Robyn Polansky Morrison was podcast’ed!
Take One is Tablet Magazine’s daily Day Yomi podcast hosted by Liel Leibovitz!
On January 4th, 2022, the Daf Yomi page, Megillah 23, raises the thorny question of precisely what role should women play in the public sphere. Robyn Polansky Morrison joins us to talk about the initiative she co-founded, Jewish Women Invest, and how it provides thoroughly modern approaches to ancient communal questions. Why study classical Jewish texts side-by-side with financial literacy? Click here to listen and find out.
Jewish Women INVEST Continues its Mission to Mobilize Women towards Values-Aligned Impact Investing
[New York + Virtual, November 2021] In early 2020, Samantha Anderson and Robyn Polansky Morrison identified a need to blend financial literacy and impact investing education with Jewish values - specifically for women. In response, they created Jewish Women INVEST Education Projects, the first educational investing network for Jewish women, to inspire confidence, demystify investing and especially impact investing, and unleash investment capital for positive change.
“We learned so much from our extraordinary members who participated in and completed our inaugural educational Circles in 2021! Their passion, intelligence, dedication, and candor continue to captivate us and motivate us to do more. We have enhanced the program to include additional sessions on bridging the gap between philanthropic activity and impact investing, and we have also launched an Alumnae Network to continue connecting, learning, and discovering investment opportunities,” said Robyn Polansky Morrison, Co-Founder & Facilitator of the Program.
The Jewish Women INVEST program is a series of education Circles, a small community of 8 to 12 women who are committed to increasing their personal knowledge of money, investing, and power.
And this from one participant, “Finally - a robust, serious deep dive into finance, investing and Jewish values. This was no knitting circle - the topics were complex and of the moment led by key strategists and leaders in each curated sector. There was no condescension or dumbing down of concepts nor endless roundtables about whether women can really have it all. It was real, on the ground, cutting edge finance for women with a thoughtful Jewish lens.”
The next two Circles, starting on January 6th, 2022, will be virtual and will include members from across the United States. One Circle is designed for women who have access to their personal assets and/or family or philanthropic giving funds. The second Circle is for professionals - women who steward financial capital including but not limited to nonprofit organizations, family offices, and other foundations. or work at a Jewish Federation or Jewish Community Foundation supporting lay leaders.
The Jewish Women INVEST program curriculum will be delivered in nine sessions over six months. Specific dates are available on the website. Sessions will run for approximately 75 minutes. Members can expect three components in each session; (1) impact investing content taught by Jewish women who are experts in their fields, including Erika Karp, Chief Impact Officer at Pathstone, and Vanessa Bartram, Founder and CEO of Zora Ventures; (2) Jewish values-learning delivered by Rabbi Mary Zamore, Executive Director of the Women’s Rabbinic Network and author of “The Sacred Exchange: Creative a Jewish Money Ethic”; and (3) time to network and share ideas with other participants.
“Money, investing, values, impact, gender justice – these are not always easy topics to discuss. There are all sorts of cultural assumptions and obstacles to action. We are hoping to change that with education and conversation, one Circle at a time,” said Samantha Anderson, Co-Founder & Facilitator of the Program.
The application deadline for the 2022 National Circles is December 15th, 2021. Apply here! Jewish Women INVEST is planning to launch additional Circles in the second half of 2022.
The longer-term goal of the initiative is to create a more formal investment group for Circle graduates, currently part of the Alumnae Network, through the creation of an investment platform to drive more Jewish women to deploy capital for change. The group will seek to simplify some of the complexities of impact investing as well as provide access to more investment opportunities and deal flow.
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For additional details on Jewish Women INVEST, email info@jewishwomeninvest.org and to apply, visit www.jewishwomeninvest.org.
What we’ve been working on for the past several months … Jewish Women INVEST!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - New York, October 6, 2020
Jewish Women INVEST | A Project of Invest for Better launched to mobilize women to activate their money towards values-aligned impact investing. Jewish Women INVEST is an educational and community-building initiative developed at the intersection of Jewish values and impact investing.
“We identified a need to blend impact investing education with Jewish values specifically designed for women,” says Samantha Anderson, Co-Founder & Facilitator of the program. “To address that need, we created Jewish Women INVEST, the first educational investing network for Jewish women, to inspire confidence, demystify impact investing, and unleash investment capital for positive change.”
“Our goal is to create, build, and educate a network of Jewish women that intentionally invests in ideas, businesses and organizations that support women, that are led by women, and that foster cultures that hold values of equity and equality,” explains Robyn Polansky Morrison, Co-Founder & Facilitator.
The program was developed through an extraordinary partnership with Invest for Better, a campaign aimed to mobilize women to invest responsibly and purposefully. “The launch of Jewish Women INVEST | A Project of Invest for Better, is an exciting win-win for all of us—for Invest for Better, as we scale to reach thousands of women worldwide; for Jewish Women INVEST who can build on our curriculum to provide something purpose-built for their unique audience; and for the world, which will have more educated and activated impact investors,” said Ellen Remmer, Senior Partner, The Philanthropic Initiative and Champion, Invest for Better.
The Jewish Women INVEST curriculum will be delivered during monthly sessions over the course of six months. Members can expect three components in each session; (1) impact investing content taught by Jewish women who are experts in their fields, including Erika Karp, Founder and CEO of Cornerstone Capital Inc, and Vanessa Bartram, Founder and CEO of Zora Ventures; (2) Jewish values-learning delivered by Rabbi Mary Zamore, Executive Director of the Women’s Rabbinic Network and author of The Sacred Exchange: Creative a Jewish Money Ethic; and (3) time to network and share ideas.
As Beth Sirull, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego says about the development of Jewish Women INVEST, “Women control 40% of all investable assets in the US, and that percentage is growing. Our Jewish tradition calls on us—through nearly 100 commandments in the Torah and much Talmudic discussion—to steward our assets responsibly, not just for greater financial gain.”
The longer-term goal of the initiative is to create a more formal investment group for Circle graduates through the creation of an investment platform to drive more Jewish women to deploy capital for change. The group will seek to simplify some of the complexities of impact investing as well as provide access to more investment opportunities and deal flow.
Thanks to the generous support of the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, the program cost is $360 per Circle member. Jewish Women INVEST welcomes applications for the first National Circle that will launch on November 16th, 2020, with members from across the United States. The deadline to apply for the National Circle is October 28th, 2020. A second Circle will launch in January 2021 recruiting women from the Detroit, Michigan area.
Six Lessons Learned From Launching a Business in a Global Pandemic!
Everyone is excited for me, but what they are really thinking might be something like this: “Really, you launched a new business during a global pandemic?”
My answer: “Yes, I did!” With an abundance of caution and careful consideration, I launched MORR Strategy.
Is there ever really a good time or a bad time to launch a new business? Yes. Maybe. No. I ultimately realized there is no perfect time, and I had to go for it! And, now, I am thrilled to share the most salient lessons I’ve learned during the first 30 days as the founder and lead principal of MORR Strategy. I am certain there are many more to come.
Focus on being business responsive, not pandemic reactive. Services, events, and product messaging will likely shift from pre-pandemic copy and ideas. Creativity is vital here. Be careful not to act on news, pandemic stressors and the like, and develop dynamic ideas and plans for your business in non-pandemic times.
Tone is always important. The words you choose are exceedingly important as is the delivery of those words. It doesn’t matter what type of business you are launching. Be extra careful what you say and how you say it in your launch messaging, especially during this time of heightened uncertainty, emotions, and isolation. Be prepared that you may offend some.
Shift expectations for success. It is widely acknowledged that in the current environment nurturing business relationships is paramount and avoiding “pure” or “hard” selling is critical. Stay in touch, cultivate new relationships, and let empathy guide your conversations. Redefine your measures of success. Add significant time to accomplish them given the unknown duration of the pandemic and grasps of post-pandemic normals.
Find your relevance in the crisis and offer services, events, and products to help those in need. In your launch communications, be genuine and kind, and offer authentic help.
Thrive from uncertainty and vulnerability. Launching a new business is tough no matter the external circumstances. Sit with uncertainty and vulnerability and use the emotions to propel your business forward. Use your brain share to explore additional business approaches.
Value your partners and compensate them accordingly. Ask for what you need, select collaborators that align with your philosophies, and respect their partnerships. Talk openly and honestly with suppliers if you have cash-flow and/or time constraints. Everyone is impacted and we're all in this together. Find those who need you as much as you need them, and build lasting and durable relationships based on reliability and integrity.
Launch!
Hello Everyone!
I hope you are all feeling good, keeping safe at home, and managing through these extraordinary times. I am so grateful to share with you the official launch of MORR Strategy.
My new firm focuses on helping purpose-and impact-driven entrepreneurs, businesses, and nonprofits raise capital. We also collaborate with individuals and organizations who are interested in discovering and incorporating impact investments into their portfolios as well as developing clear strategies around philanthropy that parallel these investments.
And, just as important and immediately relevant, we focus on financial literacy. Let’s acknowledge we are in an unprecedented time of uncertainly. I believe the best way to combat the unknown, is to build knowledge and understanding.
So, why launch today? I can help!
Money, budgeting, savings and investing are tough topics. Empathy must be part of the learning. I believe the Financial Services industry must evolve to include the heart as well as the brain.
So many people are experiencing financial hardship. So many people are nervous about finances. Money likely weighed on your mind even before the pandemic. Let’s tackle this together, now! I am here to help. To provide the tools to help you create financial stability. To guide you through authentic conversations and financial education. To empower you.
As a new mom, as someone who has lived through financial challenges, and now as a new business owner, I know first-hand that life isn’t always how you planned it to be. I want to share my knowledge, compassion, and 20 years of experiences in the Financial Services industry.
I want to help you and your family, friends, colleagues, employees, neighbors and organizations.
My goal is to help build a stronger, more resilient and financially savvy community, a community that helps one another in good times and in bad times and celebrates our greatest accomplishments together.
Please reach out, let’s talk.