FreeCap Financial, Inc

Fair-chance hiring cannot end at the onboarding process. We must also create an equitable working environment that prioritizes fair compensation and representation.  A24’s recent movie, Sing Sing, is an excellent example of these principles in practice. 🎬 → The film’s team led with second chance hiring practices, including a cast of 95% justice-involved folks who had been formerly incarcerated at Sing Sing Prison. → They paid everyone – from production assistants to leading actor, Coleman Domingo –  the same day rate *and* gave them equity in the film. This ensured that the justice-involved cast had true ownership over their stories, both narratively and financially. 👏🏾 Sing Sing premiered at SXSW and Toronto International Film Festival last year, and is now officially in theaters. I can’t wait to check it out.  And if you’ve already seen the film, I’d love to hear what you thought! #FairChanceHiring #SingSing #PayEquity #InvestInFreedom

I have a favor to ask you! I’m submitting a proposal for a SXSW workshop with Jasmine Rashid and we’d love your feedback on potential titles. Our workshop delves into the transformative power of financial activism. 💪🏾 Specifically how we can use impact investing strategies to build personal wealth, support community wellbeing, and drive systemic change. Here are our ideas: 1️⃣ Financial Activism: How We Reclaim Wealth and Invest In Freedom Together 2️⃣ Financial Activism: Investing in Collective Wealth, Well-Being, & Liberation 3️⃣ Empowered: Financial Activism and the Future of Impact Investing Can you let us know your favorite in the comments? 😊 #FinancialActivism #ImpactInvesting #InvestInFreedom #ReclaimWealth

FreeCap’s BizDev Manager, Stephanie Shih, went to the US SIF Conference last month to learn about current trends in sustainable investing 🌱 Here were some key takeaways: → Investors are calling for enhanced transparency: Access to quality, robust data means more informed decisions and effective free market operations. → Leading with business benefits is key: By highlighting the financial advantages upfront, sustainable investing can attract a broader range of investors. → We aren’t as divided as we think: The conference demonstrated how values-based investors from diverse backgrounds can find common ground. → This next year is filled with opportunities: The current political landscape offers an opportunity to engage a wider array of stakeholders, so using inclusive (not divisive) practices will be vital to creating long-lasting investment initiatives. In a time when social and political tensions are high, these insights were a great reminder that progress is happening. 💪🏾 Every chapter of a movement builds upon the previous one. Thank you US SIF for highlighting these trends, so we can work collectively towards a more transparent, inclusive future. 🌍 #SustainableInvesting #ImpactInvesting #InvestInFreedom

Decarceration goes hand-in-hand with LGBTQ liberation. 🏳️⚧️ 🏳️🌈 55 years ago today, the NYPD raided Stonewall Inn. This common occurrence was part of a broader societal effort to enforce laws against public expressions of queerness. And while the Stonewall Uprising would spark a series of events that advanced LGBTQ rights, the practices of criminalizing queerness did not end in 1969. Nor in 2015 when the US Supreme Court legalized gay marraige.  ✊🏾 As we continue the fight for collective freedom, it’s important to consider the ways our criminal justice system disproportionately impacts LGBTQ communities. Let’s take a closer look: → LGBTQ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness. → Despite a high prevalence of mental health issues, 56% of LGBTQ youth who sought mental health care in the past year were unable to access it. → Multiple states have enacted or proposed laws banning access to gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary folks. Homelessness, mental health issues, and discriminatory legislation all increase the likelihood of incarceration. Leaving LGBTQ indivuals much more susceptible to the criminal justice system. Pride has always been about challenging systemic oppression and reimagining a world where everyone is free to be their authentic selves. As we remember the legacy of Stonewall, let’s honor the courage of those who fought and continue to fight for our rights. Their struggle is our struggle, and their liberation is our liberation. Happy Pride! 🌈 #LGBTQLiberation #Pride2024 #RememberStonewall #InvestInFreedom

FreeCap Financial, Inc will be at the US SIF conference next week! Will you be there? Do you know who my colleague Stephanie Shih should meet with in Chicago? Tag them in the comments🔽. #esg #sustainableinvesting #investinfreedom #racialjusticeinvesting

We all are aware  of the significant role fathers hold within their families. But with Father’s Day coming up, let's acknowledge how indispensable they are to our communities. And if we value strong, united communities, we must address how the crisis of mass incarceration is tearing us apart. 🔍 Here's a closer look at the ripple effect: Over 80% of children with justice-involved fathers' are raised by others. This disrupts crucial paternal bonds, and impacts that child’s emotional and psychological well-being.  ↓ When these fathers are released from prison, the stigma of incarceration complicates their reintegration, making it difficult for them to reconnect with their children post-release. ↓ Additionally, children with justice-involved parents are nearly 6x more likely to face incarceration themselves, perpetuating a cycle of generational trauma. ↓ The revolving door of incarceration directly compounds the social and economic burdens endured by communities – especially Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities who experience disproportionately high rates of imprisonment. When we systematically separate fathers from their children, we all feel the loss. So this Father’s Day, we want to honor the vital role dads play in our families, as well as their significance within our society. Let's work towards a decarcerated future, where every family - and community – can thrive. 💙 #FathersDay #EndIncarceration #InvestInFreedom

🚨 The recent verdict in the Fearless Fund case has left me in fumes. A law dating back to the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which was originally designed to end discrimination against Black people, was recently used to rule against an Atlanta-based VC fund that supports Black women entrepreneurs. Fearless Fund was giving out $20,000 grants to Black entrepreneurs, and the appeals court deemed this discriminatory towards white people. When Allie Garfinkle at Fortune reported on this verdict, she noted, "VC’s diversity problem is well-known. Last year, just 0.5% of U.S. startups' $140 billion in venture funding went to Black-founded startups.” Less than 300 Black women have raised > $ 1 million in venture capital. Ever. How can supporting a demographic that receives so little be considered discriminatory? 🤷🏽♀️ Thankfully, Black folks are not a group of people that give up easily, and I’m impressed by the innovation I continue to see from my peers building businesses. Here are some practical steps that can help us thrive in a system that is designed for us to fail: 👉🏾 Achieve Cash Flow Quickly ~ Focus on generating revenue early on. Spend time with your customers, not just investors. Revenue gives you control over your destiny. I unfortunately learned this one the hard way. 👉🏾 Bank with a CDFI ~ Community Development Financial Institutions are mission-driven to help folks like us. Establishing a credit history with a CDFI can make it easier to secure loans compared to big banks. 👉🏾 Be Resourceful ~ Leverage low-code/open-source tools and scalable systems to grow your business without expanding human capital extensively. For example, at FreeCap Financial, Inc we've used Airtable to manage our data subscription provide API access to clients, Squarespace to host our website, and Softr to streamline our data collection process. Yes, we could build bespoke tools. But these allows us to test our ideas more quickly. The Fearless Fund verdict is undeniably demoralizing, but I refuse to let my destiny be defined by people who are rooting against me.  Let’s acknowledge the challenges while taking actionable steps to maintain control and build sustainable businesses. 💪🏾 #BlackBusiness #FearlessFund #VentureCapital #InvestInBlackWomen #InvestInFreedom

Our own Tanay Tatum-Edwards spoke alongside Beth Bafford from Calvert Impact and John Holdsclaw IV (jhiv) from Rochdale Capital in celebration of the publication of Andrea Longton, CFA's new book ~ 📖 The Social Justice Investor: Advance Your Values While Building Wealth. They are just a few of the many practitioners who share their journeys in impact investing in the book. The Social Justice Investor is an incredible resource for investors at every level who are looking to align their purpose with their portfolios, offering practical tips in an accessible language as well as stories from those doing the work on the ground. Order a copy today! (link in comments)

We made the front page of TriplePundit! 🤗 Thank you Mary Mazzoni for going in-depth on how The FREE Index offers sizable social – and financial – returns. “Being publicly linked to prison labor and prison profiteering has proven to be toxic to companies' reputations, with some being linked to prison labor in the media decades after banning it. Further, as the United States faces labor shortages across industries, refusing to hire the estimated 1 in 3 American adults with justice involvement that would appear on a background check could easily leave companies short-staffed and falling behind in the race for talent. All of this adds up to material financial risk for companies and their investors.” 📈 Curious about how to curate your own prison-free portfolio? DM for details on how FreeCap can support you in that process! #TheFREEIndex #InvestInFreedom #PrisonFreePortfolio

When I first started FreeCap Financial, Inc I wasn’t *as* focused on fair chance hiring… Don’t get me wrong, I knew how important post-incarceration employment was in: 👉🏾 Breaking the cycle of recidivism 👉🏾 Creating economic stability 👉🏾 Reducing social stigma But initially, we focused more on researching companies that exploited the captive labor force within the U.S. prison systems, rather than those committed to uplifting the justice-involved workforce upon reentry. However, in my conversations with these workers, I learned that secure employment was much more important to those directly affected by the barriers to reentry and reintegration into society. 📈 This context shaped our investment thesis for The FREE Index. Because investing in companies that embrace fair chance hiring not only addresses  our current labor shortages, but fosters a more inclusive economy. One that supports and benefits our justice-involved workers. Curious about the industry leaders in fair chance hiring? Check out our roundup of the top 10 companies.  (Link in comments) #FairChanceHiring #SecondChanceHiring #TheFreeIndex #InvestInFreedom