Putting our money where their mouth is: Alignment of charitable aims with charity investments – Tensions in policy and practice

Niklas Kreander, Vivien Beattie and Ken McPhail

The British Accounting Review, 2009, vol. 41, issue 3, 154-168

Abstract: Given the values-driven nature of the mission of most charities, it might be expected that investment behaviour would be similarly values-driven. This paper documents the ethical investment policies and practices of the largest UK charities and explores how these are aligned with the charitable aims, drawing upon accountability, behavioural and managerial perspectives as theoretical lenses. The study employs two distinct research methods: responses to a postal questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews with selected charities. The evidence indicates that a significant minority of large charities do not have a written ethical investment policy. Charities with larger investments, fundraising charities and religious charities were more likely to have a written ethical policy. We suggest that there is a pressing need for improved alignment between charities' aims and their investment practices and better monitoring of investment policies.

Keywords: Charity; Ethical investment; Evidence-based policy-making; Dissonance; Values alignment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:bracre:v:41:y:2009:i:3:p:154-168

DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2009.06.001

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