Can an Investment Fund Have a Culture? We Think So

We know that companies, like countries, can have a culture. But what about an investment fund? Can an organization that provides funding and support to small businesses, like the Coprosperity Fund, have a culture that advances its mission?

We think so. 

We have spent considerable time and effort to develop a series of priorities, habits, values, principles and “roles and goals” that we believe provide a solid foundation for everything we do (and don’t do) as an organization.

This is a living statement of purpose, words that we stand by and work by. We review and discuss it often and take it seriously.  We are sharing this in our monthly blog post so that you and the world knows what makes us at the Coprosperity Fund do what we do and the meaning and mission we give to our work.

Priorities

We focus our resources on our most important concerns.

Returns: We continually seek to maximize capital gains and income (total returns), as well as

other tangible benefits, for our stakeholders.

Relationships: We actively make and maintain mutually beneficial bonds between people

and organizations.

Impact: We aim to have significant and lasting positive effects in all our interactions.

Service: We provide valuable assistance in our various capacities to our stakeholders.

Synergy: We strive for the combined effects of our efforts to be greater than their sum.

Habits

We enact behavioral patterns that are regularly repeated until they occur automatically.

Effort: We make continual, active use of our powers and abilities to produce desired results.

Understanding: We connect new information with existing knowledge to form a coherent

framework for insightful thought and appropriate action.

Communication: Our goal in communicating is to create mutual understanding so as to share

ideas, coordinate actions, and make informed decisions.

Collaboration: We work together with our stakeholders to achieve a deeper level of

connection, shared ownership and mutual responsibility for outcomes.

Creativity: We combine originality and added value in finding new solutions to problems and

new means to accomplish goals.

Values

We hold fundamental beliefs and guiding principles that dictate what we as individuals and

as a group consider important.

Trust: We foster confident reliances by aligning words with actions and operating on

principles.

Responsibility: We fulfill our obligations and address the consequences of our actions and

decisions.

Honesty: We are truthful, genuine and transparent in our words and actions.

Commitment: We demonstrate a sustained dedication towards our chosen courses of action

even in the face of challenges.

Professionalism: We use and acquire new knowledge and skills that contribute to a

productive working space and foster positive relationships.

Principles

We adhere to actionable rules that serve as the foundation for our system of values, habits

and priorities.

Integrity: We are unwavering in our commitment to our values and principles, reliable in our

consistency and accountable for our actions.

Diligence: We apply steady, earnest, and energetic effort to accomplish our goals,

demonstrating thoroughness and commitment from start to finish.

Proactivity: We identify what needs to be done and take action with foresight and

responsibility.

Pragmatism: We prioritize tangible results and real-world consequences in being effective

and useful.

Win/Win: We seek outcomes in which all parties involved benefit from the results.

Roles and Goals

While values and principles guide why and how we act, our roles define what we are

expected to do based on our positions. In relation to our roles, our goals transform

aspirations into actionable steps to provide direction and motivation.

Leaders: We inspire and guide people toward achieving a shared vision while empowering

them to grow along the way.

Managers: We coordinate and administer resources efficiently and effectively to achieve

specific organizational goals.

Partners: We share in the ownership of projects and collaborate with others in alliances.

Providers: We supply necessary or desired services and products.

Customers: We are active, informed purchasers of goods and services.