The U.S. financial system is a source of enormous conservative power. Yet most progressive people and organisations trust it with their money and so help fund their conservative opposition. Until progressives achieve a financial system that works for them, not against them, they will never sustain their gains. Organized Money warns that the next progressive era will fall short and allow conservatives to win again, unless progressives organise money. Its call to action is a ten-year, £1 trillion campaign in support of socially conscious financial power. And it delivers a strategy to win.
Keith Mestrich is the president and CEO of Amalgamated Bank, the nation's leading socially responsible bank. With twenty-five years of experience working in the labor movement and nonprofit organizations, Keith is a leader in the effort to build wealth for a purpose, not just for a profit. He is the co-author, with Mark Pinsky, of Organized Money: How Progressives Can Leverage the Financial System to Work for Them, Not Against Them (The New Press). Mark A. Pinsky led the $150 billion community development financial institution (CDFI) industry from 1995 to 2016. With a track record of aligning capital with social, economic, environmental, and political justice, he was the strategic leader for the industry's growth from $2 billion to $140 billion. He is the author and editor of several books and speaks regularly on finance and society. He lives in Philadelphia, where he runs Five/Four Advisors, a strategic advisory firm.