March was “B Corp™ Month,” and as we wrap it up, we wanted to share what it means to Arnerich Massena to be a Certified B Corporation®. We became a Certified B Corporation® in early 2020, and are deeply proud to be part of the community of 3,700 businesses worldwide that are driving a global movement of people using business as a force for good.

If you aren’t familiar with B Corps™, they are businesses that meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. To become B Corp Certified, a company goes through a rigorous and highly selective assessment process that measures the its governance, workers, customers, community, and environmental policies. B Corporations® range from multinational corporations to small businesses serving local communities.

Arnerich Massena’s ethos and business model is to work in partnership with community; we believe our deepest purpose is to serve a higher good. We live this mission in many ways, whether it’s discovering impactful investment opportunities, caring for our clients’ and colleagues’ well-being in all facets of their lives, or contributing to local non-profits. We meet the high standards for being a B Corp™ through our governance practices and intentional investing, but we aspire to go above and beyond. Here are just a few of the last year’s activities that we believe earn us the B Corp™ status that we are so proud of:

FEEDPDX: When the pandemic started last spring, many of the students in our I AM Learning Partnership community service program lost access to their meal programs when schools closed. After learning more about the rapid rise of food insecurity in Portland, we went to work launching a fundraiser to help provide access to nutrition for struggling students and families. Partnering with The Hopscotch Foundation, we raised more than $50,000 to feed an additional 10,000 students.

Arnerich Massena Annual Giving Guide: We publish a holiday Giving Guide annually that features more than 20 non-profit organizations that are doing amazing work in our community. The guide is a celebration of their achievements and a resource for philanthropists seeking a way to help over the holidays. On GivingTuesday, we randomly select three organizations and donate $1,000 to each.

Celebrating women in investing: Since Arnerich Massena’s founding, we have understood the importance of gender diversity; our leadership and advisory teams have always had a balance between men and women. We have made a dedicated effort to generate awareness across the financial services industry (which significantly lags other industries) of the importance of having women on advisory teams, through social media campaigns, research papers, and hosting events.

Arnerich Massena Diversity & Inclusion Committee: Arnerich Massena is committed to raising awareness, offering resources to staff, and guiding us toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive future. This year, we brought in a Diversity & Inclusions trainer facilitate more sensitive and courageous conversations, and our Diversity & Inclusion Committee recommends books, websites, and films to help our team continue to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment at Arnerich Massena. You can read our Diversity & Inclusion Manifesto here.

We are committed to being leaders in balancing purpose and profit to build a more equitable economy, a more sustainable environment, and a more just society.