Growing the number of impact investors working to address the world’s most pressing problems has long been part of Veris Wealth Partners’ vision and mission. Co-Founders Janine Firpo and Ellen Remmer were asked questions about Invest for Better and their approach to growing an impact movement focused on empowering women investors.
Our co-founder, Janine Firpo, left a 35+ year career in technology and international development to focus on how women can create a more just and equitable society through their financial investments. She adds angel investor and social entrepreneur to her list of career reinventions. Janine sat down with Gayle Keller on her podcast, Theodora Speaks, to her book, Activate Your Money, and debunks myths around women and financial empowerment.
When first introduced in 2012, Giving Tuesday was a brilliant idea. And although we get way too many emails about it, I love that it has evolved from one day of giving into a “global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity” with a broad alliance of members and a collaborative ecosystem aimed at understanding and spreading “best practices for increasing generosity and driving systems change.” That is big language, and I like the spirit it conveys.
However we must go so much further if we want to drive systems change. Whether it’s one day of giving or 365 days of giving, philanthropy can only go so far. I’ve spent a very fulfilling 25 year career in philanthropy advising and appreciate the power of giving to: improve the quality of life in communities, catalyze innovation, fund the watchdogs and advocates, underwrite great art, and provide a sliver of equity to a narrow population lucky enough to get access to nonprofit programs. And about 12 years ago, I woke up to the fact that philanthropy is a woefully insufficient tool to create systems change.
The modern world is driven by capital. And to make durable systems change we need to not only access and leverage that capital, but we need to make fundamental shifts in who controls the capital and the norms and mechanisms through which various stakeholders allocate it.
Of course, we need philanthropy, policy and the private sector together. Philanthropy can fund the environmental education program, but the big durable change happens when shareholders of McDonald’s demand a change in packaging or the major automakers commit to building electric cars. We can’t continue to seek profits from a smart investment portfolio whose assets do not align with the values our philanthropic pursuits encourage.
At Invest for Better we are focused on the “Who controls capital” by helping women understand the power of their investment assets, learn how to align their investments with their social values, and activate them to make a more just and sustainable world for all. Women are wonderful philanthropists, but, for a variety of reasons, have been far less engaged than men in the capital markets. Yet women are inspired by the opportunities of values-aligned and impact investing and we believe that, collectively, their influence can and will shift capital markets to prioritize sustainability and social justice.
Giving Tuesday represents one day of the year, and only a percentage of your overall portfolio. Through values-aligned and impact investing, we invest in systems change every day with all the money at our disposal.
Go beyond Giving Tuesday. Invest for Better.
Many of us are aware of the concepts of concessionary investments, blended capital, and recoverable grants. But how can you get involved? What are the options that are available to you today? And who are the providers that are making these options available to you right now? This session unveils real-world experiences of innovators who are using their DAF assets to provide deeper impact and value. It will also showcase a few of the most innovative service providers who are making it easier for all of us to invest our values. And it will provide insight into ways that you can feel less frustrated and have more fun with your philanthropy.
Trainers
In Activate Your Money, our co-founder, Janine Firpo, provides the foundational support women need to talk to each other about their money, invest to grow their wealth, and to take the actions required to shift their assets into alignment with their values. She was featured on Book Passage with Tanja Hester to discuss her book.
Social Venture Circle and the American Sustainable Business Council present Integrating Values Across Your Portfolio, part of a 3-part webinar series led by Janine Firpo, our co-founder.
Many conversations about impact investing quickly turn to private debt, private equity, and other forms of private investing. While these are incredibly interesting asset classes, they often contain only a portion of our total portfolio leaving a majority of our capital invested in cash, bonds, stocks, real estate and other assets. If we really want to be in integrity with our money and have it represent our values, it is important to consider investment opportunities in these asset classes as well.
Happily, there are a growing number of investment opportunities and choices across the public markets. This workshop will highlight some of the newest opportunities. It will also provide a look at a range of tools that can be used to identify values-aligned companies and funds.
Trainers:
In this workshop, Janine explains how you can take action to move all of your assets in alignment with your values – even if all you have to invest is the money in your savings and checking accounts.
Janine Firpo and Ellen Remmer, our co-founders sat down with Lebec Consulting to talk about why women shouldn’t shy away from investing, but instead gravitate toward it—particularly impact investing—and how they actually make some of the most impactful and successful investors when they do.
Social Venture Circle and the American Sustainable Business Council are pleased to present a 3-part webinar series led by Janine Firpo, co-founder of Invest for Better and author of “Activate Your Money: Invest to Grow Your Wealth and Build a Better World.” This series will take you on an impact journey across your entire portfolio, and leave you with tangible actions you can take to put your money to work for you and for the world.
Session 1: Prerequisites for 100% Portfolio Alignment
Any kind of investing starts with an understanding of the purpose of money in our lives. What does it do for us? For others? And how can we maximize our return across several vectors?
The first session in the series on values-aligned investing will start with a brief discussion of these concepts. It will explain what values-aligned investing is, how it works across all asset classes, and will introduce you to a simple framework that you can use to identify the values you want to drive your investment decisions.
Then this interactive workshop will move into a discussion of asset allocation, using real world examples to show the varying choices investors are making to achieve both financial and social return. We will the initial sessions by introducing participants to an Investment Policy Statement. The IPS is an excellent way to articulate your investment goals and objectives. You can use the IPS alone or in partnership with family members, financial advisors, and other professionals to simplify the investment process and bring clarity to your financial decisions. During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to start filling out their own IPS.
Activate Your Money: A Webinar Series to Move You From Knowledge to Action- Session 1 from ASBN on Vimeo.
Our co-founder, Janine Firpo sat down for an exclusive interview with Mae Szippl of Equity Trust.
Topics they discussed include: