The Sustainable and Impact Investing Learning and Knowledge (SIILK) Network is an environmental, social, and governance-aligned investment education and environmentalist campus outreach and organizing project of the left-of-center Intentional Endowments Network.
Background
The Sustainable and Impact Investing Learning and Knowledge Network (also known as the SIILK Network) was founded in 2017 as a project of the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN), a membership organization of hundreds of endowments, foundations, investment consultants and managers, and nonprofits oriented around environmentalist, racial justice, and economic issues. 1 2 IEN is a fiscally sponsored project of the Crane Institute of Sustainability, an environmentalist organization based in Manchester, Massachusetts. 3 4 The goal of the SIILK Network is to teach, train, and educate students with regard to managing investment funds focused on companies aligned with the organization’s environmentalist views. 5
Programs
The Sustainable and Impact Investing Learning and Knowledge Network administers two student-centered programs: the Fellowship Program, a one-year fellowship program for undergraduate and graduate students interning at the Intentional Endowments Network, and the Mentorship Program, which pairs students with career professionals in the field of environmentalist-aligned investment management. 6 7
Members
Members of the Sustainable and Impact Investing Learning and Knowledge Network are both investment clubs and dedicated student managed funds at various universities throughout the United States and United Kingdom. Members of SIILK cited on the organization’s website include Brigham Young University’s University Impact Club, Brown University’s Socially Responsible Investment Fund, Columbia University’s Columbia Impact Investing Initiative, Dartmouth’s Tuck Social Venture Fund, Duke’s CASE i3 Initiative on Impact Investing, Emory University’s Emory Impact Investing Group, Harvard’s Harvard College Impact Investing Group, the London Business School’s LBS Impact Ventures, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Investment Management Club, New York University’s Impact Investing Fund, and
Stanford University’s GSB Impact Fund. 8
Funding
As of October 2022, the only listed partner organization of the Sustainable and Impact Investing Learning and Knowledge Network is Federated Hermes, an investment bank based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 9 The firm is also listed as the supporting sponsor of the SIILK Network’s 2021 Student Corporate Engagement Competition, which challenged participating student groups to produce an investment recommendation aligned with the SIILK Network’s environmentalist views and provide an accompanying strategy for shareholders to influence the company in question’s business performance and internal environmental standards. 10
Leadership
The email listed as the point of contact for the Sustainable and Impact Investing Learning and Knowledge Network belongs to Nicole Torrico, the program director of the Intentional Endowments Network. Before working with IEN, Torrico was employed at the Sustainability Office of Green Mountain College, successively holding the positions of sustainability office manager and interim director of sustainability. 11 12
References
- “Georges Dyer.” Intentional Endowments Network. Accessed October 17, 2022. https://www.intentionalendowments.org/georges_dyer.
- “About.” Intentional Endowments Network. Accessed October 17, 2022.
- “About.” Intentional Endowments Network. Accessed October 17, 2022.
- “Home.” Crane Institute of Sustainability. Accessed October 17, 2022. https://cranesustainability.wordpress.com/about/
- “Sustainable & Impact Investing Learning and Knowledge (SIILK): About.” Intentional Endowments Network. Accessed October 17, 2022. https://www.intentionalendowments.org/student_managed_funds_wg
- “Mentorship Program.” SIILK Network. Accessed October 17, 2022. https://siilk-intentionalendowments.nationbuilder.com/mentorship_program
- “Fellowship Program.” SIILK Network. Accessed October 17, 2022. https://siilk-intentionalendowments.nationbuilder.com/fellowship_program
- “SIILK MEMBERS.” SIILK Network. Accessed October 17, 2022. https://siilk-intentionalendowments.nationbuilder.com/siilk_members
- [1]“About Us.” Federated Hermes. Accessed October 17, 2022.
https://www.federatedinvestors.com/about.do#:~:text=Federated%20Hermes%2C%20Inc.,evolving%20needs%20of%20today’s%20investors.
- “The Student Corporate Engagement Challenge.” SIILK Network. Accessed October 17, 2022.
https://siilk-intentionalendowments.nationbuilder.com/corporate_engagement_challenge
- “Nicole Torrico.” Intentional Endowments Network. Accessed October 17, 2022. https://www.intentionalendowments.org/nicole_torrico
- “About.” SIILK Network. Accessed October 17, 2022. https://siilk-intentionalendowments.nationbuilder.com/about