Lucy Shair Foundation: New $5,000 Grant for Women in Finance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2022       

MEDIA CONTACT: Amanda Rogalski, aarogalski@rogomarketing.com, 616-540-9231

Apply by October 15, 2022

 GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – With a goal to ensure women who want to enter or advance in the finance industry succeed, the Lucy Shair Foundation for Women in Finance is taking applications for a $5,000 grant to cover expenses such as office space, licensure, and continuing education.

Grant applications are due by Oct. 15, 2022, and can be found on the foundation’s website at www.lucyshairfoundation.org. The grant will be awarded by the end of the year, and then annually in subsequent years. 

“Only 31 percent of financial advisors are women, and even fewer are women-owned and operated,” said Corrie Puscas, Lucy Shair Foundation president, “By supporting financial advisors who are launching their own firms, the Lucy Shair Foundation (LSF) is providing crucial backing for women who can and will support other women in the future.”

Lucy Shair, 43, of Grand Rapids, MI, was a financial advisor who passed away on January 6, 2021 from a recurrence of breast cancer.  Following her initial diagnosis and treatment through 2016, Lucy entered remission and shifted her professional interests. She had an unique and unwavering passion for empowering others, especially women, and harnessed that passion into financial advising. In 2018 she founded her own firm and prioritized the philosophy that financial knowledge leads to financial wellbeing. She worked to not only advise her clients but also educate and empower them to take charge of their financial futures. Lucy’s friends established the foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in June 2021 to ensure her passion for empowering women continues. The five founding board members are Puscas, Ellen Cherveny, Anne Petruzzi, Amber Brooks and Alisa Devlaeminck.

The grant is designed to offset expenses that pose barriers to entry or advancement, such as costs associated with business development opportunities, licensure, office space, professional fees and memberships, professional conferences and training, and other continuing education.  Applicants do not need to currently be a certified financial advisor, but must have the active intent to work in the financial advising industry.   

“We are looking for women who are dreaming boldly, pursuing their passion and making a difference in their communities,” said Petruzzi, LSF secretary. Applicants are asked to share their story, business vision and detailed discussion of how they will use the grant. The five founding board members will choose the recipient. 

Memorial donations and a fundraising event raised over $65,000 last year, far surpassing the foundation’s $35,000 goal. The board selected San Francisco-based Fairlight Advisors, an independent registered investment advisory organization certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), to invest a sizable portion of the funds raised.  

Fairlight Advisors co-founders, Katharine Earhart and Maya Tussing, launched their investment advisory business to help nonprofit leaders fulfill their mission with high-touch, customized nonprofit financial planning and investment management.

“While many companies have recruiting strategies to attract female advisors, few organizations support women financially in launching their own businesses, which is why we are proud to partner with the Lucy Shair Foundation,” said Earhart, “The first 2-years are a critical time for new advisors and many women can use additional capital investment to accelerate their success.” added Tussing.

“The Lucy Shair Foundation is filling a huge void in the financial planning profession,” said Stephanie Traxler, founding CEO and financial advisor of Grand Rapids-based Golden Goose Wealth Planning, LLC. “Being a woman who started her own firm, it is an immense risk to start from ground zero. Grants from the LSF will help infuse capital at a critical time and allow more women to take the leap.”

Linda Brunzell, chief marketing officer at Terryberry, a global employee recognition company, has been consulting with the working board and noted, “Lucy moved boldly in the world and left behind many women whole lives she touched both personally and professionally. I’ve had the privilege to work with the five founding board members to help them dream boldly and guide building the nonprofit’s strategy and goals. Each individual is truly committed to continuing Lucy’s work of empowering women in the financial profession.”

Learn more about the Lucy Shair Foundation here: https://www.lucyshairfoundation.org