Solidarity-Based Savings: Impact Finance Continues to Gain a Foothold
FAIR, in partnership with the daily newspaper La Croix, is publishing the latest edition of its Solidarity Finance Barometer. This provides an opportunity to take stock of a savings approach that aims to balance returns with social purpose and impact—and one that is attracting an increasingly broad audience.
Each year, FAIR’s Solidarity Finance Barometer, published in collaboration with *La Croix*, serves as a benchmark for measuring the impact of a sector that remains little known but is growing steadily: solidarity finance.
How does it work? It channels a portion of French people’s savings toward projects with significant social or environmental benefits that are difficult to finance through traditional channels: low-income housing, employment-based integration, sustainable agriculture, the green transition, and entrepreneurship in developing countries.
How does solidarity-based saving work
The mechanism is based on two complementary principles. First, “investment” savings, all or part of which is invested in accredited social enterprises that, in turn, finance projects on the ground. Second, there is “sharing” savings, through which the saver donates a portion of their earnings (interest or returns) to nonprofit organizations, often while benefiting from a tax deduction for the donation. In both cases, transparent earmarking allows savers to know exactly how the money is being used—a requirement that is becoming increasingly important to savers.
The Finansol label, promoted by FAIR, serves as a benchmark: it distinguishes products that are genuinely socially responsible from investments that are merely labeled “responsible.” This is an important mark of credibility at a time when the issue of “impact washing” is becoming increasingly pressing, and when the distinction between solidarity-based finance and traditional socially responsible investing (SRI) needs to be clarified for the general public. Whereas SRI selects the most virtuous publicly traded companies, solidarity-based finance directly funds unlisted organizations working on the ground, addressing social needs at their source.
Three Ways to Give Meaning to Your Savings
In practical terms, savers have three options available to them. First, solidarity-based employee savings through so-called “90-10” funds—90% traditional assets and up to 10% in solidarity-based enterprises—offered through company savings and retirement plans: this is currently the main driver of fund inflows. Next are banking products: savings accounts and shared-profit funds distributed by banks and mutual savings banks. Finally, there is direct investment in the equity of solidarity-based enterprises, which often comes with an upfront tax benefit in the form of an income tax deduction.
Social finance is attracting an increasingly broad audience, driven by savers concerned about how their money is actually used. It is not merely an act of activism: from returns on socially responsible employee savings plans to tax breaks on donations or investments in the capital of approved companies, it often combines social benefit with financial advantage. This approach sets it apart from simple charitable giving and explains its enduring place in the French savings landscape.
The topic is all the more interesting because it intersects with several current issues: the rise of employee savings plans, value-sharing requirements, and the debate over directing savings toward the ecological and social transition. For readers interested in wealth management, the challenge is to distinguish genuine socially responsible products—those that are certified and transparent about how funds are used—from offerings that are merely “greenwashed.” FAIR’s barometer, with its up-to-date figures and proven methodology, provides a solid foundation for this process of discernment.
In practical terms, the funds raised support specific organizations: social integration enterprises, low-income housing developers, microcredit programs, community-based renewable energy projects, agricultural cooperatives… These are all projects that create jobs and benefit local communities, and their impact can be measured and reported to investors. It is this traceability—rather than the promise of high returns—that constitutes the true added value of solidarity-based finance and sets it apart from traditional financial investments.
