#Purposeful Investment

[daniel-john-mullaney]

How to Shape a Better World Through Purposeful Investment by Daniel J Mullaney

In an era where social and environmental issues are increasingly prominent, many individuals are seeking ways to align their financial investments with their values. Investing in causes you believe in is more than just a way to support your passions—it's a powerful tool for shaping a better world. By channeling resources into initiatives that reflect your convictions, you can drive meaningful change while potentially achieving financial returns. Here's how investing in your beliefs can contribute to a better world and how you can get started.

Amplifying Positive Impact

When you invest in causes you're passionate about, you amplify their impact. For example, investing in renewable energy companies supports the transition away from fossil fuels and promotes sustainable practices. Similarly, funding educational initiatives can improve access to quality education, fostering long-term social and economic benefits. By choosing investments that align with your values, you contribute to creating a positive ripple effect that extends beyond financial gains.

Driving Innovation

Investing in emerging technologies and progressive ventures can drive innovation in fields like healthcare, technology, and environmental sustainability. Consider the growth of green tech companies or biotech firms working on groundbreaking treatments. Your investment can help fuel research and development, accelerating advancements that address critical global challenges. By backing innovative solutions, you support progress and help pave the way for a brighter future.

Promoting Corporate Responsibility

Investors wield significant influence over corporate behavior. When you choose to invest in companies with strong social and environmental commitments, you encourage other businesses to adopt similar practices. This shift towards corporate responsibility can lead to improved industry standards, ethical labor practices, and better environmental stewardship. Your investment choices send a clear message that values-driven practices are not only desirable but also financially viable.

Fostering Community Development

Local investments can have a profound impact on community development. Investing in community projects, local businesses, or social enterprises can stimulate economic growth and address local needs. Whether it's supporting affordable housing projects, funding local nonprofits, or backing small businesses, your investment can strengthen communities and improve quality of life for residents.

Aligning with Personal Values

Investing in causes you believe in allows you to align your financial decisions with your personal values. This alignment can lead to greater satisfaction and fulfillment, as your investments reflect your principles and aspirations. For example, if you are passionate about animal welfare, investing in ethical and cruelty-free companies can be a meaningful way to support your beliefs while contributing to positive change.

Getting Started with Values-Based Investing

Define Your Values: Identify the causes and issues that matter most to you. This might include environmental sustainability, social justice, public health, or education.

Research Impactful Opportunities: Look for investment opportunities that align with your values. This could involve researching socially responsible investment (SRI) funds, impact investment firms, or individual companies with strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) records.

Evaluate Financial Viability: While aligning investments with your values is important, it's also crucial to consider the financial aspects. Assess potential returns, risks, and overall investment strategy to ensure that your choices are sound from a financial perspective.

Monitor and Adjust: Continuously monitor your investments to ensure they remain aligned with your values and financial goals. Be prepared to adjust your portfolio as necessary to stay on track with both your ethical and financial objectives.

Engage with the Community: Join forums, attend events, and connect with like-minded investors to stay informed and engaged. Networking with others who share your values can provide valuable insights and opportunities.

Final Words

Investing in causes you believe in is a powerful way to contribute to a better world while managing your financial portfolio. By aligning your investments with your values, you not only support initiatives that matter to you but also influence broader societal change. Whether you're driving innovation, promoting corporate responsibility, or fostering community development, your investments can make a meaningful impact. As you embark on this journey, remember that purposeful investing is not just about financial returns but about creating a legacy that reflects your values and contributes to a brighter, more equitable future for all.

[liesmyth]

...is Italian Jesus different to Regular Catholic Jesus?

Italian Jesus is who you pray to when you need Ferrari to win. regular Jesus is too busy for that

[izzyspussy]

the fact that they made it illegal to make ads louder than programs on tv in 2010 but haven't updated it to apply the same regulation to streaming. who do i have to call.

[kartsie]

Batfam but it’s animal crossing

[thepoisonroom]

'I flirted with the idea that instead of being trans that I was just a cross-dresser (a quirk, I thought, that could be quietly folded into an otherwise average life) and that my dysphoria was sexual in nature, and sexual only. And if my feelings were only sexual, then, I wondered, perhaps I wasn’t actually trans.

I had read about a book called The Man Who Would Be Queen, by a Northwestern University professor who believed that transwomen who were attracted to women were really confused fetishists, they wanted to be women to satisfy an autogynephilia. And though I first read about this book in the context of its debunkment and disparagement, I thought about the electricity of slipping on those tights, zipping up those boots, and a stream of guilt followed. Maybe this professor was right, and maybe I was only a fetishist. Not trans, just a misguided boy.

About a year later, on the Internet, I come across a transwoman who added a unique message to the crowd refuting this professor. Oh, I wish I remember who this woman was, and I wish even more that I could do better than paraphrase her, but I remember her saying something like this: “Well, of course I feel sexy putting on women’s clothing and having a woman’s body. If you feel comfortable in your body for the first time, won’t that probably mean it’ll be the first time you feel comfortable, too, with delighting in your body as a sexual thing?”'

-Casey Plett, Consciousness

[khruschevshoe]

Everyone has been discussing whether or not the Shayne/Courtney wedding is real or fake and I would like to provide you a third option: the wedding was real and legal BUT ONLY for the return of Let's Do This. This is everyone's revenge on Arasha.

[kelpermoosee]

“My friends did a luigi board and it mentioned me! PLEAS HELP!?”

[canisalbus]

Look, I know it's supposed to end badly. But I need to admit that in my head, they declared a mutual "fuck this shit" to the world and society. Packed all the stuff they could one late night and escaped to a remote open plain in the middle of some thick woods where they spent the rest of their lives healing and living freely in nature.

I've been having a lot of intense feelings about them as well. The tragical elements are so baked in to their story and setting, it's hard to imagine a happy ending for them. But every now and then I find myself thinking of scenarios and AUs where they both live and grow old together. For coping purposes, I suppose.

[0sbrain]

i think one of my least favorite troupes in tf2 fanfics has to be scout finds x and y are dating and freaks out/starts being openly homophobic towards them because "canon typical homophobia"

they are mercenaries. fucking contract killers. do you think anyone gives a flying fuck about homosexuality being illegal? you see, they are ok with murder and gruesome violence, HOWEVER they draw the line at two men holding hands because the words on the paper say it's a no no

he would probably tease them because, that's normal that's what friends and annoying coworkers do. and sometimes he might step on a line. but my dear friends. if scout was genuinely homophobic to any of the other mercs, im afraid he wouldn't survive the winter (irse a mimir). he would get snapped by a twig and it doesn't even have to be by the merc he was insulting. anyone in the vicinity would suplex his ass. son, we all suck dick here. get used to it

[spitblaze]

you guys GOTTA stop making incredible fandom art that captures my attention so well with its themes and color and composition and implications it makes me go 'woah, that's cool, I wonder what show/book/game this is for?' and then I go to check the source tags and it's for a minecraft youtuber

[mothbaubles]

okay bonus sequence <3 Bauble becomes blanket

[the-descolada]

frankly biggest under-discussed overlap between baru in masquerade and harrow in tlt is a protagonist who people somehow see as femme because they have a love interest who more people see as butch, despite both characters being...either very fucking butch too or just not fitting into those categories precisely

hell, baru being butch in a very specific way in terms of sexual dynamics she likes playing into is a major fucking plot point!

[iliadeleart]

Spade, they/them, pact of the talisman warlock ♠️

[taz-writes]

here's a hot take for today

the narrative function of sex is the same as the narrative function of fight scenes is the same as the narrative function of songs in a musical

no i will not explain

[problemswithbooks]

BNHA Ch. 429

So, I guess Toga is dead, and people are losing it.

I get why people liked her--she was actually queer, being pan/bisexual. She was representation for them and that's rare in shonen manga. But here's the thing--she was bad representation at best and insulting at worst. Nor do I think she was made queer because Hori really wanted to represent a queer girl. Himiko was always the author's poorly hidden fetish--she just was. She liked girls as much as boys because Hori wanted to draw a girl touching sexually on another girl. You can see this in how he draws her and Ochako in solo pics together.

I mean, people seem to understand this when it comes to Momo and her outfit being overly sexual or that both Himiko and Hagakure's Quirks either leave them naked or they have to be naked to use them. These are excuses to draw girls in a sexual manner. Himiko being into other girls is the same thing and that's the kindest interpretation.

Given how Himiko acts and her Quirk being heavily coded sexual desire, and therefore her use of it against someone unwilling being sexual assault, it could just being playing into harmful stereotypes of predatory gays.

As a queer person myself I just found Toga insulting. She was designed to be overly sexual and give the male author a female character that he could draw being suggestive with his other female characters. When he did flesh out her character, her backstory was eventually the trope/fear of straight people, that gay people will be so overcome with their lust that they end up sexually assaulting them.

In the end Ochako accepts this part of Toga and says she'll giver her blood forever, but as much as a lot of readers took that that as some deep lesbian confession, for me it really fell flat. Hori never really gave any of the main kids time to actually learn about their villain or show how that changed their minds toward them. Shoto only works because Touya is his brother (even though he admits he barely remembers him). But Ochako goes from not thinking of Toga at all pre-first war, to one thought about her during her speech, to suddenly caring about her so much she--given how Toga's quirk is coded, is willing to essentially fulfill Toga's kink for the rest of their lives.

It's weird and it comes out of nowhere. It's made even stranger because Toga doesn't actually change or show remorse for anything she did, which included personally hunting and murdering people before she joined the LOV. None of the death and destruction she is also partially responsible for is brought up either, something that Ochako was rightfully upset about during the first war when less people and property had been destroyed. Ochako just accepts everything about her suddenly and her past serious crimes are forgotten so they can cuddle and cry.

Am I shocked Toga died--a little. I didn't think Hori would have the guts to kill off a young girl character, especially one that he clearly got a lot of joy drawing in sexy poses. But at the same time, once he killed off Shigaraki and ended Touya's story with his slow death, I'm not surprised he went the same route with Toga.

This isn't Naruto--Hori isn't really kind to characters that do something wrong, especially if they don't try and change. Enji, Bakugo, Hawks, and Aoyama all sort of got punished for what they did. Enji is the worst off, being permanently crippled, missing an arm and burned everywhere. Bakugo's hand is damaged, his heart weaker, plus he feels bad that Izuku lost his Quirk so they can't compete the same way he wanted them to. Aoyama, despite doing way less wrong and even helping his class during the forest raid, still leaves school because he doesn't feel he earned being there yet. Hawks lost his Quirk and even though him running the HPSC could be seen as good for him, Hawks always wanted a break, but now he has one of the most time consuming and stressful jobs out there.

So, if this is what characters who actively did good things and even changed and fought to be better get, what would characters who never changed and never did anything positive for anyone but their friends/themselves get?

Before the last Arc started, when so many people said the LoV were 100% going to be redeemed I had doubts and always thought it wouldn't make sense with how the story presented redemption or treated other non-LoV villains in the past. That if the main LoV did get some happy ending where they were bffs with the main cast it would clash with how other characters had been treated.

That doesn't mean that I think how Shigaraki, Toga, and Touya ended up in the manga was well done. I think their endings fit far better then a last minute redemption would have, but at the same time you can feel how rushed everything has been since the end of the first war arc. Hori was done with this story months if not years ago, yet he was contractually obligated to finish it. Because of that I think he left out as much as possible. As much as I think he's written some pretty obsessive stuff, particularly towards women, I can't really fully blame him cutting corners or the story being shit at the end.

We know Manga authors, particularly those that work with Jump are treated like shit. That they suffer incredibly long hours at times not even getting to go home for days. We've gotten messages for Hori saying he's sick quite a few times. On top of that, weekly story telling is not a great way to tell a cohesive narrative. Ideas probably change week to week or at least month to month and you can't go back and change the last chapter no matter how much you need or want to. Then you remember he also gave a lot of ideas to the people who made the movies, which would also change his plans for how he wanted the main story to go.

The story is bad--it has been for a while, but I think a lot of people put their hopes on their favorite characters getting a happy ending, even when there were signs that probably wasn't going to be the case. I know how much it sucks when a character you love gets a shitty ending (Stain was my fav, but he got an absolute dogshit ending) but at least, knowing what I know about the industry I can't really blame Hori the way I see some other people doing. Criticize it, sure, but saying Hori hates his readers or is horrible writer isn't true. BNHA was popular for a reason--he's great with characters and the beginning of the story had some great pacing. We'll never know, but I wouldn't be surprised if BNHA could have been amazing if Hori had been treated better and the story hadn't needed a chapter every week.

If anything BNHA has taught me how much a story suffers when authors/artists are treated like crap and forced to work past burnout.

[dk-thrive]

Passion. As you can see, I've lived quite a long time, which is to say I've been working for quite a long time, which is the same thing. And you know what? In the whole silly business, the only thing that really matters is passion. It comes and it goes. At first it just comes to you free of charge, and you don't understand, and you waste it. And then it becomes a thing to nurture.

— Tove Jansson, from The Woman Who Borrowed Memories: Selected Stories. Translators Thomas Teal & Silvester Mazzarella (NYRB Classics; October 21, 2014) (via The Hammock Papers)