A story of transformation, by Noa Mohlabane
Wisdom & Money’s Volcano Circle Member and former Staff and Board Member

I didn’t know how to include myself in wellbeing

For most of my life, I worked in nonprofits, rented my home, carried credit card debt (up to $40k), and gave away whatever money I had left at the end of the month. I thought of money as either a necessary evil or something that wrecked people’s lives. I didn’t yet appreciate how resources could move creatively, relationally, or in alignment with deeper values. If someone around me had a need and I had something to give, I gave it. What I didn’t know how to do was include myself in the equation of wellbeing.

Myself near Mount Shasta, where I live.

Then my brother took his life

I got the news during a Wisdom & Money Board Circle retreat weekend: my older brother had taken his own life. In the midst of grief, I was held completely by the Circle through the weekend. From him, I inherited property (38 lots of land and a house), money, a business, financial responsibility, and a world I knew almost nothing about.

Liberation of breaking the silence

Through Wisdom & Money’s financial transparency practices in our Volcano Circle, I heard trusted friends speak openly about their money, purpose, imagination, and how resources could move in alignment with their deepest values. I began to see money not just as something to earn, spend, or give away, but as something that could help build what I loved the most: family wellbeing, community, and opportunity for equity and change.

Here I am with members of my Circle.

Flowing forth

With my inheritance, my wife and I created revolving catalyst loans for friends and family who are creating positive change in their lives. Together with family and community partners, we gifted and created accessible pathways to land ownership for 27 people of color; 17 first-time buyers. Now we are exploring permanently affordable ecological housing models rooted in community. I have always loved to share, and still do. But now I understand that sustainability and generosity are not opposites. Holding resources with care, and helping them grow has allowed me to give more creatively, more sustainably, and in ways that ripple far beyond what I once imagined.