From strategic planning and industry connections to celebrating the extraordinary impact of one of our Awards alumni, the Invest in Others team spent an inspiring week in New York City focused on what matters most: growing the charitable impact of financial advisors.
As Invest in Others concludes its 20th anniversary year, our team gathered in New York City this November for a week of collaboration, connection, and inspiration. It was an opportunity to reflect on two decades of impact, align around our vision for the future, and experience firsthand the incredible difference financial advisors are making in communities across the country.
The week was a powerful reminder of why we do what we do, and the opportunities ahead to make an even greater impact.
Building on 20 Years of Impact
Throughout 2026, Invest in Others has celebrated an extraordinary milestone: 20 years of amplifying, celebrating, and inspiring the charitable work of financial advisors. Over those two decades, we’ve awarded more than $10 million in grants, supported more than 860 nonprofits, and recognized over 1,000 financial advisors for their charitable leadership.
With that legacy as our foundation, our team came together for strategic planning sessions focused on the next chapter of Invest in Others.
A special thank you to our incredible sponsor, Nuveen, for generously hosting our team at their Manhattan offices throughout the week. Their hospitality provided a wonderful setting for collaboration, creativity, and meaningful conversations about our future. We’re grateful for their continued support and commitment to helping us grow the charitable impact of financial advisors.
As we prepare to launch our redesigned grant program in 2027, we’re looking at new ways to expand access to funding, strengthen industry relationships, elevate the stories of advisors making a difference, and create even more opportunities for charitable impact. While much of our time was spent looking ahead, the week also offered meaningful opportunities to connect with the people and organizations that bring our mission to life.
Strengthening Connections Across the Industry
One of the highlights of our time in New York was hosting a special Invest in Others stewardship event that brought together members of our Board of Directors, financial services industry media, sponsors, and supporters for an evening of meaningful connections and conversation.
The gathering provided an opportunity to deepen relationships, introduce new friends to our mission, and share our vision for the future as we prepare to build on 20 years of impact.
A special thank you to McKinsey & Company and FLX Networks and its CEO and Founder Brian Moran for their leadership in making this event possible. Their partnership reflects the incredible commitment of organizations across the financial services industry that believe in the power of giving back.
At Invest in Others, we are fortunate to have an extraordinary community of sponsors, supporters, and industry champions who do so much more than provide financial support. They share their expertise, open doors to new relationships, champion our mission, and help us reach more financial advisors and the nonprofits they care about.
Their generosity, engagement, and belief in our work are essential to everything we accomplish. Together, we’re creating more opportunities to recognize charitable leadership, expand funding for nonprofits, and inspire a culture of giving across the financial services industry.
As we look toward the next 20 years, these partnerships will be more important than ever. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who joined us in New York and to the many individuals and organizations whose continued support helps us grow the charitable impact of financial advisors.
Celebrating an Awards Alumn and the Power of Perseverance
Perhaps one of the most meaningful moments of our week came on November 5, when members of our team attended the Challenged Athletes Foundation’s Heroes, Heart & Hope Gala at the iconic Waldorf Astoria New York.
The evening was particularly special because it gave us the opportunity to support Scott Stackman, our 2025 Invest in Others Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, whose extraordinary dedication to the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) has helped transform thousands of lives.
Scott has been a driving force behind CAF’s Heroes, Heart & Hope Gala since launching the event in 2006. Through his leadership, the event had raised an incredible $29 million as of 2025, helping more than 4,000 athletes with physical disabilities access the equipment, training, and support they need to pursue their athletic dreams.
His commitment embodies everything Invest in Others seeks to recognize: financial advisors who use their leadership, relationships, and passion to create meaningful and lasting change.
As part of Scott’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognition in 2025, Invest in Others awarded a $100,000 grant to the Challenged Athletes Foundation in his honor. Attending this year’s gala gave our team an opportunity to see the mission behind that investment celebrated on a remarkable stage.
An Evening of Heroes, Heart, and Hope
The 2026 Heroes, Heart & Hope Gala celebrated 20 years of creating access and opportunity through sport, honoring Marcella and Gregg S. Hymowitz for their contributions to the organization’s mission. It was an unforgettable evening filled with powerful stories of perseverance, determination, and the transformative power of inclusion.
Since 1994, the Challenged Athletes Foundation has raised more than $178 million and awarded more than 48,000 individual grants across 105 sports. Its work reaches athletes in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and 70 countries, with an additional 60,000 individuals impacted annually through outreach programs. Through grants for adaptive sports equipment, training and competition expenses, and adaptive sports clinics, CAF is helping people with physical disabilities discover what’s possible.
But as the stories shared throughout the evening demonstrated, CAF’s impact extends far beyond athletics. It’s about confidence, independence, and belonging. As well as ensuring that physical disabilities never define the limits of someone’s potential. For our team, the experience was an especially meaningful reminder of the ripple effect that can begin with one financial advisor’s commitment to a cause.
Scott’s decades of leadership have helped create opportunities for thousands of athletes, and we’re incredibly proud to have played a role in supporting that work.
Read more about Scott Stackman’s extraordinary commitment to the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
Inspired by the Past. Energized for the Future.
Our week in New York City brought together so many elements of the Invest in Others mission: strategic vision, meaningful industry relationships, alumni engagement, and the incredible work of nonprofits changing lives every day.
From connecting with industry leaders and supporters to celebrating Scott Stackman’s extraordinary work with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, we were reminded that lasting charitable impact is made possible through the collective efforts of people who believe in giving back.
As we close out our 20th anniversary year, we’re especially grateful for the financial advisors, nonprofit partners, sponsors, Board members, and industry champions who have helped shape our first two decades.
Our sponsors and supporters are truly an extension of our mission. Their leadership, generosity, and willingness to champion our work allow us to think bigger, reach further, and create new opportunities for advisors to make a difference in their communities. And we’re equally energized by what lies ahead.
With expanded grantmaking opportunities, new collaborations, and a continued commitment to elevating the stories of advisors who give back, we’re building on 20 years of impact to help even more communities thrive. Because when we invest in others, the impact reaches further than we can imagine.
Here’s to the next chapter, and to growing the charitable impact of financial advisors, together.
