Demeter Project Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of First Venture in Social Enterprise
Alternative business model builds culture of respect and ethics while providing living wages, health benefits and revenue resources for non-profit organizations.
Dallas (PRWEB) November 16, 2009
On November 16, 2008, Demeter Project opened the doors to It's A Grind Dallas Coffee Shop. But beyond just bringing industry to North Texas' Deep Ellum neighborhood, the coffee shop marked the first venture for Demeter Project, an experiment in business that is reinventing the American workplace by creating companies that pay a living wage, provide reliable full-time hours and full health benefits, and deliver a culture where respect and ethics are key words. The model also allows for this "more-than-profit" business to serve as an alternative revenue source for non-profit organizations making them less reliant on donor-related funding.
"Demeter Project is a process of doing business - not a product," says Cannon Flowers who co-founded the organization with Serena Simmons Connelly. "We wanted to create a workplace that balanced business with compassion and that could be replicated not just in the service industry but across all sectors."
The name Demeter Project comes from the goddess of fertility who taught mankind to sow and plow the fields. According to Flowers, in just one-year's time Demeter Project has realized sales growth of more than 116 percent and has successfully employed 13 partners with living wages, health care coverage, and other benefits that have, in turn, created a positive impact on their lives.
The organization has also served as a convener of major local community initiatives by establishing strong relationships with organizations including the Deep Ellum mural project and the Deep Ellum enrichment project, Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, Grace Unlimited, Soupmobile, New Friends New Life, Maggie's House, Women's Peacemakers Conference, Operation Kindness, Earth Day festival, Wilkinson Center, KERA (NPR), Harold Simmons Foundation, Dallas Social Venture Partners, North Texas GLBT Chamber and others. Working in tandem with these organizations, Demeter Project has been able to provide everything from employment opportunities to a place for community groups to gather.
During it's first year, Demeter Project has also been recognized by media outlets such as WFAA-TV's Good Morning Texas and as one of the Dallas Observer's 2009 "Best of Dallas".
Demeter Project has also made its mark in the education and business communities. To do this, it has partnered with several universities to re-examine the role of business organizations within the community and to promote the teaching of socially responsible and ethically driven business practices and social entrepreneurship to a new generation of business leaders.
"By changing the way people think about business, their employees and their community, we're confident that we can reinvent the American workplace," says Serena Simmons Connelly. "This first year has been very empowering, and we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead."
In addition to her work on the Demeter Project, Ms. Connelly has worked as a social worker and as Vice President of a family foundation. She has served on the boards of the Dallas Women's Foundation, the Dallas Zoological Society, the Foundation for the Education of Young Women and Harvard's Women Waging Peace. She is committed to empowering marginalized segments in the community.
Prior to co-founding the Demeter Project, Mr. Flowers worked for more than 23 years as an International Finance controller for Texas Instruments. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Human Rights Initiative, which assists political asylum seekers, immigrant women who have experienced domestic violence and human trafficking victims in the North Texas area. Mr. Flowers is known for applying the "for-profit" business model to Care Based Organizations, with management through performance metrics.
Additional information about can be found online at www. demeterproject. com.
About It's A Grind (A Demeter Project Venture)
It's A Grind Coffee House Dallas is a venture of Demeter Project, an organization working to reinvent the American workplace by raising the standards of "service jobs" and providing living wages, health benefits for full-time employees and creating alternative revenue resources for non-profit organizations. The store is conveniently located in Deep Ellum at 2901 Indiana Blvd # 2D in Dallas, Texas, along the DART rail system Green Line. Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 6 a. m. to 10 p. m. and Sunday from 6 a. m. to 8 p. m. To learn more about Demeter Project and It's A Grind Dallas visit www. grabyourbeans. com or call (214) 954-7109.
###
