Women Investing In Security And Education

Our mission is to provide women and girls with the financial education they need to expand their opportunities, take control of their future, and reach their full potential.

In 1997, fifteen women gathered to plan INVEST IN YOURSELF: Financial Strategies Conference for Women. They expected 200 women; instead, 500 were in attendance, uncovering the need for financial education in a friendly and non-intimidating environment.

Many women volunteered to assist at subsequent conferences, with attendees coming as far away as England and other countries. By 2000, the continuing success of the Invest in Yourself conferences made clear the need for a broader view of financial education for women. Thus, WISE®, Women Investing in Security and Education®, was born to give women the tools and training to make better choices and improve their lives and their families.

Since its founding, over 1,000 volunteers, and thousands of volunteer hours have been contributed to WISE. Each year over 20 workshops are held in partnership with community partners.

WISE offers financial education for women ages 5 to 99 through programs that help women and girls build strong financial futures. We offer members and the community a series of workshops that cover topics such as:

+Creating financial independence
+Investment strategies for all markets
+Pathways to becoming healthy, wealthy, and WISE
+Retirement and estate planning
+Tax strategies.

WISE collaborates with like-minded organizations in Orange County to extend the reach of financial education. Valued partnerships include:
+Girl Scouts
+Girls Inc.
+Woman Sage
+Center for Investment and Wealth Management at University of California Irvine, Paul Merage School of Business
+UCLA
+STEM Advantage

In addition, WISE produces two signature, unique educational seminars:

Tearing Down The Pink Wall showcases the views and experiences of women in C-suite leadership positions in the financial services industry. College students interested in the finance sector discover career advice and how to navigate and thrive in a competitive environment.

Empowerment Workshops for WISE members nationwide featuring personal finance topics such as estate planning, basics of investments, tax-saving strategies, asset allocation strategies

2021 Highlights:
-Awarded National Philanthropy Day Award for best non-profit in Orange County.
-Reached a record number of women and girls with our financial empowerment message
-Over 70,000 reached. More than 100,000 were reached via our partnership with PBS.
-Produced a record number of events (15), educational videos, and a podcast
-Added new community partners, Stem Advantage, Working Wardrobes, UCLA Anderson School, Chapman University
-Doubled our membership
-100% Financial Support from the WISE board.
We met our goals of expanding our reach and producing high-quality events.

Goals:
+ Enlist new educational partners
+ Develop programming for women’s shelters
+ Expand our list of community partners

WISE provides life-changing financial education for girls and women. This does not happen without strong community support and the work of our board members and partners.

Our most pressing needs:
-Expertise in developing customized programming for our partners, for example, women’s shelters. Estimated cost: $10,000.
-Ability to pay for more administration and marketing hours. Estimated yearly costs: $20,000.

WISE® programs serve girls and women in Orange County, Los Angeles, CA, and nationwide via virtual events. Programs are offered virtually and in partnership with other non-profit agencies. Membership is nationwide.

WISE is distinguished by:
-The quality of our educational workshops. We feature top-tier speakers who work with us at no charge.
-The commitment of our Board of Directors. We have no full-time staff. Programs are executed by the Board, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in volunteer support. Their standing in the community and their willingness to work pro bono to support other women and girls are truly inspiring:
-A powerful women's network enables us to execute world-class programming, attracting hundreds to our workshops.
-Board of Directors and Advisory Board Diversity: Our Board and Advisory Board come from varied backgrounds and ages, giving us generational expertise;
-Our partners are top-tier nonprofits who understand that girls and women deserve the opportunity to improve financial literacy – Girls Scouts, Girls Inc, Working Wardrobes, UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC Berkeley.
-The educational content and quality of our website.
-Our collaboration with PBS allows us to reach a nationwide audience of well over 100,000.

Programming is tailored to the specific needs of our partners. For example, with Girls Inc, we hold workshops for college-bound girls on budgeting, credit, saving, and careers. For Girl Scouts, we have workshops under the umbrella of Cookie University, teaching older scouts about the basics of investing, financial planning, and the proper use of credit. We host a money booth for the younger scouts and discuss setting goals and teamwork. For universities, we hold workshops to inspire all in the community to reach their full potential via financial empowerment and career choices.

It is my privilege to serve as board chair of WISE and lead an extraordinary group of intelligent, hard-working, passionate women (and men) joined by a mission of enhancing the lives of other women and girls through financial empowerment. WISE is a mission-driven nonprofit that provides best-in-class financial literacy programs for women and girls of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds free of charge. There are gender-specific reasons why women have special needs regarding financial literacy – widowhood, divorce, longevity, and lower wages. WISE is dedicated to providing this education.

Each year we reach 100,000s with our national programming. Membership is free, as are our virtual events. Through our community partners, we reach many women of all socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, and life stages, including those in distress and transition. We are women helping women organization. Our partners tell us that our events are "inspirational," "life-changing," with "amazing ripple effects that last a lifetime." We are very proud that community leaders say that dollar for dollar, we are one of the most effective nonprofits in our community.

WISE is distinguished by:
-The quality of our educational workshops. We feature top-tier speakers who work with us at no charge.
-The commitment of our Board of Directors. We have no full-time staff. Programs are executed by the Board, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in volunteer support. Their standing in the community and their willingness to work pro bono to support other women and girls are truly inspiring:
-A powerful women's network enables us to execute world-class programming, attracting hundreds to our workshops.
-Board of Directors and Advisory Board Diversity: Our Board and Advisory Board come from varied backgrounds and ages, giving us generational expertise;
-Our partners are top-tier nonprofits who understand that girls and women deserve the opportunity to improve financial literacy – Girls Scouts, Girls Inc, Working Wardrobes, UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC Berkeley.
-The educational content and quality of our website.
-Our collaboration with PBS allows us to reach a nationwide audience of well over 100,000.

Programming is tailored to the specific needs of our partners. For example, with Girls Inc, we hold workshops for college-bound girls on budgeting, credit, saving, and careers. For Girl Scouts, we have workshops under the umbrella of Cookie University, teaching older scouts about the basics of investing, financial planning, and the proper use of credit. We host a money booth for the younger scouts and discuss setting goals and teamwork. For universities, we hold workshops to inspire all in the community to reach their full potential via financial empowerment and career choices.