Ruby “SunShine” Taylor, the founder of Financial Joy School and 2022 Halcyon Opportunity Intensive fellow, is a disabled Black, queer woman, wife, and mother driven to make our world more equitable and joyful by harnessing the power of financial knowledge to establish generational wealth for Black and Brown families.

Read her story below.

“I am a woman of faith, right? And I believe that everything, everything that happens is supposed to. Whether we like it or whether we don’t, all of it connects to our purpose so that is my foundation.

December 2nd, 2012. I suffered a traumatic brain injury [TBI] which stopped me from working as a school social worker, which is a career that I truly loved. Oh my god, I loved my kids, I loved their parents, I loved it all except for the bureaucracy, you understand that. Loved it, loved it, loved it. And when I could no longer do it, because the TBI created not only physical changes but also wiped me out financially. The school district was not kind to me. So I had bills that kept coming and no money and my family did not come from generational wealth. Getting help from them was not a possibility.

I was complaining about being on the verge of losing my condo to my students’ parents. They were so instrumental in supporting me through a very dark time in my life. I cannot say enough how grateful I am for them. As much as you give out, it’s going to be returned. We don’t know how or when, but it will be. Guaranteed.

I was complaining to a parent and she was like ‘Ruby, what happened to your savings and investments? What happened?’ And I was like I have none of that.

I spent my last dime and it was not on things, because I’m not a materialistic type of person. I was helping my parents, I was helping my siblings, I was helping my nieces and nephews. I was helping my students. Whatever extra money I did have after paying my bills, it went to other people. And she was like ‘you are never supposed to spend your last dime’, which was something I didn’t know.”

My family believed that whatever you have, you should give. If you have and somebody else does not, you’re supposed to give and not worry about it being your last. So that’s the way I was brought up, so when she said that, it was like wow. I did not know. What am I supposed to do, where’s the extra money if I’m not giving it away? And she was like ‘you’re supposed to invest, you’re supposed to save. My husband and I are personal investors and we’re going to educate you so you’re not ever in this position again once you get some money.’ They taught me about a brokerage account, a brokerage firm, compounding interest, mutual funds, individual stocks.

They gave me a thorough education which ignited a fire in me. I began to do my own research, began to educate myself and once I received some money I began to invest and saw that money grow. So then I began to educate my family and a couple of people took me up on that offer. And their money began to grow. And like, I’m doing this on a damaged brain, so if I can comprehend this, I can help others comprehend it too. Then I read an article, a research study done that stated by 2053 the median net worth of black families would be zero. And by 2073 the median net worth for Hispanic families would be zero. And I’m like no way. That cannot be.

They make it intimidating, I mean Wall Street. They use language that can be simplified, right? And so, I try to break it down so it’s way more welcoming and way more inclusive. And that put me on a journey to help create a much more welcoming, inclusive space for equity investing. And that’s how I built Legacy Card Game, a card game that teaches players how to build generational wealth. And from there I expanded it to Financial Joy School which is a media and gaming company. We have our Play, Win, Invest webgame that should be coming out in February. It’s going to be the first financial game ever that helps give investment cash to Black and Brown communities.

For Financial Joy School, success would be reaching 10 million Black and Brown people to become long-term investors by the year 2053. Success is living in a world that is financially equitable, which will help crush so many injustices within our current world. That’s success. My purpose is supporting the Black community to build a legacy that incorporates financial, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.”

If you believe in social impact, there is no better way to spend your money and your support than behind Halcyon. The program, the advisors, coaches, legal team, everything that they give us is helping us grow our business and makes our world equitable.

The Voices of Halcyon series is part of Halcyon’s end-of-year campaign in which we fundraise to support entrepreneurs like Ruby Taylor of Halcyon’s Opportunity Intensive. With your support, Halcyon can reach its goal of $25,000 to continue providing a stipend, free housing, leadership coaches, consultants, legal support, and more to entrepreneurs driving communities into a brighter, more equitable future. Please support Halcyon by clicking the link below.