Edward Jones financial advisor will direct $5,000 grant to American Care Foundation’s Family Literacy & Empowerment Initiative
For Lashundra Strother-Wiley, financial success has never been measured solely by numbers on a page. As a financial advisor, community leader and mother, she sees opportunity through a much broader lens: What can we do today to create stronger families, more confident individuals and better opportunities for the next generation?
That belief is at the heart of the charitable work she champions, and it is why she was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Invest in Others × Association of African American Financial Advisors (Quad-A) Grant.
Strother-Wiley, a financial advisor with Edward Jones, was recently recognized September 11, 2026, at Quad-A’s VISION 2026 Legacy Gala in Washington, D.C. The one-time $5,000 grant will support the American Care Foundation’s Family Literacy & Empowerment Initiative, a program designed to strengthen families by pairing literacy and educational support for children with resources and empowerment opportunities for mothers.
“I am deeply honored to receive the inaugural Invest in Others x Quad-A Grant in support of American Care Foundation’s Family Literacy & Empowerment Initiative,” Strother-Wiley said. “What excites me most about this opportunity is the potential to create lasting, multigenerational impact.”
That emphasis on multigenerational impact is central to Strother-Wiley’s approach to both her profession and her philanthropy. Through her work as a financial advisor, she helps individuals and families align their financial resources with their goals, values and long-term legacies. Through her community involvement, she applies that same philosophy to helping people and communities build a stronger future.
Investing in Families Through Literacy and Empowerment
The American Care Foundation, led by Patricia Williams, focuses on empowering families and underserved communities, and Strother-Wiley is particularly passionate about its Family Literacy & Empowerment Initiative.
The initiative recognizes that supporting children’s educational success can have an even greater impact when families are supported alongside them. By combining literacy development for children with tools, resources and confidence-building opportunities for mothers, the program seeks to strengthen households while creating greater opportunities for the future.
“This grant will help launch and strengthen a program designed to empower women, build family stability, and foster educational success,” Strother-Wiley said.
For Strother-Wiley, that combination is important. Literacy is not simply an academic issue; it can influence a child’s confidence, educational trajectory and future opportunities. At the same time, empowering mothers with knowledge, resources and support can strengthen the foundation from which an entire family moves forward.
“The initiative focuses not only on improving literacy outcomes for children but also on empowering mothers with the tools, confidence, and resources needed to strengthen their households and create greater opportunities for their families,” she said.
As a mother herself, Strother-Wiley understands the significance of investing in the next generation. Among her many accomplishments, she describes being the mother of her two sons, Johnathan and Jeremiah, as her greatest blessing and most rewarding role.
Her commitment to service reflects a broader philosophy that extends beyond her own family.
“I believe that meaningful wealth is about more than financial success,” Strother-Wiley said. “It is also about service, generosity, and helping others create opportunities for a better future.”
Recognizing the Charitable Leadership of Black Financial Advisors
Strother-Wiley’s recognition marks the first grant awarded through a new collaboration between Invest in Others and Quad-A created to shine a spotlight on the charitable leadership of Black financial advisors and strengthen community engagement across the financial services industry.
The organizations announced the collaboration in June 2026, with a shared goal of recognizing the ways financial advisors contribute to their communities beyond their professional roles.
Through the initiative, Invest in Others offered a one-time $5,000 grant to a nonprofit championed by a Quad-A member. An independent panel of industry judges reviewed the applications and selected Strother-Wiley and the American Care Foundation as the inaugural recipients. The collaboration reflects the missions of both organizations.
Quad-A is dedicated to increasing the presence, influence and success of Black and African American professionals across the financial services industry while expanding access to wealth management careers, professional development and comprehensive financial planning resources.
Invest in Others is dedicated to amplifying, celebrating and inspiring the charitable work of financial advisors. Since its founding in 2006, the organization has recognized hundreds of financial advisors for their charitable leadership and provided millions of dollars in grants to the nonprofits and causes they champion.
Together, the organizations saw an opportunity to bring those missions together: recognize Black financial advisors who are making a difference in their communities, provide financial support to the organizations they champion, and tell their stories so their example can inspire others.
“Collaborations like this are powerful because they allow organizations across our industry to bring their strengths, relationships, and audiences together around a shared purpose,” said Emily Burns Perryman, Chief Marketing Officer of Invest in Others. “When we work together, we can shine a brighter light on the many ways financial advisors are serving their communities, while also putting real resources behind the causes they care about. This partnership with Quad-A is a great example of what can happen when the financial services community comes together to recognize leadership, amplify impact and create opportunities for others to follow.”
Purpose and Growth Can Go Hand in Hand
The collaboration was also designed to reinforce an important message for the financial services industry: Community engagement and professional success do not have to exist in separate lanes.
That idea was explored at VISION 2026 by Barrett D. Wragg, CFP®, Head of COI at T. Rowe Price and a former Invest in Others Board member and current Leadership Council member. Wragg led a conference session, “Purpose as a Growth Strategy: How Community Engagement Builds Stronger Advisory Firms,” examining how Black financial advisors can use philanthropy and community engagement to strengthen trust, elevate their brands and build deeper, long-term relationships within the communities they serve.
For Invest in Others and Quad-A, the inaugural grant is one tangible expression of that larger idea.
Financial advisors are uniquely positioned to understand the importance of long-term planning, relationships, and legacy. Many also dedicate significant time, expertise and personal resources to causes that matter deeply to them. By recognizing that work, the organizations hope to encourage more advisors to see charitable engagement as an important part of the role they can play in their communities. Strother-Wiley embodies that philosophy.
“Supporting charitable organizations allows us to extend our impact beyond financial planning and into the communities where people live, work, and raise their families,” she said. “When financial advisors engage with charitable causes, we help build stronger communities, support important missions, and inspire others to become involved as well.”
Her partnership with the American Care Foundation is ultimately about creating opportunities—today for children and families, and tomorrow for the generations that follow.
“Patricia Williams and the American Care Foundation have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to investing in children, families, and underserved communities,” Strother-Wiley said. “I am grateful to Invest in Others and Quad-A for recognizing the power of community partnerships and for investing in a vision that has the potential to transform lives for years to come.”
The inaugural Invest in Others × Quad-A Grant is more than a $5,000 investment. It is a recognition of the role financial advisors can play as community leaders, a celebration of Black advisors whose charitable work deserves greater visibility, and an example of what can happen when organizations across the financial services industry come together to amplify impact.
For Strother-Wiley, the goal is simple: invest in people, strengthen families and help create a future in which more individuals have the tools and confidence to thrive.
