Taking A Stand
 

The ICCR Legacy Award was created to honor those whose work has provided a strong moral foundation and an enduring record of demonstrated influence on corporate policies. The award was created in 2011 as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of ICCR. The ICCR Legacy Award will be given this year to Frank Coleman whose work has advocated or evinced corporate social responsibility.



 

 

With more than 30 years of experience serving Catholic institutions at Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), Francis (“Frank”) G. Coleman, has developed a comprehensive knowledge of the needs of the Catholic institutional marketplace and is a nationally recognized expert in the application of Catholic Social Teaching to the investment process. Frank has given generously of his time to the SRI/ESG investing community by serving as a board member for countless organizations, including ICCR. His experience and wisdom in diplomatic, yet effective, corporate engagements have made him a sought-after source of counsel for many in the ICCR community and beyond.

Mr. Coleman was named Vice Chair of Christian Brothers in February 2018. As Vice Chair, he is responsible for a number of key initiatives for CBIS, which include: the development of a program of best practices for Catholic fiduciaries; developing an educational curriculum for CBIS staff on Catholic Social Teaching and the charism of the De La Salle Christian Brothers; and others. Mr. Coleman serves as an advisor to the CEO on Catholic Responsible Investments℠ (CRI) and ESG matters and will continue serving as the firm’s CRI /SRI/ESG expert in the industry.

Prior to being named Vice Chair, Mr. Coleman was Executive Vice President, responsible for corporate strategy and planning, strategic planning and board member and trustee relations and development, as well as overseeing the CRI and Technology departments. Mr. Coleman joined CBIS in 1987. He has been a CUIT (Catholic United Investment Trust) Board Trustee since January 1, 2016.

As Vice President and Director of SRI (1999–2002), Mr. Coleman was responsible for incorporating ethical standards into investments and developing a policy and approach for CBIS that reflects the Church’s broad concerns in an effort to impact corporations. As part of this role, he is the primary CBIS contact in its work with a wide array of industry and Catholic organizations. In addition, he has had a long and varied history of serving as an advisor or Board member to a number of organizations.

He is currently on the board of the following organizations:

  • Catholic United Investment Trust (CUIT) Board of Trustees (2015–Present), a fund family, serving Catholic institutional investors;
  • Georgian Court University (2011–Present), a Catholic university in New Jersey sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy; where he also was Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee (2016-2018), which lead to the development of a new strategic plan for the university “The Strategic Compass…for an even better tomorrow.” https://georgian.edu/strategic-compass/
His previous board assignments have been:
  • Advisor to the Investment Committee – Park Foundation, a private foundation supporting education, social justice, environmental issues, and public broadcasting, (2012–2018);
  • Independent Committee of the STOXX Christian Values Index-Europe, (2010–2018);
  • Member of the Investment Committee of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) (2009–2015);
  • IRRC Institute, a research center for social, environmental, and corporate governance issues, (2006–2018);
  • Board member of The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing (USSIF) (2000–2007); he also served as Chair of its Strategic Planning Committee (2000–2007) leading to its establishment as an independent organization representing the interests of the SRI/ESG industry;
  • Chair of the Board of Partners for the Common Good (PCG), a community investing program sponsored by CBIS, as well as Vice-Chair (1997–1998);
  • Chair (1998–2001) of the Board of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) (1997–2001);
  • Board of the Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund (1995–2002);
  • Board Member of the SRI Fund (2009–2016) an alternative investment programs overseen by Salient Partners;
  • Investment Committee of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) (2009–2015);
  • CARS Advisory Board (2005–2009), an initiative of Opportunity Finance Network to develop a rating system for Community Development Finance Institutions.

Mr. Coleman has also written and spoken extensively on matters related to ESG and CRI investing. His latest piece, “What’s Next on a Random Walk Down Facebook Lane.”, written in December 2017 and featured in Green Money Journal, presents an interesting window into the intersection of ESG and technology, a topic much in the headlines these days.