Thistle Farms, Inc.
Programs
Budget
$2,839,129.00
Description
Soon after Thistle Farms' residential program began, it became clear that survivors needed support to heal economically as well as for their physical healing. In 2001, residents and volunteers began pouring candles in a church basement, creating Thistle Farms' first social enterprise. Now known as Thistle Farms Body & Home, our flagship social enterprise employs 31 survivors and earned over $2.4 million in sales last fiscal year. Body & Home products are made by hand by survivors, and use natural ingredients that are as healing for the earth as they are for the body. Body & Home products are sold direct to customers across the nation as well as to hundreds of wholesale retailers.
Category
Employment - Job Training & Employment
Beneficiaries
Women and girls
People with substance use disorder
Victims
Program Areas Served
None
$2,839,129.00
Description
Soon after Thistle Farms' residential program began, it became clear that survivors needed support to heal economically as well as for their physical healing. In 2001, residents and volunteers began pouring candles in a church basement, creating Thistle Farms' first social enterprise. Now known as Thistle Farms Body & Home, our flagship social enterprise employs 31 survivors and earned over $2.4 million in sales last fiscal year. Body & Home products are made by hand by survivors, and use natural ingredients that are as healing for the earth as they are for the body. Body & Home products are sold direct to customers across the nation as well as to hundreds of wholesale retailers.
Category
Employment - Job Training & Employment
Beneficiaries
Women and girls
People with substance use disorder
Victims
Program Areas Served
None
Budget
$1,105,209.00
Description
The Cafe at Thistle Farms is a local cafe built by the community, for the community. Thistle Farms opened the Cafe in 2013, creating a home to anyone who walks through the doors, whether for a cup of coffee or to join a movement. The Cafe features a wide variety of breakfast and lunch foods as well as specialty drinks. At the Cafe, residents and graduates learn culinary skills and gain experience in customer service that are applicable to a wide variety of jobs outside of Thistle Farms.
Program Areas Served
None
$1,105,209.00
Description
The Cafe at Thistle Farms is a local cafe built by the community, for the community. Thistle Farms opened the Cafe in 2013, creating a home to anyone who walks through the doors, whether for a cup of coffee or to join a movement. The Cafe features a wide variety of breakfast and lunch foods as well as specialty drinks. At the Cafe, residents and graduates learn culinary skills and gain experience in customer service that are applicable to a wide variety of jobs outside of Thistle Farms.
Program Areas Served
None
Budget
$248,001.00
Description
In 2009, Thistle Farms began its National Education & Outreach Initiative to meet demand from organizations around the nation hoping to replicate Thistle Farms' best practice model. The Initiative now offers free consultation and comprehensive education workshops to individuals and organizations who contact and/or visit Thistle Farms. To date, Thistle Farms has welcomed 2,500+ individuals from 40 different states through either workshops or national conferences. There are currently 43 organizations with open homes modeled after Thistle Farms that can house over 300 survivors across the nation.
Program Areas Served
None
$248,001.00
Description
In 2009, Thistle Farms began its National Education & Outreach Initiative to meet demand from organizations around the nation hoping to replicate Thistle Farms' best practice model. The Initiative now offers free consultation and comprehensive education workshops to individuals and organizations who contact and/or visit Thistle Farms. To date, Thistle Farms has welcomed 2,500+ individuals from 40 different states through either workshops or national conferences. There are currently 43 organizations with open homes modeled after Thistle Farms that can house over 300 survivors across the nation.
Program Areas Served
None
Budget
$1,015,891.00
Description
Thistle Farms' holistic recovery program offers survivors housing, individual case management, mental and physical healthcare, education, transportation, job skills training, and employment for two full years-all free of charge. Thistle Farms owns five homes that together house up to 28 women. Each home operates without 24 hour live-in staff, and relies on residents to create a supportive community, maintain recovery, and share household tasks. While in the program, Thistle Farms matches $1 for $1 any savings residents accumulate while employed up to $1,200. The residential program has proven successful, as follow up with survivors 5 years after graduation found that 75% continue to live healthy, financially independent lives. The continued need for our residential program is clear as our waiting list - capped at 100 women - is consistently full.
Program Areas Served
None
$1,015,891.00
Description
Thistle Farms' holistic recovery program offers survivors housing, individual case management, mental and physical healthcare, education, transportation, job skills training, and employment for two full years-all free of charge. Thistle Farms owns five homes that together house up to 28 women. Each home operates without 24 hour live-in staff, and relies on residents to create a supportive community, maintain recovery, and share household tasks. While in the program, Thistle Farms matches $1 for $1 any savings residents accumulate while employed up to $1,200. The residential program has proven successful, as follow up with survivors 5 years after graduation found that 75% continue to live healthy, financially independent lives. The continued need for our residential program is clear as our waiting list - capped at 100 women - is consistently full.
Program Areas Served
None
Budget
$572,209.00
Description
Thistle Farms Global was created to support women survivors of addiction, trafficking, violence, and poverty around the world through a Shared Trade marketplace. Shared Trade increases the share of profit margins for women in a variety of trades, offering women a space to experience economic opportunity and healing community. As Thistle Farms' founder Becca Stevens says, "We are acting globally so women experience freedom locally."
Program Areas Served
None
$572,209.00
Description
Thistle Farms Global was created to support women survivors of addiction, trafficking, violence, and poverty around the world through a Shared Trade marketplace. Shared Trade increases the share of profit margins for women in a variety of trades, offering women a space to experience economic opportunity and healing community. As Thistle Farms' founder Becca Stevens says, "We are acting globally so women experience freedom locally."
Program Areas Served
None
CEO/Executive Director/Board Comments
| This is an incredibly exciting time to be a Thistle Farmer. What started in 2001 with a powerful vision and a pot of melted candle wax has grown into one of the nation's premier social enterprises with over 30,000 customers in 50 states and 6 countries. Over the past four years, revenue generated from Thistle Farms social enterprises revenue has grown more than 140%, and in 2017, we passed the $2,000,000 mark in sales. Every sale made represents a job opportunity for another survivor. In the past year, Thistle Farms has distributed over $1,150,000 in wages to residents and graduates of our program. In our model, the road to permanent recovery for women begins with a key to a beautiful, safe home, a renewed sense of community, physical and mental health, and the opportunity to work towards economic independence. With a waiting list of more than 100 women seeking hope in our program, we will work diligently during the upcoming year to expand the number of beds we offer. We are also committed to investing the resources necessary for our social enterprises to grow. After many renovations, Thistle Farms now has a full-service kitchen for our cafe as well as a manufacturing facility that gives us twice the amount of space to hire more residents and produce/ship more products. |
