Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia P. Davis.
Hi Cynthia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was born to do what I am doing at this moment in time. I grew up with a mother that was very involved in volunteerism, specifically at Herbert Hoover Boys Club and the Urban League Outreach Center. My family was very active in church and the ministries of the church. So, helping people comes naturally to me. It’s my happy place.
My journey was unconventional. I did not attend college traditionally. I earned each of my degrees by attending school in the evening while married with a family and a full-time job. I initially went to school to be an Accountant, which is how I started my career in Corporate Accounting. I ended up in the world of nonprofits and grants unintentionally. I was applying for jobs, and Washington University hired me as a Grant Accountant to do the financial reports for all of the grants they received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). I loved it and continued my career in grant accounting and grants management.
In September 2002, I began my 15-year tenure with Missouri Foundation for Health. After leaving, I was reorganized from the next two companies I worked with. Fast forwarding to March 2020, COVID hit, and the world shuts down. In November 2020, I suffered a bad case of COVID, and when it was time to go back into an office physically, I became anxious and began to think of a way to work remotely and for myself. That, in turn, led to the formation of my company, CP Davis Consulting, LLC,
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
I have had a great career and was blessed to work at some wonderful companies with some wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful) leaders. As a young black woman working in corporate accounting, I was often the only person of color and the only woman in my department. As you can imagine, I experienced my share of racism and sexism. I often “joked” that companies could check all of their Equal Opportunity Employer boxes by hiring me. I jumped at every opportunity I had to learn more and advance my skills, job title, and salary. As I advanced in my career, shifted to nonprofit work, and entered the world of grants and philanthropy, I was encouraged to be all I could be and climb the proverbial ladder. It was a smooth road until it wasn’t.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
CP Davis Consulting serves nonprofit organizations by assisting them in building their organizational and programmatic capacity and financial resources so they can be competitively excellent in the business world. I do this strategically through strategic planning, leadership and board development, training, grant prospecting, grant writing, grant management, evaluation, data analysis, and program design.
I am also a speaker, facilitator, workshop presenter, trainer, and adjunct professor. I am one of the Facilitators in the STEM Saturday Program for Black Girls Do STEM and a Facilitator in the Minority Entrepreneurship Collaborative Center for Advancement (MECCA) Entrepreneurship Accelerator. I serve on the board of directors for The Milk Bank. I have over 25 years of experience working with private, federal, state, philanthropic, and nonprofit organizations of all sizes and in many sectors. I am a strategic and visionary thinker. I pride myself on resolving conflict through organizational development with experience, expertise, and excellence. What sets me apart from other grant consultants and writers is that I have been on both sides. I have been a private and federal grant reviewer, a program officer for a funder, and a grantee seeking funding. That has given me insight into what funders are and are not seeking in grant proposals and applications.
I am proud to say that when I started my business and began reaching out to some of my past grantees, partners, and contacts, they welcomed me in my new role as a business owner and consultant. Having former colleagues refer people to me has been an absolute joy. I do not take that for granted. People do not have to be nice to me and put their reputation on the line by referring their friends and colleagues to me. I want people to know about my brand and my business because I enter into contracts and am very intentional about building and nurturing a relationship with my client. I want them to know they can depend on me to handle business and encourage them along the way.
Please talk to us about happiness and what makes you happy.
That’s a loaded question! Happiness is a state of mind. Of course, my family, husband, grandchildren, friends, and my puppy make me happy, but ultimately, the thing that makes me happy is knowing I have made someone else happy and lessened a burden on their mind or helped them solve a problem. I am a “fixer.” I believe God has ordained us to spread love and joy to everyone we can.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cpdavisconsulting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cpdavisconsulting
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/cpdavisconsulting
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/cpdavisconsulting
- Other: https://calendly.com/cpdconsulting
