The Financial Activist Playbook - by Jasmine Rashid (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The first and only comprehensive resource designed to empower everyday people with insider knowledge on moving money for a more equitable economy.

The money myths end here.

We don't need to choose between creating meaningful wealth for ourselves and our families today, or supporting social movements creating a better tomorrow. We don't all need to become certified financial "experts" to be economically empowered and make a real difference in our communities. And we're far from powerless when it comes to changing the financial system, just because we don't happen to belong to the 1%. Quite the opposite.

Financial activism is how everyday people radically reimagine money as a tool for widespread well-being, instead of a weapon of absurdly increasing inequality. It's the antidote to traditional finance that evokes confusion, trauma, and (in the best-case scenario) straight-up boredom. It's how we--the underestimated--collectively resist systems that cause harm to people and the planet for the sake of profit, reclaim wealth that's been stolen, and redesign our relationships with capital and one another, in ways big and small.

Going beyond tried financial literacy, The Financial Activist Playbook offers eight accessible, actionable, "choose-your-own-adventure" strategies for readers to experiment with. Drawing on timely insider knowledge from the worlds of impact investing, social justice, and more, Rashid illuminates a treasure trove of stories: demonstrating how people power can flow big bucks out of extractive industries, and into the economy of care and abundance we deserve.

Playbook readers will be equipped to start visualizing and influencing the unique networks of wealth all around each of us, with strategies like

• Shifting collective budgets and bank dollars;
• Flexing our role as everyday philanthropists;
• Leveraging the magic of community investment;
• And so much more.

Laced with refreshing humor, empowering exercises, and a steadfast commitment to truth-telling, Rashid takes readers on an energizing ride of financial possibility and practicality that will reverberate for generations to come.

Review Quotes

"This work is the rallying call for everyday people to take charge of their financial destinies through activism. Rashid's inspiring strategies lay out a clear road map to reclaim wealth and contribute to collective well-being."
--Adriana Abizadeh, Executive Director, Kensington Corridor Trust

"If you're interested in learning to move people and money to improve your life and the world around you, you need to read this book."
--Deb Nelson, founder and Executive Director, Just Economy Institute

"What does it look like to live in an economy that values the wealth of our experiences, our solutions, our dreams, and our leadership? I am so grateful for this book, which gives us inspiring examples and practical wisdom so we can transform capitalism and liberate true wealth."
--Bia Vieira, CEO, Women's Foundation California

About the Author

Jasmine Rashid is a New York-raised, Oakland-based, Bangladeshi-American who believes deeply in people power. As a financial activist, writer, and impact investing professional, she successfully supported the #FamiliesBelongTogether coalition in shifting billions of dollars in big bank financing away from the migrant detention and private prison industry. In her role as Director of Impact for Candide Group, she helps investors flow their money to predominately women & BIPOC-led social justice-focused companies, funds, and vital organizations building the next economy.

The Financial Activist Playbook builds on her knowledge base as a Congressman John Lewis fellow, Just Economy Institute alum, Trauma of Money Method certified practitioner, and lived experience as a girl in her late 20s just trying her best to navigate contradictions under capitalism (and help build something better).