Transcript Slide 1
Fundraising
Committee
Presentation overview
Roles of the Fundraising committee
Divestment
Roles of the Fundraising
Committee:
Fundraising for humanitarian organizations
Budgeting club expenses
Researching divestment strategies
What’s so important about
divestment?
“The divestment movement [helps] draw
international attention to the appalling
situation in Darfur while pressuring the
foreign companies working with the
murderous Sudanese government to pull
out. That could be a catalyst for change in
Africa’s worst killing zone.”
- The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board, March 2006
How does this all work?
Sudanese government uses foreign oil
services companies to extract oil and
receives millions of dollars from these
companies
$580 million in oil revenues in 2001 alone1
$349 million in military spending in 2001 alone
(60% of oil revenue)1
70% spent to support military in 20072
1http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sudan1103/8.htm
2http://www.sudandivestment.org/divestment.asp
Human Rights Watch
Sudan Divestment
Oil money in Sudan funds the military
and government enabling genocide
1http://www.sudandivestment.org/divestment.asp
Sudan Divestment
Targeted divestment can have an
enormous impact on the genocide
Definition: sale of stock in companies most
culpable of funding the genocide in Darfur and a
commitment to not buy stock in companies that
support genocide in Darfur
U.S. law prohibits American companies from
operating directly in Sudan but firms are legally able
to invest in foreign companies operating in Sudan
Does not advocate withdrawal from companies
helping the people of Sudan (e.g. agriculture,
infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, etc.)
Divestment does not hurt
investors
Economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph
Stiglitz
"The government does not have a heavy
development agenda--it's not as though the
government is busy building schools in Darfur,"
Stiglitz says. "It's a pretty clear case of this
money being used against the government's
own people."
Oil money in Sudan funds the military
and government enabling genocide
1http://www.sudandivestment.org/divestment.asp
Sudan Divestment
Divestment is an effective way of pressuring
the Sudanese government to halt genocide
U.S. sanctions in 1997 caused the Sudanese government to drop
support for terrorism and cooperate with counter-terrorism1
Sudanese government took a 6-page ad in the New York Times
to counteract the divestment movement and attract foreign
investment1
Inside reports from officials in the Sudanese government
indicates worry about divestment3
Divestment campaign caused Canadian oil company Tailsman
Energy’s share prices to drop 1/3 pressuring them to leave
Sudan led to government negotiations ending the country’s
21-year civil war in 2002 but excluded discussion of Darfur1
Divestment was effective in ending apartheid in South Africa
News reports about divestment have appeared in a variety of
media forms and continues to keep attention on the Darfur
genocide
1http://www.calvert.com/sudan/8336.html
2http://www.sudandivestment.org/divestment.asp
3
Calvert Company
Sudan Divestment
Sudan Divestment campaign video
Which companies are offenders
and which have divested?
Highest offending
companies
unwilling to change
PetroChina (China)
ONGC (India)
Petronas,
Muhibbah
Engineering,
Kencana Petroleum
(Malaysia)
Lundin Petroleum
(Europe)
Petrofac (UK)
Alstrom (France)
Targeted investment
firms in the U.S. with
holdings in
PetroChina
Franklin Templeton
JP Morgan Chase
Capital
Group/American
Funds
Fidelity (divested
some)
Vanguard
Investment firms that
have divested
1http://www.sudandivestment.org/divestment.asp
Sudan Divestment
Calvert
Clean Yield Group
Domini Social
Investments
Pax World
Prentiss Smith and
Company, Inc.
Stewardship Partners
Trillium Asset
Managemetn
Walden Asset
Management/Boston
Trust
Women’s Equity Fund
Helicopter Corporation
Rolls Royce, PLC
Siemens
States and universities that
have divested.
Divested
universities
indicated by
blue dots
1http://www.sudandivestment.org/divestment.asp
Sudan Divestment
Summary of current events
22 states have divested
23 states have initiated divestment (12 have legislation in progress)
US government approved the Sudan Accountability and Divestment
Act prohibiting federal contracts with companies in Sudan’s oil,
power and military sectors with protection to asset managers that
divest funds from Sudan
58 universities have divested
47 universities have initiated divestment
12 cities have divested
9 international and religious organizations have divested
15 countries have divested including the U.S.
9 companies have ceased or changed their practice
Advertisement to persuade
Fidelity Investments to divest
Advertisement to persuade
individual investors to divest
New legislation on divestment and
comment by Speaker of the House,
Nancy Pelosi
-Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House of Representatives
San Francisco Save Darfur Coalition Divestment Press Conference,
release: October 1, 2007
Divestment does not hurt
investing companies
Research costs: Sudan screen list costs ~$5000/year
Transaction costs: purchasing and selling stocks have
fees
Sliding scale pricing available, free research for large pension
funds
Unavoidable
Reputational cost: investment restrictions deter
competitive bids from investing companies
Missouri in 2005 opened a $5 mil. portfolio to “terror-free” bids
(no companies with ties to ANY terrorist-sponsoring state),
received 4 bids with 6 different options. Subsequent investment
showed no negative impact on return
1http://www.sudandivestment.org/docs/options_and_resources.pdf
Sudan Divestment
Divestment does not hurt
investing companies
Opportunity cost: moving investments to other
companies lowers return
Tracking error cost: index funds are not created equal
Economically equivalent companies (i.e. Chevron, USEC) have
outperformed companies invested in Sudan (e.g. PetroChina,
Total S.A., respectively) historically
Funds are close enough since divestment effects <1% of any
major index funds holdings
American business cost: divestment hurts American jobs
American companies are not allowed to invest in terroristharboring Sudan unlike the heavily invested companies South
African apartheid
1http://www.sudandivestment.org/docs/options_and_resources.pdf
Sudan Divestment
How individual students can
support divestment
Sign a petition against investing in genocide targeting firms with
holdings in PetroChina
www.DivestForDarfur.org
Take action on a national level
1-800-GENOCIDE
Take action on a state level
www.sudandivestment.org
Attend divestment events to pressure firms
www.savedarfur.org/divest
Join STAND or form a STAND chapter at your school
www.StandNow.org
Learn more about divestment
www.sudandivestment.org
www.sudandivestment.org
http://www.sudandivestment.org/
screener