5 advisors win 'Invest in Others' awards for contributions to charitable groups

September 30, 2022 9:27 AM

Returning to an in-person event after two years of presenting awards online, the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation is recognizing five financial advisors for their work with nonprofit groups.

The foundation, based in Andover, Massachusetts, held its 16th annual Invest in Others Awards in the Westin Boston Seaport District on Sept. 29 in Boston. The top sponsors for the night were Private Advisor Group, Advisor Group, Apollo, Cetera Financial Group, Fidelity Investments, LPL Financial, Merrill and Natixis Investment Managers.

The honorees included Lifetime Achievement winner Gail Perry-Mason of Oppenheimer & Co., Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. For her work with the nonprofit group Detroit Impact | Money Matters for Youth, Perry-Mason received $75,000 for a charity of her choice.

The other top honorees each received $50,000 for the same purpose, while 10 other finalists received $25,000 each and various honorably mentioned firms received $1,750 each. All told, Invest in Others awarded more than $650,000 to individual firms for the purpose of charitable giving.

"We are proud to amplify the generosity of the winners of this year's Invest in Others Awards, and would also like to recognize the finalists and nominees for their contributions," Megan McAuley, executive director and president of the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation, said in a statement. "These individuals have generated significant impacts in their communities, while displaying the positive effect the financial services industry can have on nonprofit organizations."

Since 2006, Invest in Others has worked with more than 500 charities and given more than $5 million to help with a wide range of causes, including public health, education, youth programs, the arts, hunger and poverty prevention and veterans.

The winners this year are:

Alana Scott of Lattig Scott Wealth Management

Alana Scott of Lattig Scott Wealth Management, Modesto, California, received the Catalyst Award for her work with the Women's Education and Leadership League. Scott founded the league in 2014, and the organization has gone on to help more than 6,000 young women in northern California achieve financial security. Invest in Others' Catalyst Award goes to someone who has made a difference and presented entrepreneurial vision and leadership to a nonprofit organization for at least three years. Scott was inspired to devise the group's curriculum to empower women to take charge of their own lives and businesses. This may involve helping a failing organization find a way to thrive again or helping to start a new nonprofit organization.

Dave Weeks of Weeks Financial Group

Dave Weeks of Weeks Financial Group, Naperville, Illinois, won the Community Service Award for his work with Naperville Elderly Homes. Naperville Elderly Homes provides affordable housing, security and fulfilling activities to 204 lower-income seniors and persons with disabilities a year. Weeks first became involved with Naperville Elderly Homes 15 years ago, helping to overhaul the organization's grant program, allowing the organization to hire an activities director and provide additional assistance for residents with special medical or dietary concerns. Weeks was elected president of the group's board in 2015 and led the effort to obtain financing for a massive $30 million renovation and expansion project. Naperville Elderly Homes was able to renovate its 121 housing units and add 69 additional one-bedroom units. The Community Service Award goes to an advisor who has a difference through contributions to a nonprofit organization for at least three years.

Aron Weingard of Raymond James’s Weingard Wealth Management

Aron Weingard of Raymond James's Weingard Wealth Management in New York City won the Emerging Impact Award for his work with Experience Camps for Grieving Children, an organization that works to ensure that every grieving child has a life rich with possibility. It provides a free, one-week summer camp for children and teenagers who have experienced the death of a parent or sibling or primary caregiver. Weingard got involved in Experience Camps in 2009 as a founding camp counselor. Now he volunteers for one to two weeks of camp every summer and also served in various leadership positions, from being the chairman of its emerging leaders board to a member of the national board's leadership committee. In 2020, Weingard was chairman of the group's fundraising committee and helped set up a Signature Initiatives program for crowdfunding. The Emerging Impact Award goes to an advisor who is 45 or younger and has made a difference at a nonprofit group for at least three years.

Susan Youngsman of LPL Financial

Susan Youngsman of LPL Financial in Lynnwood, Washington, won the Volunteer of the Year Award for her work with Summer Search, which works with low-income, minority and first-generation immigrant students through a multiyear mentor program. In 2022, all of the program seniors graduated from high school and went to college, and 67% of the college cohort earned a degree. Youngsman began volunteering at Summer Search eight years ago. She has since played a big role in fundraising and offering financial instruction through seminars, events and "Money Mondays" — a webinar that provides financial knowledge, helps participants feel comfortable about money and supports Summer Search participants, alumni and staff members. The Volunteer of the Year Award goes to an advisor who has made a difference as a volunteer at a nonprofit group for at least three years.

Gail Perry-Mason of Oppenheimer & Co.

Gail Perry-Mason of Oppenheimer & Co., in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, won the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work with Detroit Impact, Inc. | Money Matters for Youth. Detroit Impact was established in 1991 to bring resources to the youth of Detroit's west-side neighborhoods through work with parents, churches, schools, businesses and residents. The organization teaches and motivates children and adolescents to develop sound values, strong personal motivation and self-esteem. Perry-Mason established the organization's Money Matters for Youth program 27 years ago to introduce Detroit youth to wealth management and entrepreneurship. The program runs year-round and offers a one-week summer camp led by Perry-Mason. More than 300 children each year learn about opening and operating a business, investing in the stock market and similar matters. Among Perry-Mason's accomplishments, she brought the first youth group of its kind to Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, in May 2017.