Empify Foundation Educates Students on REIT Investment, Career Options

This article is the sixth in a series spotlighting the Nareit Foundation’s DTD 2025 grantees, part of an initiative focused on increasing the visibility, awareness, and appeal of the REIT industry. The Foundation’s DTD program prioritizes three main goals: supporting pipeline and talent development, expanding procurement and business development, and making REITs understandable and accessible to everyday investors. In 2025, the Foundation provided grants to nine nonprofit organizations, including the Empify Foundation, which stands out for its commitment to helping everyday people—especially those from underrepresented communities—learn about REITs, their benefits, and career opportunities within the industry.

Financial literacy is a powerful catalyst for change, particularly for students and people who have not been exposed to the fundamentals of investing and building wealth.

Fintech firm Empify set out to change that by opening doors for everyday investors through targeted educational initiatives and innovative programming. By making financial products like REITs easier to understand and more accessible, the company is helping more people take charge of their finances, no matter their backgrounds.
 

Demystifying REITs for Everyone

Approximately 170 million Americans—or about half of the U.S. population—invest in REITs. Still, for many people, understanding REITs and their benefits may be confusing. Common obstacles include limited access to clear information and the mistaken belief that financial knowledge is only for the privileged few.

Empify is working to break down these barriers by democratizing financial literacy and empowering individuals from every walk of life to learn about and benefit from REITs.

An Inspired Beginning

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Empify emerged from a desire to help anyone learn how to build wealth in a practical way. Ashley Fox, a Howard University graduate and former Wall Street analyst, witnessed firsthand how complex wealth-building strategies can unintentionally widen social inequality. She was managing portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and recognized that this gap isn’t just about money, but access to education and opportunity.

In 2013, Fox left Wall Street to pursue a mission: make financial knowledge simple, accessible, and relevant for anyone. In 2016, she launched Empify—a name derived from “empower” and “modify”—with the concept of helping the 99% of people often overlooked by Wall Street.        

Empify’s approach focuses on meeting people at their current level of understanding, offering education on budgeting, investing, and building wealth. Empify simplifies the world of investing and makes it less intimidating by providing clear and accessible courses, workshops, boot camps, interactive member sessions, and live coaching and Q&A sessions. Participants learn wealth-building strategies alongside others who once shared their initial uncertainties and fears but are now making real progress toward their investment education goals.

Leveraging Technology: The Wealth Builders Community App

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Rob Boyd, a college peer of Fox, joined Empify as vice president, bringing his experience as a former financial advisor and real estate economist to the company. Fox and Boyd’s objective is to uplift people with practical information that they gathered from their own professional journeys.

In 2020, Empify launched the Wealth Builders Community app, a digital platform that brings together all Empify’s educational resources into a self-paced learning system accessible via smartphone or computer.

Whether someone has only an hour a week or prefers to study every day, Boyd says the program is built to accommodate any schedule. Thanks to its asynchronous format, the platform empowers users to learn at their own pace and chart a personalized journey toward financial confidence and security.

The REIT Accelerator: Simplifying Real Estate Investing

One of Empify’s flagship programs is the REIT Accelerator, specifically designed to break down the complexities of real estate investment. This five-step course walks participants through the fundamentals, helping them understand how REITs work and why they’re an attractive starting point for new investors.

As Boyd explains, REITs focus on income-generating real estate, giving investors the opportunity to participate in the commercial real estate market without the responsibilities of direct ownership. Most people grasp the basics of real estate and are familiar with the concept of paying rent, he says.

“With REITs, investors get the beauty of owning real estate without the headaches that typically come with it,” he adds.

Boyd says for many people, real estate feels tangible and relatable, which reduces the anxiety often associated with stock market investing. While REITs are also stocks, there’s a unique appeal in realizing that a REIT might own the shopping center or self-storage unit you visit regularly, Boyd notes.

“You know this isn’t going to up and vanish tomorrow. Knowing that these companies own tangible properties—places you can see and touch—creates a sense of security,” he continues. “That psychological connection plays a significant role in why many people are drawn to investing in real estate.”

The REIT Investing Accelerator leverages this sense of familiarity, teaching individuals the basics of REITs, the risks and rewards, and the strategies to build diversified portfolios and passive income. The program has 1,900 graduates, with an average participant investing approximately $400 during the course, which Boyd says measures the program’s immediate impact.

“That proves to us that our education is giving them the confidence to make informed investment decisions,” Boyd says. “They’re eager to take advantage of the knowledge they’ve gained.”

Strength in Community: The Empify Foundation

Fox and Boyd also created the Empify Foundation, a nonprofit arm dedicated to teaching students and individuals from every walk of life.

"Our goal has always been to share the knowledge we gained through our college education and our financial careers to help others transform their financial habits and empower them to make informed, confident decisions,” Boyd explains.

By partnering with organizations and companies that have the same goals, including the Nareit Foundation and REITs, the Empify Foundation helps reach more individuals and ensures that support goes to those who need it most.

“We wanted to create an environment that was supportive of financial learning, knowing that in many families and educational systems, personal finance isn’t a topic discussed,” Boyd says.

Ayris T. Scales, Nareit's senior vice president of social responsibility & global initiatives, agrees, saying, “Far too few people are having regular, informed conversations about the importance of investing, saving, and long-term financial planning. That’s why this collaboration matters.”

“Through financial education, wraparound services, and culturally relevant engagement, Empify is removing barriers to entry and dismantling the myths and fears that often come with financial decision-making,” Scales adds. “This is about access. This is about understanding. And ultimately, this is about building a more inclusive and prosperous future.”

Expanding Opportunity: Investing in the Next Generation

The Empify Foundation’s partnership with the Nareit Foundation focuses on the Student REIT Investment Accelerator program and introducing REIT investing and career opportunities to college students, focusing on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to reach and empower a wider range of future investors and professionals.

The Empify Foundation will hold a kick-off event for the Student REIT Investment Accelerator program during the week of Nov. 17, which will be open to students from Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College.

Of those attending, 100 students will be selected to receive complimentary access to Empify’s full five-step program through a simple application process.

“We saw the Nareit grant as a chance to ensure college students gain essential financial knowledge before entering the workforce,” Boyd says. “Our goal is not only to introduce them to REIT investment options but also to highlight the career opportunities these companies offer.”

By equipping students with essential knowledge and opening doors to new career paths, Empify is making wealth more accessible and helping create a new generation of students and young professionals that understand the fundamentals of REIT investing and the professional opportunities that REITs offer. A broader range of experiences and perspectives will drive innovation and better serve all communities, Boyd points out.

“We recognize blind spots exist, so it’s vital that people from all walks of life have the opportunity to learn about REITs and contribute fresh ideas to push the REIT industry forward,” Boyd adds. “Understanding different communities and their values helps us create real estate solutions that serve everyone.”