Making Money While Making Change with Quilen and Hannah Blackwell

Nonprofit Nation with Julia Campbell

Financial sustainability is crucial, but social impact is the heart of nonprofits. With the social enterprise model, how can we ensure that our organization prioritizes its social mission while maintaining a viable business?

My guests today are Quilen and Hannah Blackwell, the co-founders of Southside Blooms, an off-grid flower farm youth social enterprise where participants convert vacant lots into commercial flower farms using solar powered rainwater irrigation. This creates jobs for young people on the south and west sides of Chicago.

Hannah and Quilen were married in 2015, and immediately set up the Chicago Eco House, a rehabbed two flat greystone property in the heart of Englewood and got to work getting to know the community. Soon they were farming several vacant lots close to their house, constantly researching what would fulfill their mission of using sustainability to alleviate poverty. It became clear that flowers would be the avenue to do this and Southside Blooms was born.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Southside Blooms empowers at-risk youth through urban flower farming.
• The benefits of the social enterprise model for long-term financial sustainability in nonprofits.
• Balancing earned income with maintaining a charitable mission.
• Real-life examples of how Southside Blooms has transformed lives.

This episode is sponsored by RSVPify. At RSVPify, you can host ticketed events for free - no subscription required. Host any free event with a monthly or annual subscription. Use the code NONPROFITNATION50 at checkout for an 50% off any annual subscription (discount applied for first year only) - or 50% off any monthly subscription for three months (billed at full rate subsequently).
Guest Bios: Quilen and Hannah Blackwell are the co-founders of Southside Blooms, an off-grid flower farm youth social enterprise where participants convert vacant lots into commercial flower farms using solar powered rainwater irrigation. This creates jobs for young people on the south and west sides of Chicago.
Check out Southside Blooms

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