Move Your Money

Individuals can move their money, but so can big institutions like businesses, churches and nonprofit foundations. Colleges are traditionally a hotbed of political activity. See why Dan Apfel, Executive Director of the Responsible Endowments Coalition, thinks that they should consider moving their endowment accounts to community-minded banks and credit unions.

You know where you keep your money, but where do the institutions where you go to school, work and live keep their money? Most of them have accounts with one or more of the major banks. They may also promote their services to you–giving away free t-shirts as they sign up students for credit cards on campus– as part of this deal.

While you and I have some buying power, universities and other major institutions with lots of money have more.

It’s not just that colleges and universities are wealthy and can make an impact. It’s also that they’re tax-exempt nonprofit institutions with missions that often cite citizenship, virtue, responsibility, diversity, and community as their values. Our schools should uphold their missions in all of their operations, including finance.

Students around the country are starting to push for just that. Schools from Seattle University in Washington, to Macalester College in Minneapolis and Mount Holyoke College in Northampton, Massachusetts, have all moved a portion of their funds into community investments. Some, like Amherst College, have even brought local financial institutions to campus to serve students and faculty instead of a major bank. Other schools can do that too. Just imagine: if your local bank had ATMs on campus, you would probably be more likely to use them.

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