RESPONSIBLE ENDOWMENTS COALITION www.endowmentethics.org

Oberlin's RIO began after a group of students attended REC's Summer Organizing Retreat.  They were featured in The Nation on February 15:

Moving Oberlin’s Money

In northeast Ohio, Oberlin College students from the Responsible Investing Organization are campaigning for community investment of college funds—and showing that endowment activism isn’t just about divestment. Along with Oberlin’s Student Finance Committee, RIO proposed and saw passed in December the Oberlin College and Community Investment Plan, a resolution to annually invest a percentage of the $1.2 million in the college’s Student Activity Fund as certificates of deposit with a local credit union. In September, RIO launched its "Break Up With Your Bank” campaign, an ongoing initiative to educate Oberlin students about financial institutions and encourage them to switch from big banks to local credit unions. Students are currently organizing a policy symposium for this spring that would bring together trustees, administrators and students to work together to write a comprehensive responsible investment policy, including community input and accountability.

—Responsible Investing Organization

Click here to read the other student dispatches from The Nation.