In our 2019 and 2021 list ratification process, we asked members to review 140 businesses, then 80, respectively. We learned through staff experience and voter feedback that this was too much information to ask voters to thoughtfully review in a short period of time.

In May 2022, we began an experimental voting delegate program to ease the burden of investment list ratification. The Ujima Voting Delegation is a group of super voters who work together to ratify additional investment plans with us. We identified super voters based on their participation over time and the speed at which they participated in our most recent votes.

In July 2022 seventeen delegates reviewed no more than ten businesses each, and ratified a new investment plan: the 2021 Member Investment List. This particular list was generated throughout 2021 by members through the Personalized Investment Form. Each year, members are invited to fill out a form and name up to five businesses they love in their communities.

With the addition of our latest investment plan, the Ujima Fund now counts 212 businesses as part of its pipeline. If you’ve named any of these “Businesses We Love” we’d like your support in encouraging those companies to contact our Ujima Fund Management Team!