Martina Edwards has been elected to one of three open seats on the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) 2023 Board of Directors. Edwards is the Chief of Strategic Partnerships at ACE | Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, a 23-year-old mission-based loan fund that happens to be the largest small business only focused CDFI in the state, covering metro and rural Georgia.
OFN’s Board of Directors are CDFI leaders committed to finance justice. The OFN members elected new board members at their annual OFN conference in Washington, D.C. held October 15th-18th, 2023.
“I’m humbled and very excited by this opportunity to serve as a force for good to advance the work of CDFIs across the nation,” Edwards said. “I hold deep admiration for our sector and the institution that OFN has built. It’s also an honor and a privilege to be counted among this very worthy slate of peers.”
In her role at ACE, Edwards is responsible for fundraising, developing, and managing strategic partnerships, which supports their mission of providing access to capital, combined with coaching and connections for underserved entrepreneurs. She successfully raised over $55 million in grants during her 4.5 years with ACE, which contributed to supporting its growth from $40 million in total assets to over $100 million and deepening their portfolio of investors and partners to undergird that expansion.
Edwards’ campaign strategy was a clever appeal to OFN voters as an Agent of Change in the fictional animated Finance Justice League, sharing her superpowers and what drives her. “At ACE, I get to start my day knowing that I am creating a ripple effect,” Edwards said,” providing collective prosperity for business owners, their staff, families, and communities by democratizing access to capital and expanding opportunities.”
Also joining the OFN Board of Directors are new members Ted Piccolo, who is a board member of the ATNI-EDC, and returning board member Aisha Benson, president and CEO, Nonprofit Finance Fund. Learn about all of the OFN Board members HERE.
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