How Social Enterprise Cultivates Our Mission
At Tapestry Farms, we embrace a social enterprise model that combines the principles of social entrepreneurship with direct service to refugees in the Quad Cities. This approach allows us to not only provide essential support to families resettling in our community, but also to build a sustainable, community-driven organization that reinvests in both people and the land.
What Is a Social Enterprise?
In a nutshell, a social enterprise is an organization that uses business strategies to achieve social goals. In our case, we use sustainable farming, job creation, and food security initiatives to drive economic self-sufficiency for refugees while generating income that directly funds our programs. We are still a nonprofit that pursues donations and grants, but our enterprise allows us to develop revenue streams that reduce our dependence on outside funding. We believe that in the longterm, this will help Tapestry Farms to be more resilient and sustainable.
How Our Model Works
Our social enterprise centers on agriculture. We grow food—through our urban farm system and hydroponics container —that is sold to consumers, businesses, and organizations. For instance, Nest Cafe buys our produce to serve their customers, as does the Genesis FoodPlex. We sell produce at the Quad Cities Farmers’ Market from April thru October and will launch a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) monthly subscription program this January to generate income through the winter months.
Our profits go right back into our work of supporting refugee families and providing essential services like housing, education, transportation, and basic needs. This blend of business and service creates a self-sustaining loop: the revenue generated through our farm system funds critical services, all the while we hire refugees to do this work.
Strategic Sustainability
Our focus on business and client services is strategic because it allows us to address multiple challenges facing refugee families. Through employment in our farm system, refugee workers earn a fair wage and are able to use skills developed in their country of origin. Currently we have the honor of employing five women at Tapestry Farms — four from Syria and one from Burundi. At the same time, the food we grow directly benefits families facing food insecurity in our community.
We also take pride in the fact that our model is environmentally sustainable. By growing food using regenerative practices, we reduce the carbon footprint of food production while enriching the local ecosystem. Refugees often come from agrarian backgrounds, so connecting them with this work allows them to use familiar skills in a new context, reinforcing their connection to the land and the community.
A Holistic Approach
Ultimately, we believe that entrepreneurship paired with direct client service is not just a temporary solution but a long-term strategy. We believe this model allows us to build a stronger, more inclusive community that works for everyone.
Social enterprise is becoming increasingly popular as a way to address social challenges while building a sustainable business. Organizations are recognizing the power of combining purpose with profitability and are creating lasting impact in their communities, and consumers are seeking out products aimed at increasing social good. We’re proud to be early adopters of this approach.
Recently, executive director Ann McGlynn was invited to sit down with other leaders in social enterprise from the Quad Cities to discuss the Tapestry Farms’ model. Below you can view part of the conversation. The entire documentary, produced by Argrow’s House of Healing and Hope and titled Quad Cities Social Innovation Hub Documentary: Stories of Hope and Transformation, will be screened on November 13th at the Putnam Museum.