Editor's Note: Below is the second post from the winners of Project Enterprise (scroll down to read the first). Over the next 6 or so months, Alison and Jason of Materials Matter will pull back the curtain on what it takes to run an entrepreneurial project with a humanitarian mission. They will try to post about once a week. If you want them to discuss any particular topic, send an e-mail to ProjectEnterprise@thirteen.org and it will be forwarded to them. Thanks for reading!
By the way, in the fall of 2002, Jason and I started dating and got married in February of 2005. We had our daughter, Alexis, in July of 2006. We have some great days and some not so great days and sometimes the days turn into weeks, but we hope that we've laid a foundation for something great. The next 6 months will be pivotal for us. Again, we're struggling a little with the finances and are looking to expand the ways in which we seek funds. We've more or less survived on our sustainable income models, and due to the market, we need to start looking for grants and donations. So that will be a major focus in the upcoming year. With the right funding, we can look to expand the model and see if we can replicate in other parts of the country.
We hope that there will be opportunities to really reach out to many more nonprofits which in turn will help build more affordable, transitional and emergency housing. We are also looking to expand our programs to reach more low-income families. We hope to have more products suited to helping them have the ability to improve their homes and ultimately their lives.
Thank you for letting us share our story. Thank you for voting. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support. We look forward to the next six months.
Talk to you soon.
Jason and Alison