Photo courtesy of Nancy Dunham
Updated May 21, 2:48 p.m.
An earlier version of this article inaccurately listed the boards and committees Dunham serves on; we’ve updated the article to reflect this, and include the correct information.
The Gabber Newspaper regrets the error.
There’s a problem solver in St. Petersburg and Gulfport, and her name is Nancy Dunham. But most people know her as Fancy Nancy.
It is the kind of name people say like they already trust her. Need a document notarized? See Fancy Nancy. Need fingerprints? Go to Fancy Nancy. Need to bail someone out of jail? Fancy Nancy can help you with that.
She is a natural problem solver and she’s been that way since she was 12 years old.
Dunham has more than 7,600 followers on Facebook. But she doesn’t do it for the likes. She posts helpful information and resources because she knows they help people. And that is her only goal.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Dunham
A Name People Trust
Dunham posts resources every day. Food distributions. Job opportunities. Community events. Programs that might help someone who needs a hand but prefers privacy.
At first, she was unsure if her research and posting of resources was worth the effort. She wondered if anyone was reading the posts or, more importantly, utilizing the services she was promoting.
Then she switched her Facebook account to professional mode and saw the numbers. Thousands of people were watching, clicking, and using the information.
“I want them to be able to get whatever service they need and keep their dignity,” Dunham said. “I don’t need to know that you’re watching. I just need you to get what you need.”
That is one of the clearest things about Dunham. She is seen, but she does not chase visibility. People listen, but she does not shout. She has influence, but she does not seem impressed by it.
Along with Nancy “Fancy Nancy” Dunham’s story, read more from our series, “Women to Watch.”
Photo courtesy of Nancy Dunham
More Than One Job
She owns Fancy Nancy Bail Bonds and Professional Services. She works as a notary, process server, fingerprinting provider, and loan document preparer. She also serves as the co-founder and president of Fusion 49, a business district connecting St. Petersburg and Gulfport neighborhoods along 49th Street South.
In addition, Dunham serves on several boards and committees, including the Pinellas County Urban League YCPIP Youth Crime Prevention Intervention Program advisory board. She also serves as an Entrepreneurs Navigator with the Pinellas County Urban League Next Level Urban Alliance, and is part of the NAACP Criminal Justice Committee. Additionally, she works as a community advocate with countless community service hours.
Dunham has built a life in spaces where people can easily feel lost, intimidated, or taken advantage of: legal paperwork, court processes, background checks, bail, business organizing, and public meetings.
She learned early that the best way to navigate difficult systems is to understand them. That is why she shares information so freely.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Dunham
Where It Started
Dunham traces much of her path back to her grandparents who raised her.
Because her grandmother had only a third-grade education, Dunham helped her review and understand documents. Over time, other people started coming to her, too. Elders asked her to read papers, explain forms, and help them understand what they were signing.
She did not just skim paperwork or read documents to people who could not read. She researched, verified, and ensured she understood before telling anyone else what to do.
That habit eventually became a business.
Today, Fancy Nancy Professional Services offers notary work, process serving, Level 2 fingerprinting, background checks, loan document preparation, and mobile services. Dunham said the business also has contracts with Pinellas County Schools and works with daycares, banks, and residents across the area.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Dunham
Bail Bonds as Service Work
Dunham did not immediately feel comfortable entering the bail bonds business.
The idea of making money when people were in trouble really bothered her. Then someone helped her see it differently: People were going to jail whether she entered the business or not. But Nancy could provide something many others could not: information and assistance with the bail and court process.
That realization changed everything. Bail bonds became another way to serve the community during difficult times.
Fancy Nancy approaches bail bonds differently. She said people in crisis deserve clear information, not confusion or pressure. That is why she helps clients understand the process, get home, and avoid companies that may overcharge them.
“A bondsman cannot charge you more than 10%,” she said, referencing Florida law. “This is the statute. This is your protection.”
Dunham said people facing the bail system often feel scared and overwhelmed. Because of that, they may not know what they are signing or what a bondsman can legally charge. Her clients learn the process, payment structure, and legal limits before making decisions.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Dunham
The Protector
Dunham does not think of herself as powerful. Other people do that for her. In fact, Gulfport Mayor Karen Love suggested The Gabber Newspaper interview Dunham and called her a powerhouse.
Dunham said people often tell her the energy changes when she walks into a room. She does not see it that way. To her, she is just showing up.
That presence did not begin in a business meeting. It began when she was a child.
By middle school, Dunham said, she was already stepping in for people who did not have the voice or confidence to defend themselves.
“I became a protector of other people that didn’t have their voice,” she said.
One memory still stands out. When adults came to her grandmother’s house and disrespected her, Dunham stood at the door and refused to let them in if they planned to yell. She was only 12.
“If you touch her, you gotta touch me,” Dunham said, remembering the mindset she carried then.
Her grandfather helped shape that part of her. He taught her not to freeze in the face of conflict.
“Either I’m gonna win or I’m gonna lose,” Dunham said. “So what you waiting on?”
That lesson followed her into adulthood. It helped her move through male-dominated industries. It also helped her speak directly to people with more money, more titles, or more formal authority who may try to intimidate her.
But intimidation does not work on Fancy Nancy.
Dunham does not pretend she never gets scared. She just does not let fear run the room.
Breaking Stereotypes
Part of what makes Dunham’s story stand out is how unaffected she seems by praise.
She opened her first business at 21. She became the first college graduate in her family and built businesses without inherited wealth or a ready-made path. She moved into legal-adjacent fields that can be hard to enter and navigate for a woman, especially a Black woman.
And she did it while raising children as a single mother.
Dunham has two children, a son and a daughter, and four grandchildren. Her daughter is now in law school, something Dunham once wanted for herself.
It has always been her dream to become an attorney, but law school was too expensive. Her family had to make careful choices, and money had to go toward keeping the household stable.
So Dunham built the closest version of that dream she could reach.
The person people call before they understand the system. The person who reads the paperwork, explains the statute, points out the risk, and tells people not to let anyone take advantage of them.
Her story pushes against the narrow expectations people often place on Black women, single mothers, or people who did not grow up with money.
Dunham does not argue with those stereotypes. But, she does outwork them.
Photo courtesy of Nancy Dunham
Titles and Accolades Mean Nothing
Although Dunham holds many titles, they mean nothing to her. While she appreciates the awards and public recognition, they do not fuel her.
Still, the recognition has followed her. Dunham has received commendations and proclamations from St. Petersburg. She also received a congressional recognition award from U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor for her hurricane recovery work and the Pinellas County Urban League Unsung Heroes Award.
Her influence is not blatant. She does not have buildings named after her. She does not write posts about how many people she has helped or post pictures of people she has fed or clothed. It’s important to her that people keep their dignity while getting the support and services they need.
Proof of her efforts shows up in smaller ways: someone finding a job because of a link she posted, a family understanding a legal process more clearly, or people defending her in a Facebook thread before she even sees it.
When people ask Dunham what they should do with their lives, she does not give a complicated answer.
“Do what you love, not what someone influences you to do,” she said.
That advice fits her.
Her work crosses several industries, but the goal stays the same: teach people how the system works so they can protect themselves and take control of their lives.
Fancy Nancy may not need the spotlight. But with all she does, the spotlight finds her anyway.
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