Our Featured Work

Our Pillars

What We Do

The five pillars of our 10-year strategic plan represent the systems change we seek to effect in the world.

As an activist think tank, our day-to-day work takes many forms. Whether via interdisciplinary research, trainings for investors and social change organizations on how to engage finance for change, or the design of strategies and tools that enable actors to incorporate power analysis into existing processes, all our work ultimately furthers one or more of our pillars.

About Us

Our Pillars

Pillars of Change

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Areas of Activity
Shift Narratives in Innovative Finance<
Value the Future of Equality <
Invite Financial Imagination<
Finance the Reduction of Gender-based Violence<
Unleash the Power of Policy<

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Criterion’s work is about expanding what investors, governments, and civil society organizations see as possible for using finance to create transformative social change. Explore our resources based on the specific types of audiences they were intended to support.

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Investing with an Integrated Child Lens - A Call to Action for Climate Finance

October 31, 2023

Investments in climate mitigation and adaptation continue to increase, but the impact of these investments on children – both positive and negative – is not being systematically considered.

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Child Lens Investing-1
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Introducing Standards of Practice for Gender Lens Investing

October 3, 2023

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Standards of Practice-1
Cross Cutting Audiences
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Gender Lens Investing
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A Blueprint for Grassroots Organizations on Using Finance for Social Change

August 31, 2022

The Blueprint is a document about social change, written for change makers. The focus of the Blueprint is to show how individuals working within grassroots organizations can use finance as a tool in their work

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Localization-2
Pillars of Change
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Invite Financial Imagination-1
Cross Cutting Audiences
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Gender Lens Investing-1
Organizations
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Local Civil Society-1
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Translation Function-1
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Faith and Finance: One Pastor’s Reflections

August 30, 2022

Meet Rev. Philip Waite, a new friend of Criterion Institute, who has a passion for connecting faith and finance to do God’s work in the world. Rev. Waite is pastoral team leader of College Mennonite Church on the campus of Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.

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Localization-2
Pillars of Change
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Invite Financial Imagination-1
Cross Cutting Audiences
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Faith-Based
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1K Churches-1
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National Organizations-2
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Congregational Stories: Relationships and Microlending's Best Dividend

August 30, 2022

Now in our third year of interest-free lending to small businesses in greater Austin, University United Methodist’s most valuable “dividend” is our relationships with our neighbors providing the “sweat equity” to start or grow those businesses.

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Invite Financial Imagination-1
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Amplification-1
Cross Cutting Audiences
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Faith-Based-1
Organizations
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National Organizations-2
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1K Churches-1
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Hope and Grace Abound

August 31, 2022

Hope was the first word spoken. Members of the 1K Churches team at Napa Valley Lutheran Church (Napa, California) had been asked to use one word to express what they were feeling now -- four years since they first began with the Bible study.

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Invite Financial Imagination-2
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Influence-2
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National Organizations-2
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1K Churches-2
Geography
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United States-2
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Interested in getting involved with Criterion Institute?

Our work depends on an ever-expanding community of team members, advisors, donors, and other partners who help us demonstrate our theory of change and ultimately achieve our mission. Learn more about how you can become more engaged in our work.

Invitations to Engage