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At the Rachel Corrie Foundation (RCF), we are thrilled to report that last night, Tuesday, March 24, our city of Olympia, Washington, passed an Ethical Investment Statement as part of its 2026 Investment Policy.
For many months, RCF staff and volunteers have worked alongside many colleagues from other local organizations, city officials, and experts on ethical investment at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) to learn about ethical investment and its impacts and to support development of the language of the Ethical Investment Statement. Olympia joins communities throughout the country that have acted in various ways to align community values with investments.
In part, the ethical investment language newly added to Olympia’s 2026 Investment Policy states:
“The City will refrain from investment in companies with primary business functions in harmful industries such as tobacco, fossil fuels, mass incarceration or immigrant detention, and weaponry of any kind, or in companies with a consistent record of direct involvement in severe human rights violations such as slavery and prison labor, war crimes, illegal military occupation, racial segregation, or apartheid.”
The language proposed to the city by its Finance Committee, and adopted unanimously by the Olympia City Council, can be found at the February 23, 2026, Finance Committee Agenda.
The City of Olympia’s Finance Director, Michael Githens shared that the “newly adopted update to the Investment Policy incorporates Environmental, Social, and Governance language to guide investments to better align with the City of Olympia’s broader objectives of the community.” He stated, “This is a way of investing that involves evaluating companies based on how well they perform in the areas of environmental responsibility, social impact and corporate governance. Githens added, “The City typically holds few investments in this realm, but the investment language makes sure that now and in the future, we follow specific guidelines. The language will allow the City to still maintain a portfolio that maintains an investment approach to further the City’s goals of achieving safety, liquidity, and return.”
Our RCF colleague Emily Antoon-Walsh shared, “As a pediatrician and a parent in Olympia, I am proud that our city has taken this step towards ethical investment. It should not be controversial to say that we do not want our money to harm children. From Gaza to Dilley, Texas, adults can either look away, or show up as helpers. Children see how we respond in this time of great harm. Let the message we send with our actions be one that recognizes the humanity of everyone. Removing our dollars from doing harm is one step we want our city to take.”
Lin Nelson, former RCF board member and one of Rachel Corrie’s professors, emphasized that “the Ethical Investments principle that the Council has adopted is very significant, especially at this time of global peril for so many. Olympia will be joining other communities committed to urgently reshaping our priorities.”
The Rachel Corrie Foundation is grateful to the City of Olympia and its forward-thinking council members for taking this action, and to the many community members and organizations that have participated in this effort over the course of nearly 18 months. We are committed to continuing Rachel Corrie’s work for peace and justice globally, with a focus on Gaza and Palestinian rights. The city’s adopted ethical investment language addresses our concerns about the ongoing catastrophe Palestinians have experienced due to Israel’s policies, supported by military aid and political cover from the United States, and it further commits to refraining from investments in companies with a consistent record of direct involvement in severe human rights violations, wherever they occur.
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