Solidarity finance institutions apply solidarity economy principles to the financial sector. Some financing institutions provide loans or capital to other solidarity organizations (non-profits, cooperatives etc.), or even to those who are excluded from the classical financial and banking circuits.
Solidarity finance institutions accept the savings of those who want their funds to be invested within a solidarity network and who are willing to accept smaller financial returns.
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Solidarity finance can be defined at several levels, such as its mission, vision, identity, skills, behavior, and environment.
The mission of
solidarity finance is to use financial tools to achieve sustainable and equitable development.
Its long-term vision is to increase social capital. It involves numerous stakeholders, […] having different methods and forms of behavior, acting in different ways, but collectively producing an identity that is specific to
solidarity finance. […]
Solidarity finance operates within an environment of poverty, exclusion, or difficult access to financial services."
(Alliance for a responsible, plural and united world,
Solidarity Finance, visited 2010-03-31)
Solidarity Finance and Ethical Finance
Some authors distinguish "
solidarity finance" and "ethical finance." In more specific terms,
solidarity finance includes the principles of ethical finance, sometimes called
social finance or sustainable finance, but it goes further; it supports local projects or organizations, with social, environmental or cultural added value in mind..
Solidarity Finance and Microcredit
Solidarity finance differs from microcredit. A microcredit is offered on a small scale, as an individual palliative to exclusion from the traditional banking system.