By Mary Grace Wagner, Social Responsibility Operations Coordinator
and Mary Minette, Senior Director of Shareholder Advocacy, 
Mercy Investment Services

Faith-based investors gathered in New York City in late March 2026 for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility’s (ICCR) biannual conference. Panels covered topics impacting shareholder advocacy and the changing federal policy landscape for shareholder proposals. 

A panel on chemical risk management included a discussion of the Portfolio Advisory Board’s (PAB) ongoing engagement with Target Corporation on pesticide use and its impact on biodiversity in Target Corporation’s supply chain.  

A panel about engagement with the critical minerals sector included panelists who spoke about engagements with mining companies about the critical minerals needed to build electric vehicles. Panelists also spoke of the plans to engage automakers, including General Motors and Ford, about the human rights implications of their battery supply chains. 

Member-led panels included a presentation from Ben Cohen, founder of the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream brand, about his battle to retain the brand’s social activist profile after its former parent company, Unilever, spun its ice cream business off to a new company, Magnum. The session also included an opportunity to enjoy ice cream!

Shareholders also discussed the rapidly growing gap between CEO and worker pay. In recent years, the average CEO of large U.S. companies has made 300 times the wage of their median workers. 

In a panel discussion, the ICCR Advancing Worker Justice Working Group on Excessive Executive Compensation previewed their new executive pay guidelines. The guidelines were released, together with an investor statement signed by the PAB, calling on investors to strengthen their oversight of executive pay by reviewing their proxy voting practices and guidelines on excessive compensation and engaging with companies.

And finally, industry experts gave an overview of the various federal policy changes that have created obstacles for investor proposals and actions. This included changes by the SEC in how shareholder proposal challenges by companies are treated, actions to block small shareholders from accessing the public SEC database to promote their shareholder proposals, and a number of state laws that could impact how investors can vote their proxies when they disagree with management’s recommended vote. 

A panel of experts also discussed how ICCR members and others have responded to these new restrictions, including by filing successful lawsuits against companies to get their proposals on the proxy ballot. Panelists also discussed the potential for further legal restrictions by the SEC to shareholder rights and pledged continued diligence in reporting to ICCR members about opportunities to respond.

By Li Ma, Director of Development, 
Opportunity Resource Fund

April 20, 2026, Grand Rapids, Michigan – Growing up, Avanti Footman knew the feeling of “home” with a backyard and neighbors as space and security that define happiness. This was before her parents’ divorce, which led to her moving from a house into a two bedroom apartment shared with her mom and two brothers. The shift made the instability feel real, a contrast she still remembers. 

Years later, as a mother herself, Avanti rented responsibly in Grand Rapids, Michigan, paid her rent on time, and cared for each place she lived. Yet twice, landlords reclaimed their homes, giving her just 30 days to move. “It was heartbreaking,” she recalled. “My daughter had lived her first five years there, and we had to leave with almost no warning.” The instability she had promised herself she would never pass on to her children seemed unavoidable.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Avanti relied on a Section 8 voucher to help keep her housing affordable. She continued paying rent even when agencies fell behind in processing payments. But when the system later sent retroactive funds to correct her ledger, confusion with her landlord led to conflict. When she asked for clarification, communication broke down.

Soon, another 30 day notice arrived. Avanti still remembers standing before the judge, explaining that she wasn’t behind, hadn’t damaged anything, and was only asking for fairness. The judge granted her additional time, but the message was clear: she and her children still had to go.

“I knew then that I couldn’t keep living like that,” she said. “I didn’t want my family to be uprooted just because someone else decided it was time.” The dream of owning a home – something steady, something hers – rose to the surface again.

Yet the path to ownership was not easy. Traditional lenders told her no. Despite years of responsible tenancy and stable income, the doors of conventional mortgage financing remained closed. “The local banks wouldn’t pre approve me,” she said. 

That changed when she was referred to Opportunity Resource Fund. For Avanti, it was the first time a financial institution looked at her with possibility instead of limitation. “They were the only ones who said, ‘We’re going to get to the end,’” she recalled. OppFund staff walked with her through every step, making sure she understood the process and helping her rebuild confidence that homeownership was not only possible, but within reach.

With their support, Avanti purchased a modest, welcoming home in the neighborhood she grew up in. For the first time, she felt rooted. “I no longer have to answer to anyone but the bank,” she said, smiling. “My daughters can go outside and play. They have cousins down the street.” Stability has also allowed her to extend generosity outward: hosting friends who need a place to stay; supporting family; and creating the warm, communal home she longed for as a child.

Later in 2025, another job loss caused her to fall behind on her mortgage. Once again, Opportunity Resource Fund stood beside her. Through its Homeowner Relief Fund, she received assistance to get back on track. “They don’t just help you get into a home,” she said. “They help you stay in a home.”

At Opportunity Resource Fund’s 40 year anniversary gala, Avanti joined to celebrate the impact of this organization that helped her family stay in her home and beloved neighborhood.

Today, Avanti speaks of her home not only as a personal milestone but as a turning point for future generations. “I was able to create generational wealth,” she said. “To break generational curses.”

And to others facing circumstances like hers, she offers simple, steady encouragement: “Don’t give up. Keep going. Use your resources. Trust God.”

With the Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board impact investment, Opportunity Resource Fund’s loans are creating meaningful change for communities throughout Michigan.  

 

Caption for above feature photo: Avanti Footman and one of her daughters stand in their new house. Avanti bought the home through the help of the Opportunity Resource Fund.

By Mary Minette, Senior Director of Shareholder Advocacy, 
Mercy Investment Services

March 2, 2026, Washington, D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a change in policy late in 2025 that is impacting shareholder proposals, a key tool used by the Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) and other investors to engage with the companies we own. Most publicly traded companies hold their annual shareholder meetings in the spring, so each fall, shareholders consider whether it would be useful to file a non-binding proposal under SEC Rule 14a to encourage companies to engage in more focused dialogue on key issues, including climate change, human rights, and improvements in corporate governance.  

Under Rule 14a, if a company believes that the subject of a proposal is not appropriate or that they are already doing what the proposal requests, they must ask the SEC for permission to omit the proposal from the proxy ballot for their annual meeting. Under long-standing policy, the SEC will either allow them to do so or indicate that they are required to include the proposal on their proxy. 

This past fall, as investors were preparing to begin filing proposals for the 2026 proxy season, the SEC announced that it would not respond to most requests by companies this year to omit proposals from their proxy ballots, citing a lack of resources due to the extended government shutdown. Companies are still required to inform the SEC that they will not include a proposal, and to outline their reasons for doing so, but the SEC will not compel them to print a proposal in their proxy.

Many companies have chosen not to take advantage of this “free pass.” For example, Tyson Foods had already requested permission from the SEC to omit a proposal filed by the PAB requesting a report on how changes in immigration policies are impacting their workers when the SEC announced this change. The company elected to include the proposal on the proxy ballot for its annual meeting in February. 

However, some companies elected to omit proposals. GEO Group, a private prison company that owns and co-operates more than 20 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, informed the SEC that it would omit a proposal filed by the PAB from its 2026 proxy. The proposal requested that the company hire a third party to determine whether they are complicit in violating international human rights law by providing transportation and security services to assist ICE deportations, such as their role accompanying detainees from GEO detention centers on flights to CECOT prison in El Salvador. The company also failed to respond to requests from investors for dialogue on this issue.

Recently, the SEC announced another policy change that will impact shareholder rights.  The SEC maintains a database called EDGAR where public companies file their required reports. Under SEC rules, any shareholder who holds more than $5 million in a company’s shares is required to file a Notice of Exempt Solicitation on EDGAR any time they wish to urge their fellow shareholders to vote their proxies in a specific way (against certain directors or for a specific shareholder proposal). Smaller shareholders were also permitted to use EDGAR to file a voluntary Notice of Exempt Solicitation to urge support for a proposal they filed or other proxy voting campaign. The SEC announced in January 2026 that they will no longer allow EDGAR to be used for voluntary filings, blocking use of a key communications tool by small shareholders.

Despite the challenges posed by these SEC policy changes, the PAB is continuing to file shareholder proposals and will find alternate ways to generate support for our proposals.
 

By Mel Brown, Program Manager, Eskala, Inc. Panama, and Marilín M. Llanes, OP, Director, Office of Portfolio Advisory Board

February 9, 2026, Puerto Lara, Panama – Eskala, Inc., is helping bring hope and opportunity to financially excluded rural Indigenous communities across the Global South. Founded in 2020, Eskala is dedicated to developing accessible financial products and equipping clients with the tools they need to build economic prosperity and equity.

At its December 2025 meeting, the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) unanimously approved a $200,000 low interest loan to first time recipient Eskala. This investment will help expand Eskala’s Economic Empowerment Program, supporting efforts to break the cycle of poverty in underserved communities – especially among women-led local savings and lending groups.

Mel Brown, program manager at Eskala, shares an inspiring story of how Indigenous women are becoming beacons of hope, transforming their communities from within:

In the remote community of Puerto Lara in Panama’s Darién province, economic opportunity has not always been within reach, especially for Indigenous women. For generations, families relied on agriculture, fishing, and traditional handicrafts, yet access to fair and affordable financial services remained out of reach. Today, that story is changing.

At the center of this transformation is Iraida Valencia, a 33-year-old artisan and community leader, and her husband, Moisés Chamapuro. Both are members of a rural community bank formed in 2015 by 52 Indigenous Wounaan women who came together to strengthen their household economies while preserving their ancestral traditions through handicrafts.

“When I was young, my mother couldn’t even enter a bank because of our traditional dress,” Iraida recalls. “My family and I never thought it would be possible to get a loan. Today, I am the proud president of our own rural bank.”

The community bank Iraida helps lead is supported by Eskala, a mission-driven social enterprise that partners with locally led savings and lending groups and community banks across Panama, Honduras, and Ghana. Rather than replacing community systems, Eskala invests in and strengthens them, ensuring that financial resources remain owned and governed by the people they are meant to serve. 

Iraida and Moisés received their first loan of just $500. They used it to invest in plantain farming and to purchase materials for making traditional baskets. At the time, Moisés worked in agriculture and fishing, while Iraida focused on handicrafts. Over the years, by repaying their loans responsibly, they gained access to larger amounts of credit, each one supporting a new step forward for their family.

A $3,000 loan allowed them to complete construction on their home and open a small mini-market in Puerto Lara, providing essential goods to neighbors who previously had to travel long distances. Another $2,000 loan, combined with their savings, helped them purchase a pickup truck, dramatically improving their ability to transport agricultural products to Panama City.

Their most recent loan, for $4,000, was granted in October 2025. With it, they expanded inventory for their mini-market, invested in handicrafts for resale at fairs throughout the country, and began purchasing agricultural products from neighbors to transport and sell in the city.

“For many years, money used to cost me 20% or even 50% interest,” Moisés says. “Borrowing meant enslaving all my effort, and these were the only options. Today, I know I can keep my pride and my traditions, because we are owners of our own capital.”

The impact of this journey extends far beyond one family. Iraida and Moisés now generate employment opportunities for neighbors, support local artisans, and help circulate income within their community. Through Eskala’s support, members received training in financial management, lending practices, and leadership, enabling them not only to access credit but to operate a sustainable community institution. Iraida, who joined the savings group at age 22, was elected president of the Puerto Lara community bank last year in recognition of her leadership and commitment.

Her story reflects what is possible when women are trusted as leaders, when access replaces exclusion, and when financial systems are built on dignity rather than extraction. With the continued accompaniment of partners like Eskala, communities such as Puerto Lara are not only improving livelihoods, but they are also reclaiming ownership of their future.

 

Learn more about the vital mission of Eskala: A community bank run by entrepreneurial women in Panama below or at this link.

 

Feature photo at top: Moisés Chamapuro, left, and his wife Iraida Valencia stand in their mini-market in Puerto Lara, Panama. They completed construction of their home and opened the mini-market after receiving a $3,000 loan from a community bank supported by Eskala, Inc.

By Christopher Richardson
Shareholder Advocacy Manager, Mercy Investment Services

January 13, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Data centers, the physical backbone of the modern digital economy – including artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing – are expanding at an unprecedented pace. Due to this explosive growth, data centers are quietly becoming one of the most consequential drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and rising electricity costs, posing risks to climate goals and the communities hosting them.

Utilities across the United States report historic demand driven predominantly by new data center development, as a campus can consume as much electricity as a mid-sized city. AI-optimized facilities require exponentially more power due to high-density chips, cooling systems, and all-hours usage. Utilities are delaying coal plant retirements, expanding gas generation, and investing billions in new transmission and infrastructure, which create ecological and financial costs that may ultimately result in health and environmental impacts and higher electric bills.  

The Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) is engaging with utilities such as Southern to understand how they are managing costs for their consumers, particularly their low-income consumers, in light of the unprecedented electric load growth from data centers. The PAB also seeks to understand how Southern is minimizing the environmental impacts of serving this rapid growth in demand.

In addition to their heavy electricity demand, computing facilities can use millions of gallons of water a day due to their evaporative cooling systems. This water use competes directly with community needs, agriculture, and long-term aquifer stability. Some technology companies report portfolio-level water metrics, but few disclose water use at the facility or watershed level, leaving investors and residents unable to assess local impact.

Data centers’ significant environmental and water footprint remains complex and largely invisible to the public and dangerously underexamined by policymakers and utilities. That complexity is precisely why investors, including the PAB, are increasingly stepping in. 

Engagements with technology companies such as Amazon, Meta (Facebook), and Alphabet (Google) are focused on urging companies to conduct climate transition planning, and to disclose how their growth strategies align with 1.5°C scenarios. Investors are seeking facility-level emissions data, resource needs, water risk assessments, renewable energy procurement, and capital expenditure alignment with climate goals.

 

By Daniel Rowe
Executive Director, Recycling, RecycleForce

On an October day in 2019, Leslie Sanders walked through the doors of RecycleForce. Referred by his parole officer, he had just completed nearly 20 years in prison for a series of burglaries and related felonies across Central Indiana.

When he was arrested, there were no iPhones, iPods, or touchscreens, technology that’s now part of everyday life. To say he was entering a “new world” was an understatement. But RecycleForce was ready to help him navigate it and re-enter society.

From the start, the voices around him were discouraging: “You’ll fail and be back in prison.” But Leslie refused to accept that fate. Determined not to return to incarceration, he joined RecycleForce immediately after his release as a “high-risk to reoffend” participant.

During his first meeting with his parole officer, he was told bluntly that she didn’t expect him to succeed – and assumed he’d be back in jail within 30 days. His two adult daughters, who attended the meeting, were in tears. But Leslie reassured them: “Don’t worry. I’m going to be here for you.” The parole officer told him she wanted him specifically at RecycleForce.

Over the next six years, Leslie worked his way up through nearly every position at the organization – starting on the warehouse floor, then managing the community recycling dock, overseeing Saturday Tox Drops, serving as the primary driver, and now working as Transportation and Logistics Supervisor. Today, Leslie is the face of RecycleForce for many corporate customers, known for his reliability, hard work, and willingness to tackle any challenge.

“I believe in RecycleForce,” he said. “It helped me, and I want people to know how it changed my life.” 

Like many returning citizens, Leslie also faced major barriers to housing. No one would give him a chance to apply for an apartment. Once again, RecycleForce staff intervened, contacting a local property management company to recommend him personally. With that endorsement, he secured an apartment, never missed a rent payment, and in 2023 purchased his own home. Today, he takes pride in spending quiet Sunday afternoons relaxing in his own yard.

As RecycleForce’s representative at community events, Mr. Sanders now organizes and manages collection drives across Central Indiana. In October 2025, he led a successful electronics recycling event at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a large Catholic parish in Carmel. The event raised $2,200 in donations and collected nearly 11,000 pounds of e-waste from parishioners.

In early 2025, Mr. Sanders was granted a complete expungement after appearing in multiple counties before different judges – one of whom was likely involved in his sentencing 20 years earlier.  Every judge remarked that his story is what they wanted to hear. His story, and the presence of a program like RecycleForce right in their backyard,  gave them hope. 

Throughout his journey, RecycleForce helped Leslie break free from the revolving door of incarceration and recidivism that traps so many. His story is living proof that with opportunity, support, and determination, reentry into society can lead to renewal.

With the Adrian Dominican Sisters impact investment, RecycleForce provides employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated men and women and reduces the amount of electronic waste flowing into Indiana’s landfills. This initiative aligns with the Congregation’s long-standing commitment to economic justice and to empowering marginalized communities.

Caption for above feature photo: Leslie Sanders, left, stands with Mark Mann, center, and Rob Smith, right, after successfully completing RecycleForce’s peer mentor program and moving forward to a new job.

By Caroline Boden
Director of Shareholder Advocacy, Mercy Investment Services

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger identifies ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 and ensuring access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food for everyone. The Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), which advocates for healthier and more affordable food products, released the fifth edition of its Global Index at the end of 2024, assessing how 30 of the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers are improving access to healthy foods. 

The 2024 Global Index, based on updated and strengthened methodology, noted several key findings since the 2021 edition: 

•    Healthier products, as defined by the Health Star Rating Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) system, account for 34% of sales – a small improvement from the last index, but below the 2030 target of 50%.
•    Some 30% of companies now use internationally recognized NPMs to assess and benchmark the healthiness of their portfolios for reporting and target-setting, which standardizes reporting for investors and other stakeholders.
•    37% of companies established age thresholds for product marketing and are marketing more responsibly to children.
•    30% of companies now have an affordable nutrition strategy.
•    Food product healthiness in low- and middle-income countries scored much lower than high-income countries, highlighting disparities in product offerings across different markets.

The Portfolio Advisory Board will use this data in ongoing engagements with food and beverage companies ranked in the index. For example, an engagement with Campbell’s will address improving the healthiness of the company’s products; benchmarking its portfolios against internationally recognized NPMs to improve disclosure and data standardization; marketing responsibly, especially to children; and improving access and affordability of healthier products. 

Since the 2024 Global Index was released, Campbell’s remains one of the few companies that reports on the affordability of its nutrition-focused foods and overall portfolio. The PAB will continue to engage companies such as Campbell’s to ensure that all consumers have access to quality and affordable healthy food.
 

October 3, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – More than 100 people gathered at Weber Retreat and Conference Center September 26, 2025, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB). 

The theme, “Building on Legacy, Impacting the Future,” permeated the daylong event in which speakers recounted communities and policies changed for the better because of the work of the Portfolio Advisory Board. From challenging corporate leaders to change policies for the benefit of people and planet to loaning money to people in underserved communities, the legacy of the PAB was palpable, as was the challenge to continue the work. 

The PAB was established in 1975 in response to a proposal approved at the Adrian Dominican Congregation’s 1974 General Chapter to evaluate its financial investments “in relation to the Gospel social principles and the identification of means to effect change toward justice in the policies and operations of corporations.” The history of the PAB and the story of its efforts over the years were captured in a commemorative booklet by Adrian Dominican Associate Arlene Bachanov.

Over the years, two strategies have been used to effect change: shareholder advocacy, in which the PAB invests in corporations to encourage them to be “fair and responsible” to workers, customers, and the environment; and community impact investing, making low-interest loans to community organizations that benefit low-income people and underserved communities. 

The celebration included a day of education during which several people spoke of PAB’s impact. Recordings of both the morning and afternoon sessions are available in the Video Library at adriandominicans.org and at the end of this article.

Welcome

[Morning video starting at 08:10]

Left: Sister Marilín Llanes, OP, left, Director of the PAB, and Cynthia Crimm, Chair of the Board, serve as co-hosts at the PAB celebration. Right: Sister Janet Doyle, OP, joins others in applauding Sister Carol Coston, founding member of the Portfolio Advisory Board.

In her opening, Sister Marilín Llanes, OP, Director of the PAB and co-host of the event, recognized two Sisters whose longtime ministry with the PAB has had significant impact: Sister Carol Coston, OP, who served on the first PAB Board while ministering as founding director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby, and Sister Frances Lombaer, OP, “the longest-running participant in proxy voting.”  

Opening Remarks: One Earth Community

[Morning video starting at 34:40]

Sister Elise D. García, OP, Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, offers the opening remarks.

Sister Elise D. García, OP, Prioress of the Congregation,spoke of the shift in consciousness about our Earth home and the call to respond to the signs of the times that gave rise to the PAB, in remarks titled “One Earth Community.” After reviewing the history of the PAB, she explained its current focus on helping to build the beloved community. 

“Martin Luther King invested it with a depth of meaning,” she said. “It is a vision where poverty, hunger, and homelessness will not be tolerated, where racism will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood, and disputes resolved by peaceful conflict.”

Noting President Donald Trump’s recent talk at the United Nations, she said, “he undermines the foundations of concepts such as human rights or our duty to protect the environment. These are the values we associate with the beloved community.”

The PAB remains committed to the values of building the beloved community, even as “we are facing headwinds,” she said. For all who are committed to working on issues of concern, including gun violence, “we, your Adrian Dominican Sisters, say Adelante [forward]!”

Keynote: Building Safe Communities

[Morning video starting at 57:11] 

Laura Krausa, Systems Director of Advocacy Programs for CommonSpirit Health, offered a keynote address on “Building Safe Communities.” She noted the “incalculable” costs of violence on communities and on the people involved and spoke of a 2008 initiative by CommonSpirit Health to address violence. “The best way to combat it is with solutions that reduce risk and build resiliencies.” 

Laura attributed CommonSpirit Health’s initiative on community health to the “mandate” set by women religious congregations who had previously sponsored the hospitals and other healthcare facilities that now make up the current healthcare system. The Sisters had been “building cultures of peace” and expected CommonSpirit Health – current sponsor of the hospitals – to do the same, she said.

She described a successful model in which the healthcare system offers funds to communities to develop a plan to reduce violence that involves a broad coalition of stakeholders meeting regularly, listening to local community members, and addressing their areas of concern. Community programs initiated with CommonSpirit Health have included a program for girls that helps girls to understand their own value and power. A boxing program attracts youth “before they fall into gang life and coaches them to understand how they can be better people and maintain a more productive avenue” for their energy, she said. She also spoke of a gun safety program – piloted in rural London, Kentucky – to help residents understand the need to store their guns securely so that children couldn’t get to them.

Panel Discussion [Morning video starting at 1:31:50]

Panelists on Case Studies in Building Safe Communities are, from left, Cynthia Ricks-Maccotan, Laura Krausa, and Sister Judy Byron, OP.

Laura led a panel in which Cynthia Ricks-Maccotan, Community Integration Program Manager for CommonSpirit Health, and Sister Judy Byron, OP, PAB member, spoke on their own work in building safe communities. 

Cynthia gave the example of a mentoring program developed in one CommonSpirit Health community for young women of color, which included tutoring, free counseling with Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) therapists, and after-school programs. Achievements included a decrease in violent behavior and an increase in school attendance and self-confidence.      

Sister Judy spoke about several campaigns for gun safety in the aftermath of numerous mass shootings. In particular, members of the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment (NWCR) and colleagues in the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) purchased stock in gun manufacturers Sturm, Ruger and Company and Smith & Wesson to ask how the companies are addressing growing gun violence. Getting no response, they filed a shareholder resolution with them and most recently filed a lawsuit in federal court against Smith & Wesson, naming the officers for wrongdoing in their sale of AK-47-style firearms. 

Sister Judy also related a success story in which the same group of faith-based investors worked with gun retailers, asking them how they were implementing gun safety measures. The CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods responded immediately, and after the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida, “right away he looked to see if they had sold the weapon” to the shooter, Sister Judy said. The sporting goods chain announced that it would no longer sell firearms to anybody under 21 or sell assault-style weapons or high-capacity magazines, she said.  

Climate Justice Panel

[Afternoon video starting at 0:14]

Duanne Andrade, left, and Sister Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor, share a light moment during the panel discussion on Climate Justice.

Sister Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor and former Director of the Office of Sustainability, began the afternoon as moderator of a panel discussion on climate justice with Duanne Andrade, CEO of the Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF) and Carolyn Shenoy, Manager of Investor Relations for One Acre Fund.

Duanne explained that SELF, operating in 14 states, gives loans to low- to moderate-income families. With a mission to help families reduce greenhouse emissions and improve their homes, SELF manages 2,000 loans a month, tailored to the needs of each family. “We work at the intersection of resilience, public health, safety, and financial inclusion,” she said. “The biggest barrier is lack of access to capital.” 

Duanne explained that SELF is independent, not receiving state support. “We survived thanks to the Adrian Dominican Sisters and thanks to Sister Corinne Florek,” who encouraged the organization to apply for a loan from the PAB, she said. “We’re the most established green CFI [Corporate Finance Institute] in the South.”

One Acre Fund works in 10 countries, mostly in Africa, giving farmers “opportunities to secure their livelihood and help to mitigate climate change through planting trees,” Carolyn said. She shared stories of how the PAB’s support of One Acre Fund has allowed farmers to succeed while challenged by climate change they did not create, she said. 

One woman, a client from Burundi, learned from One Acre Farm how to increase her yield of crops and produce compost to improve her soil. “The increased harvesting means she’s feeding her family,” Carolyn said. “Sometimes she sells surplus food to buy food that they don’t produce, like meat. Farming is really profitable if it’s done well.”

Closing Keynote: Climate Justice

[Afternoon video starting at 1:38:03]

Juan F. Soto, Organizing Director for Gamaliel Network, closed the education portion of the day. A national network of 43 faith-based affiliates in 14 states, Gamaliel is “committed to empowering ordinary people to participate in the political, social, and economic systems that shape your life,” Juan said.

He emphasized that climate change is “driving displacement,” creating climate refugees. He tied climate issues to immigration issues to environmental issues. “The cry of the migrant is tied to the cry of the Earth,” he said. 

“The Church must stand boldly and say we will not separate climate and immigrant justice,” Juan said. “Our social teaching teaches us that creation is a gift from God – not 
something to be exploited. Pope Francis reminds us that the care of the environment and of immigrants are one.”

Juan called for a public witness among people of faith to begin investing in green, renewable energy rather than fossil fuels and to train leaders who see Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, as a mandate. “Let us together walk as a synodal church: listening, discerning, and acting, so that in the future people will know that the church stood not on the sidelines but on the frontlines of immigration and environmental justice.”

After the day of education and inspiration, participants gathered for a final time for a reception, featuring hors d’oeuvres, socializing, music by Mariachi Jalisco de Detroit, and the premiere showing of a video on the history and work of the PAB.

 

Morning Session - Day of Education - PAB 50th Anniversary

Afternoon Session - Day of Education - PAB 50th Anniversary

PAB 50th Anniversary Video

Feature photo at top: Sister Marilín Llanes, OP, left, Director of the PAB, and Cynthia Crimm, Chair of the Board, serve as co-hosts at the PAB celebration.

By Mary Minette
Mercy Investment Consultant

In proxy year 2025, shareholder proposal filings decreased from the previous year due to a variety of factors, including successful withdrawals in 2024; rising sentiment against the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria for determining an organization’s social impact; and uncertainty about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approach to shareholder proposals in a new federal administration. 

The Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) estimates that member-filed shareholder proposals decreased 15 percent from the 2024 proxy season, with a 43 percent drop in climate proposals, a 38 percent decline in human rights and worker rights proposals, and a 25 percent drop in health-related proposals.

The rate at which companies challenged shareholder proposals at the SEC has also increased compared to previous years, due in part to a mid-year policy revision that included significant changes in how SEC staff interpreted the rules for the permitted content of proposals. In addition, the SEC invited companies to submit challenges even if the deadline to exclude a proposal from their proxy had expired at the time the new rules were issued.  

According to ICCR, about 17 percent of member filings were challenged in 2024, and nearly 47 percent of filings were challenged in 2025. The SEC allowed companies to omit 25 percent of the challenged proposals. 

In addition to these changes to the proposal process, the new SEC chair, Paul Atkins, has indicated that he would like to restrict or even eliminate the shareholder proposal filing process. A recent report from the Business Roundtable also supports substantial restrictions on shareholder proposals, claiming that they are time-consuming and costly to companies and often concern issues with no material financial impact. Finally, the legislature in Texas recently passed a law that will allow companies incorporated in that state to amend their by-laws to opt out of allowing shareholder proposals.

Companies are removing public disclosures on ESG programs and performance objectives to avoid being targeted by anti-ESG proponents. Other companies have announced rollbacks of climate commitments and diversity programs. Through dialogue, we have learned that many of these companies remain committed to progress in these areas, showing the importance of ongoing dialogue and strong relationships with companies to maintain progress on environmental and human rights issues.

The news is gloomy, but the Portfolio Advisory Board remains committed to our work in shareholder advocacy, engaging in dialogues with 42 companies and filing 10 shareholder proposals in the 2025 proxy season. We will continue to support the rights of shareholders to bring critical issues to the attention of the companies they own and to push companies to be transparent about their efforts to address issues such as human rights and climate change that pose a risk to their business, as well as to our communities and the Earth.

 

Feature image at top: "Shareholder" by 2210178venushree, CC BY-SA 4.0

By Lydia Shoaf
Content and Press Associate, Friendship Bridge

Yeiny, a young woman living in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, finished high school and started a family at a young age. But when her husband left, she found herself on her own with three school-age children to care for, in a country deeply rooted in gender inequality.

With 56% of Guatemala’s population living below the national poverty line and exceeding 70% poverty among rural, Indigenous populations, Yeiny knew she would have a tough road ahead. But she was determined to support her family. (Read more about the global gender gap and poverty and equity in Guatemala in reports prepared by the World Bank.) 

Committed to keeping her three children in school rather than dropping out to work (common among Guatemala’s impoverished families), Yeiny began selling fruit outside of a school. In order to improve her financial situation and grow her business, she became a client of Friendship Bridge, a nonprofit social enterprise that offers small loans to low-income women. 

Friendship Bridge serves women in Guatemala who couldn’t get a loan from a traditional bank. With an average loan of about $600 per person, women typically borrow money as a group in their local community, called a trust bank, to support one another and ensure they’ll be able to make their loan payments. Yeiny joined the Entre Alamos Trust Bank in Huehuetenango, and the money she received from her loan allowed her to reinvest in a new business selling dietary supplements.

The loan Yeiny received, however, was only a part of what Friendship Bridge offers to help women thrive. Each month, when it is time to make a payment on her loan, Yeiny attends a trust bank meeting where she learns from 30-minute non-formal education sessions on topics including business, money management, self-esteem, and health. Similar to adult education classes in the United States, non-formal education focuses on educating women so they can pass on what they learn to their children and other family members.

"It is important to know that in the face of all adversity, as women, we can get ahead together and respect each other,” Yeiny says.

Thanks to training offered through Friendship Bridge, Yeiny and her husband now operate a profitable bakery in Guatemala.

The Adrian Dominican Sisters have invested in Friendship Bridge since 2020, and recently refinanced and increased its investment. Such investments helped Friendship Bridge serve more than 36,000 women in 2024 with small loans paired with education and preventive health services, a program known as Microcredit Plus.

Yeiny has particularly appreciated learning about good investment and self-esteem. “The trainings have helped me a lot, both physically and mentally,” she says. “They have helped me know how to invest and make a percentage of profit and see if I can continue to invest in any other products.” 

In addition to learning how to be more responsible with money and to take care of herself, Yeiny built and furnished her own house. 

These skills carried over into other areas of Yeiny’s life as she remarried and grew her family. She and her husband now operate a bakery together, which has been very profitable. They employ three people and are continuously diversifying their services to earn more income.

“Friendship Bridge is not only about getting a loan, but it offers a lot of help, motivation, and learning,” Yeiny explains. “Thanks to God and this organization, my business is growing and my family is growing as well.”

 

Caption for feature photo at top: Through Friendship Bridge, groups of seven to 25 women from rural Guatemala borrow money together in a Trust Bank to invest in their small businesses. During Trust Bank meetings, members make loan payments and receive non-formal education sessions on topics such as money management, self-esteem, and health.