AREAS OF EXPERTISE
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Fundraising Coaching and Planning
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Board Training and Capacity Building
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Program Design and Evaluation
WORKING IN THE LINEAGE OF
Hands down my professional and spiritual guide is Father Greg Boyle, Founder and Executive Director of Homeboy Industries, the largest and most impactful gang intervention organization in the world, situated in LA, the gang capital. I first learned about Homeboy by reading Tattoos on the Heart and visited Homeboy in 2014. At the core of this organization is the idea that we are all, no matter what we have done, loved. Right now, in this moment, we are, what the homies call, “firme,” which means: You could not be one bit more perfect. And Homeboy demonstrates in action, not just word, how full our lives could be if we could find the joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally. Father Greg has taught me that it is possible to take an ideal and design an organization and a culture around it, and that idea can be manifest everyday in a nonprofit. And, further, this idea, made manifest, is transformational...and it can be sustained in an organization...and we are all craving this in our lives and in our economics.
The legacy I am striving for is this: That we, especially those on the margins, ‘discover our own unshakeable goodness,’ and experience transformational healing. This in turn, creates a society where every person knows themself as beloved.
STEPH FRANCES
Founder and Executive Director
Prodigy Ventures
Steph is the Founder and Executive Director of Prodigy Ventures, a network of high-standards social enterprises offering apprenticeships to young adults from Denver disconnected from traditional school and work structures.
As a fundraiser, Steph was trained by Seed Founder, Dan Reed, in the start-up phase of Prodigy. Prior to studying with Seed, she had never previously raised a dollar, written a grant or led an organization. In six years, Prodigy has grown into a social enterprise leader, a Global Homeboy Network trainer, a consultant to clients across the country, and into a $3M organization. Prodigy was awarded the 2021 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award, for organizations leading the charge to address tough issues related to economic mobility. In 2022, Steph led the organization in an Expansion Campaign to open a $2.5M second location, fully funded, allowing Prodigy to double the number of participants and deepen impact in a new community while increasing internal revenue.
Prior to founding Prodigy, Steph worked for ten years in youth career development. She holds a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Regis University, is an altMBA graduate, a Denver Business Journal Outstanding Women in Business finalist, and a CASA volunteer. As a 2020 Livingston Fellow she is dedicated to exploring and understanding her role as a privileged leader in building more equitable work and learning spaces.
APPROACH TO FACILITATION AND COACHING
Cultivation of the inherent greatness in every person, especially those marginalized by inequitable systems.
I carry myself as a misfit, but strive for excellence. You may see me as an unlikely professional, and therefore am consistently underestimated. But, I love operating in this space; it is similar to the way many apprentices at Prodigy walk in this world. My authenticity as a leader is refreshing for many, and allows me to connect with people; My leadership is an outgrowth of an insatiable desire to cultivate the inherent greatness in others. From this desire, I first inhabit a fierce self-accountability and integrity. And, I am wired for relationships of mutuality, where no matter who you are or what title you do or don’t have, we both matter, equally. And I connect best with people as we work together with a common purpose. I do every task at every level of Prodigy, in mutuality with apprentices, Board and leadership staff alike, and often volunteer to take the hardest of tasks. I believe this is where transformational relationships experience the oxygen to grow and thrive, and where unspoken leadership values are both learned and taught. I’m inspired by Rabbi’s Heschel’s description of his role as he marched in Selma alongside Dr. King, Jr, “I prayed with my feet.”
RECENT WORK
