A Voice For
Fiscal Justice

Pursuing Racial Justice Through Municipal Finance

Activest is the first Fiscal Justice investment research firm that analyzes racial, social and economic justice risks in municipal finance.

Discover how we work.

Fiscal justice is Activest’s multilayered, critical analysis of the equity of municipal budgets—measured at the intersection of fiscal health and racial justice. We base our approach on the belief that cities realize stronger fiscal outcomes when they prioritize the well-being of their most marginalized residents.

October 19, 2022

The 2022 Joan Bavaria Award is presented to co-founder Napoleon Wallace

Ceres and Trillium Asset Management were deeply honored to present the 2022 Joan Bavaria Award to Napoleon Wallace at Evening with Ceres. Napoleon is a pioneering leader and strategic thinker who has launched, led, and advised numerous successful impact-focused finance…

Read More

July 31, 2022

New Jersey Fiscal Justice Credit Analysis

How is the State of New Jersey and its municipalities allocating resources to its services and citizens? How are these governance decisions being factored into credit risk? This Fiscal Justice Analysis is the intersection of a racial justice and fiscal…

Read More

August 16, 2022

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Line of Fire: How Minnesota Cities Are Displacing People of Color and How the Suburbs Are Killing Them

In this report: Data overview on Brooklyn Center’s fiscal justice issues (which we define as issues at the intersection of fiscal health and racial justice) The Activest theory of change and organizing tactics & strategies for leveraging municipal bondholders in…

Read More

Investment Research

Our research aims to discover how to better invest in Black communities—via fiscal justice. From investments in the Flint Library system, investor engagement in Louisville to prioritizing the access to capital via money markets for Historically Black colleges and universities, our diligence focuses on local governments who have struggled to access affordable capital and values-aligned investors.

Learn more.


Our Impact

From investment holdings to grassroots organizer engagement, we seek to quantify the impact of our work:

56
M
15
+
7

Appeared in: