocacy and idea generation sectors and focuses on bolstering state-based reform, building coalitions among key stakeholders, and developing political will.

This pragmatic portfolio advocates for more accessible and affordable health care policies, promotes improvements of current health care systems like Medicare and S-Chip, and fosters political will among business, labor, and the public.

The eight organizations include the Herndon Alliance, Small Business Majority, and the Universal Health Care Action Network.

Invest in Energy Independence & the Environment

NPC's Energy Independence & Environment Fund invests in organizations working towards a green planet and an energy independent country. Our strategy emphasizes the advocacy and idea generation sectors and prioritizes three objectives: electing environmentally-friendly candidates, developing innovative green policies, and engaging the corporate community in climate change solutions.

This dynamic portfolio reduces carbon footprints, advocates for sustainable energy independence and climate change policies, builds political will in critical communities to pass environmental legislation, and raises awareness about how individuals can help America become green and energy independent.

Well, some might suspect that this fund is close to my heart.

And, it is.

For more than one reason.

Energize America is one of 11 organizations in the Energy Independence and Environment Fund. The eleven organizations:

• Arizona League of Conservation Voters
• Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
• Energize America
• Energy Action Coalition
• Green Corps
• League of Conservation Voters
• Institute for America's Future
• Rainforest Action Network (RAN)
• Science & Environmental Health Network
• Vote Solar Initiative
• Western Organization of Resource Councils

These are an amazing set of organizations.

I, others in the Energize America team, and all who have participated in EA2020 discussions over the past two years, should be honored to be on the leading edge of an organization that is grouped with these other outstanding organizations.

We can all
help make
America
Energy Smart.

Are you doing
your part to
ENERGIZE AMERICA?