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In a significant victory for Dollar General’s workers, a shareholder resolution – filed by United Church Funds alongside Domini Impact Investing and several members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility – received 68% support from Dollar General shareholders at the company’s annual meeting on May 31. Click to read why this is a turning point for workers’ rights movement.

The UCC General Synod resolution calling on all settings of the church to engage in various strategies to address climate change led to the establishment of our Beyond Fossil Fuels Fund and Beyond Fossil Fuels Balanced Fund. While we are proud of what these funds have accomplished, divestment from fossil fuels alone is not enough to mitigate climate change. Read more on steps we need to take to ensure a successful transition to renewable energy.

The UCF Climate Justice Taskforce recently introduced UCF Climate Justice Statement, designed to center UCF’s attention on those people and communities that are most impacted by climate change. This Climate Justice Statement includes four calls to action focused on investment strategy, public policy, corporate engagement and stakeholder engagement.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month in March and International Women’s Day on March 8, Stacey Pettice, UCF’s Institutional Relationships Executive, sat down with Tina Byles Williams, founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Xponance, to discuss the importance of diversity in finance management, responsible investing strategies and which women have most inspired Williams herself. Click to watch the video.

Following a productive dialogue with HCA Healthcare, UCF announced today that it had withdrawn a shareholder proposal concerning the availability of emergency abortions at the corporation’s member hospitals. Click to read more.

UCF today announced that it exceeded goal in asset manager diversity by contracting of a new asset manager, Xponance, a Black-founded and majority Black-owned multi-strategy investment firm. Xponance will manage a portion of UCF’s large cap portfolio utilizing a passive, S&P 500 screened index strategy, consistent with UCF’s existing social screens.

UCF and PBUCC announced today that as the result of their joint shareholder resolution filed this past April, FedEx Corporation has agreed to enhance public disclosure of its climate lobbying activities. Read more.

After a decade of increasing acceptance, the Environmental, Social and Governance movement has faced a political backlash of late, particularly against the “E” goals around the climate crisis. In this article, Matthew Illian, Director of Responsible Investing, provides an insight into how this event can be an opportunity for investors to gain greater clarity on ESG’s role in responsible investing and an understanding of what it can – and can’t – do.

This year’s Pride month celebrations are tinged with some concern and even outright fear that these hard-won rights may be threatened. UCF supports marriage equality rights for all and calls on businesses and investment allies to support the LGBTQ+ community. Read more.

Dollar General workers traveled for nine hours by bus from Louisiana to attend a rally at corporate headquarters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, on May 25, during the company’s 2022 annual shareholders’ meeting. They demanded better pay and safer working conditions, but were greeted with a closed door. Read more.