Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Franks.
Hi Ashley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
A child born to an immigrant mother and raised by family friends, I couldn’t imagine being where I am today. I didn’t have the same opportunities afforded to me as many children coming from family reared homes–having spent a significant part of my childhood in foster care and traveling between Jamaica and the States to see my mother. I think because I saw firsthand what being institution-reared could do to a child, I locked in on school because, at that time, that felt like the only clear path to freedom and success for me. That outlook took me through college (at the time I was among only 3% of youth in foster care that would graduate) and eventually led me to get two Ivy League master’s degrees. I think what matters more than the physical degrees I got are the connections I would make and the knowledge I would be exposed to in school. It opened up a whole new world for me and made it possible for me to do the great work I do at such a young age (26). I now have the nice apartment, the stability, and the big dog I always wished for!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road wasn’t smooth and I wanted to give up plenty of times. I knew empirically that life wasn’t supposed to be so hard for a child and/or growing adult. But I also knew that if I grinded, it would be hard, and that if I quit, it would still be hard. So I had to choose a hardship–the pain associated with success or the pain associated with giving up. Naturally, one is more worthwhile than the other.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Nonprofit Finance Fund?
I’m a financial strategist and business strategist for social impact businesses. A for-impact business can come to me with any question or problem and my job is to help them connect the dots and find answers. I like to say that my work is strategy work and that we just use finance as a compass. So if an organization wants to expand, grow, shrink, acquire a facility or just think through operational strategy–I help them to figure out the implications of their strategy and we always create a financial plan to support its successful execution. I’m good at what I do because I take a human-first approach to my work. There are humans in front of and behind all businesses and I make sure to connect with those humans before we even get into the weeds of talking about strategy or finance. My clients feel like I really care about them–and I do. That’s what makes our work together so successful.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory is probably visiting Jamaica for the first time. Growing up Black and growing up Caribbean can feel like two different worlds and I remember getting to experience the other side of my identity and it definitely shaped how I saw myself growing up. I got to drink out of a coconut freshly chopped off of a tree, I ate food that grew in my mom’s backyard, and I learned some of our native language. My little heart felt full!
Contact Info:
- Website: ashleyfranks.com
- Instagram: @holoceneashley
