You’re invited
to join a WINTER 2025
INVEST FOR BETTER CIRCLE

Led by Maria Jobin-Leeds

About IFB Circles

IFB Circles are small, peer-led groups that help women step into their financial power by learning, sharing personal experiences, and supporting each other in becoming confident and values-aligned investors.

How it Works

We’ll be utilizing a 6-module curriculum to guide our meetings, developed by Invest for Better, a non-profit on a mission to help women put their money to work for a better world. The learning experience includes periods of self-study, monthly meetings, and accountability buddies. We’ll have an online space for our Circle and conduct live meetings over Zoom. 

Our Schedule

Our Circle will meet on the following Thursdays at 4-5:30pm EST/1-2:30pm PST:

  • January 23rd
  • February 6th
  • February 20th
  • March 6th
  • March 20th
  • April 3rd
  • April 17th if needed

Thank you!

About Maria

Without much preparation, I found myself managing a philanthropic budget and investment portfolios, having studied science and worked as an educator. My  journey was supported by my partner and my mother-in-law, who had confidence I could manage. While my learning curve was appreciable, I’m now comfortable and competent. I’m turning into the mentor that I so appreciated. My most exciting questions now is:  How can we use these investments to help the movement partners and communities whose dreams we support with our grantmaking? What do we need to know to do that. Hope you’ll join us!

My hopes for our Circle

My hopes for our circle: that 8-15 WDN members will explore and learn together, with kindness and curiosity. That we will help each other think and feel, that we will bring our enthusiasm for Values Aligned Investing back to WDN to build our collaborative journeys. The frame that we’ll offer is that learning is power, that we can make changes, that we might need support and that there are new investment models that support the movement we fund.

ENROLLMENT TIERS

History has shown us what happens when women step into their collective power — from voting rights to pay equity, powerful things happen when we come together. That’s why Invest for Better believes in working together as a community of women to align our financial goals with our vision for a better world.

Course Pricing & Contributions

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to making this course accessible to women across different wealth levels while ensuring sustainability and support for our mission. Donations are tax-deductible. Below is our flexible pricing structure and links for electronic payment. If you would like to send a check or DAF contribution, please click here instead.

How to Choose Your Tier

Please select the option that best matches your financial resources. Your contribution directly supports the accessibility of this course for others and furthers our mission. Additional details for making your donation will follow once you select your tier.

Circle Structure

When you participate in an IFB Circle, you are in great company. Over 2,500 individuals have participated in our courses and the Circle experience to date – and we are just getting started! Our Circles include:

  • Groups of 8-20 women, who commit to self-study and bi-weekly meetings

  • Leaders, who are selected and trained by IFB to facilitate meetings and build a culture of shared experience and cohesion for Circle members

  • Clearly structured curriculum designed to build knowledge and promote action, yet remain flexible enough to meet the unique needs of each group

  • Accountability buddies, who share the journey with you and help you identify the next steps you want to take to move your money in a financially and socially responsible manner

  • Optional, content-rich events that IFB curates based on member feedback and state of play in the financial markets

Testimonials

“An Invest for Better Circle is a great way to bring together a diverse group to build up their impact investing knowledge. It’s organic, member-led, and authentic. I love watching the conversations unfold.”

“My group lit a fire under me to really make sure all of my finances are aligned with my values.”

“Through Invest for Better, we are equipping women with the knowledge they need to shift their money to align with their values. All investments make an impact, and our group has created a casual, fun space for women to learn from and share with one another about their journey to take control of their money and its potential.”

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Outcomes

By the end of the Core Curriculum, participants will have:

  • Joined a safe trusted space to share their money stories, aspirations, concerns, and successes
  • Understood – perhaps for the first time – how they are currently invested, why they are invested that way, and how they can improve the financial and social impact of their portfolios
  • Learned about new ways of investing, explored values-aligned opportunities, and discussed the best ways to take advantage of these options
  • Completed a simplified Investment Policy Statement that articulates the values and strategies they want to incorporate in their investments in the future
  • Committed to the next steps they will take to move from knowledge to action

About the Course

This Core Curriculum is Invest for Better’s foundational course and tends to be the series most women chose to begin their values-aligned learning journey. Based on Janine Firpo’s book, Activate Your Money: Invest to Grow Your Wealth and Build a Better World, the course starts with conversations that break the taboos around money, helps you understand your current portfolio, and introduces you to values-aligned investment options. At the end of the course, you will be ready to move from knowledge to action.

Course Content

The Core Curriculum was designed to build women’s confidence as investors, demonstrate the power of their investment assets, and show them how to activate those resources to enable a more just and sustainable world for all. Structured to guide participants through a series of steps, the self-study and meetings build on each other. Recognizing the busy lives we all lead, the course creators strove to minimize the pre-work and to make each meeting interactive, engaging, and informative. Prior participants have commented on the critical difference this course has had on their attitude about, and relationship with, their money.

  • Meeting #1:

    Connections & Money Stories

    During the first meeting, participants establish connections with their peers through introductions and story-telling. Ground rules for engagement and confidentiality are also established at this time. Together, these activities set the stage for what is to come.

  • Meeting #2:

    Risks & Rewards

    The second session begins the process of identifying and documenting the way you want to approach your money and investments. This includes taking a quiz to assess risk appetite, prioritizing your values through joint activities, and breaking into pairs to articulate high level goals and aspirations. You’ll also learn about the importance of asset allocation and be introduced to all the asset classes into which you could chose to invest your money.

  • Meeting #3:

    Portfolio Snapshot

    The purpose of the third meeting is for you to really understand – perhaps for the first time – exactly what you are invested in right now. You will capture your current holdings, discover where the money is invested, and recognize how it is allocated across asset classes. Through discussions in the meeting, we are exposed to differences that can exist within the investment process and are able to see how our portfolios are similar to, or differ from, others.

  • Meeting #4:

    Public Markets

    Now that you know where you stand, the next step is an inquiry into what else is possible, particularly in regards to values-aligned investments. This conversation begins in Meeting 4 with a discussion of the public markets, including our cash, fixed income (bonds) and stock market investments.

  • Meeting #5:

    Private Markets & Alternatives

    In this session, you’ll learn about crowdfunding, angel investing, and other approaches to invest in privately-held companies. This session also touches on other non-public forms of investing, known as Alternatives. This enormous asset class includes virtually every type of investment that is not cash, stock, or bonds.

  • Meeting #6:

    Financial Advisors & Next Steps

    In the last meeting of this course, we will talk about the pros and cons of having a financial advisor, including the different types of advisors and services they provide. The Deep Dive (advanced) courses available through Invest for Better are presented, enabling members to determine whether one of those courses might be a good next step. After that discussion, members break down into small groups to complete their Investment Policy Statements and to commit to their next steps.

What it Means to Join Invest for Better

We’re on a mission to help women put their money to work for a better world through values-aligned investing. History has shown us what happens when women step into their collective power — from voting rights to pay equity, powerful things happen when we come together.

We believe the next revolution is financial. Women are set to control the majority of wealth in the United States by 2030 — and yet, many of us don’t know how to align our financial goals with our vision for a better world. Invest for Better equips women to step into their financial power through:

  • Values-aligned investing community

    Invest for Better started with a group of friends talking about how to use their money to create impact in their communities. Although we’ve grown into a global community, at our core, we know that creating safe spaces for women to talk about their money is the first step to harnessing our collective impact.

  • Expert-backed financial education

    We know how overwhelming it can be to find trusted sources for financial education — which is why we designed our curriculum from trusted advisors who have helped us during our own financial journeys.

  • Joining the Financial Revolution

    While transforming our personal relationship with money and our investments is important, systems change happens when we come together in community. Invest for Better members are heavily invested in their communities, and we harness our collective voice to speak up on issues that matter — like environmental sustainability, gender and racial equity, and worker’s rights.

Benefits of Joining

  • Community Engagement

    Join a global movement of women empowering investment for sustainability and equity.

  • Webinars (Live and Archived)

    Engage with experts and peers in live virtual events on finance and values-aligned investing, or access our growing archive of more than 50 recordings at your convenience.

  • Advanced Courses

    Learn and connect through 3-session Deep Dive courses on a range of thematic topics and asset classes (available a la carte).

  • Partner Services & Discounts

    Including free access to a directory of values-aligned financial advisors provided by a partner non-profit.

CHOOSE YOUR ENROLLMENT TIER NOW