AmeriCorps Member Makes Everything Add Up

After nearly 30 years in corporate banking, Reyna Symonds had her fill of navigating complex tax law and was eager for a fresh start. Symonds had seen many changes over her long career and the demands of the job had grown. She worked in a department that had downsized from 17 to 6 people, while the workload was expanding exponentially. When it appeared that one of her colleagues was forced out because she was older, Symonds thought it might be time for her to go too. And then the pandemic hit.  

“I still wanted to work, but I really wanted it to mean something,” said Symonds. “I felt unloved and unappreciated where I was. I was just an employee number. But I was at a position in my life where working for a non-profit was an option, and I thought maybe I could do something that would make a difference. I wanted to give back to the community.” 

AmeriCorps member Reyna Symonds (left) with Ron Crosson, Executive Director of Urban Ventures, Marlin Rosales from Urban Ventures and Dola Adesina (seated), an Urban Ventures client.

Symonds signed on to be a LISC AmeriCorps member, a national service program made possible by funding from AmeriCorps, formerly the Corporation for National and Community Service, created to inspire connections and strengthen communities. The service program was made into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993 when he signed the National and Community Service Trust Act. Since the beginning of the program, AmeriCorps has engaged more than 5 million Americans in service through a variety of community programs. LISC has partnered with the agency for nearly three decades as a grantee to manage the initiative and coordinate the program for as many as 250 members each year. To date, LISC AmeriCorps has placed more than 3,400 full- and half-time members in more than 102 cities across the country.      

“I am just now wrapping up my first term and excited to sign on for another 10 months,” said Symonds. Reyna’s first term as an AmeriCorps member was spent working with LISC Rhode Island’s collaborative of non-profit Business Development Organizations (BDO) as a financial counselor supporting budding entrepreneurs and clients who needed assistance with their personal finances. Reyna worked with BDO clients to build their financial literacy so that they could effectively manage their finances and keep business and personal matters separate. 

During the early days of the pandemic, across LISC’s national footprint, LISC program officers worked quickly to support entrepreneurs and small business owners to access resources they needed to navigate the challenge. LISC Rhode Island targeted cash grants, PPE loans, COVID relief funding and micro loans to small businesses in underserved communities. The natural consequence of that effort resulted in LISC creating a national network of Business Development Organizations that focused on Black, Brown, Asian and Indigenous entrepreneurs. The intention was to provide a networking mechanism to share best practices, resources and find answers to questions about access to capital and financial management. Rather than identifying just one organization in Rhode Island to connect into this network, LISC began working with several local entities including the Multicultural Innovation Center, the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Urban Ventures. Symonds, hosted by Urban Ventures, has been providing financial services to entrepreneurial clients of all three organizations. 

“We can achieve more by speaking as one voice than if we are all working away on our own,” said Ron Crosson, Executive Director of Urban Ventures, a microbusiness incubator located in Providence’s lower south side. “Walking together with other BDOs in this mission will allow us to succeed for our clients.” 

It’s a relationship that has benefited all three of the BDOs leadership, as well as Symonds, and it's clear that there is significant demand for Reyna’s services. There is a great appetite among the BIPOC community to become entrepreneurs and start their own business, and Symonds is helping to show them the way.

“This has been a very satisfying experience for me,” says Symonds. “The ability to share the knowledge that I have in a way that helps them to be successful is extremely gratifying.” 

Symonds provides counseling on financial literacy, financial reporting and tax preparation. 

“What I’m finding is that there’s a lot of these clients who have very little experience with finance and while they might be eager to start up a new business venture, some of the more difficult tax terms are new to them. Sometimes clients need this information explained a few times so that it can build on their knowledge. I’m able to take the time and lead them through the process,” said Symonds.

Advice on building credit through a business account rather than a personal account, or explaining the difference between an LLC and an S corporation, takes patience from everyone, but it’s not always available when it’s needed.

“Just having the patience to explain these nuances is important so that clients will be compliant,” said Symonds. “I take my time to ensure that everything is clear. My purpose is to help them understand and grow so they can succeed in building their company in the long term. And to see them succeed over the long term has massive implications for them, their families, and their community.”

Symonds is already seeing the impact of her work. “The ability to give them the knowledge they need to be successful is very gratifying,” she said. 

“I helped one woman prepare their financial statements so that they could get a loan. I took the time and walked the client through the whole process, and she was then able to close her loan. And now every time I see that client, she gives me a warm smile and thanks me. That’s why I’m doing this: when I see clients experience the success they’ve been working so hard to attain, I know that my work has made a difference.”

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