All investors who own publicly traded shares have the right to vote for or against resolutions that appear on the proxy ballot at annual shareholder meetings. Investment managers generally vote in accordance with the recommendation of company management, sometimes in direct opposition to what would be considered a socially responsible vote. As a result, many institutions unknowingly lend support to forms of corporate behavior that we and other SRI investors are working hard to change. CBIS’ comprehensive proxy voting guidelines govern how we vote across a wide range of environmental, social and governance issues and ensure that we take full advantage of the opportunity to influence corporate policy through proxy voting. In 2008, we voted proxies at over 2,529 U.S. and international corporations.
We also continued our strong support for Partners for the Common Good (PCG) in 2008. PCG is a community development investment fund that supports community-based organizations that promote affordable housing, create job opportunities in low-income and at-risk communities, and provide micro-loans to the poor in the U.S. and abroad. At year-end 2008, the fund had 89 investing partners and $11.66 million in capital commitments. PCG distributed $4.8 million in loans and investments during the year and had $9.8 million in loans outstanding at year-end.
Our plans for 2009 reflect the increasing willingness of companies to engage us in productive discussions. We are participating in 30 dialogues and filing four shareholder resolutions covering the same broad range of issues as we did in 2008.
Our plans for 2009 reflect the increasing willingness of companies to engage us in productive discussions.