It was nearly three years ago, I heard about this really cool event happening in Detroit called SOUP, a microgranting dinner celebrating creative projects.
The gist is this: people gather for a $5-10 dinner, four people give a four-minute presentation (includes topics like art, urban agriculture, social justice, social entrepreneurs, education, technology), the community votes on which project should win, and the presenter leaves with cash.
SOUP stuck with me from my nonprofit days as I was becoming more involved in businesses and projects with soul, like POP UP YOGA DSM, Urban Ambassadors, and FemCity Des Moines.
I have dozens of conversations with people every week who are passionately sharing with me about the thing they want to create. They are lit up, totally aligned, and then I get jazzed and feel inclined to reach into my modestly funded bank account to help them get started.
Many of us want to help our friends with their innovative, brilliant ideas. We want to see our best friend drive a van around the country and capture people’s stories who are experiencing the beginning stages of dementia. We want our friend’s food truck to become a flower truck that drives around town providing locally grown flowers.
But the reality is, many of us are trying to make ends meet with student loans, mortgages, families, and everything in-between.
I know I’m not alone in this, especially as I meet other young, entrepreneurial souls who also have the reality of childcare expenses and healthcare costs.
We want to make a significant impact, but our financial reality is well… very real.
That’s where Flourish comes in.
Flourish is an event similar to SOUP in that we’re taking over The Hall in Valley Junction on November 12 to give three women business owners the chance to pitch their idea. Not just any idea, an idea that people can get behind.
Think Kickstarter meets Pecha Kucha.
Think community investment.
For the generous souls of this world who want to see people’s dreams become real, our goal is to fill the room with 200 women and men who will pay 15 American dollars and collectively raise around $3000 to give to one incredible human.
FemCity Des Moines is presenting this event because we represent business with soul. We are a strong group of women who are already investing in one another, and now we have a platform to do it even bigger + better.
So we’re doing this thing. It’s real as of today, like right now. As in if you’re a woman business owner you can apply here to pitch your idea (you don’t have to be an official Fem).
If you believe your idea is something people could get behind and $3000 would make an impact, don’t wait! We want to see what you can offer the world through your business. Business can be beautiful.
We hear so many stories about greedy capitalists, but on the opposite side are generous humans who are using business for good.
So if you’re into that, snag a ticket. Like I said. $15 and you can make someone’s dream come true, while enjoying company of friends and a beer.
I’ve held onto this beautiful logo for years, wondering how and when I would use it. And today’s the day we help someone’s business flourish. Together.
This event wouldn’t happen without the army of planners behind it, not including me. So if you meet the fabulous women behind it, thank them. 💕
