Banks define our future. Every investment decision writes the story of where we are going as society, which project, business, or initiative receives funding - and which does not. Much work has been done to critique our financial system, but less has been done to present viable, alternative models.

Katrin and Lily, who have been leading the Finance Lab within the Presencing Institute, have written this short and accessible book on their experience in working with mission-based banks around the world over the past 10 years. Such banks use finance as a tool to create a more equitable and sustainable economy. Katrin and Lily call this practice “Just Banking”.

Over the last decade, the authors have worked extensively with Just Banking institutions, facilitating learning communities and networks that provide a platform for these organizations to learn from each other, exchange best practices, and innovate. This work has given the authors a unique perspective on this emerging field and enables them to provide the reader with real-world cases and stories that bring the work to life.

In this book, the authors explore whether Just Banking practices and innovations can inform the next iteration of our financial systems, and if so, how.

About the Authors

Lily Steponaitis is Special Projects Manager at the Self-Help Federal Credit Union in Oakland, CA and a former Post-Graduate Fellow at the MIT Community Innovators Lab. Her work focuses on the role financial institutions can play in creating more just, equitable, and democratic economies. In 2016 she researched and co-developed a MITx Massive Open Online Course with Dr. Katrin Kaeufer about just banking. The MOOC was the first of its kind in the field and has reached over 23,000 participants in 161 countries. Lily received her B.A. in Economics and Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012 and her Masters in City Planning from MIT in 2014.