There’s one student who was aiming to open a retail store and was able to get help finding a physical location. There’s another in the food and beverage business who was able to unearth a pair of additional revenue streams. There’s a third starting her own skin care product line using shea butter from the African nation of Ghana, in the process making a positive impact on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Lowcountry branch of the nonprofit Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) is barely a year old, but it’s already producing success stories in the form of budding business owners in Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton and Hampton counties.
“There are so many, so, so, so many success stories already, and then there are some that are in their prelaunch phase,” said Raquel Padgett, executive director of the Lowcountry branch of EforAll, which is based in Beaufort. “There are some students who have already been in business, and they came into our accelerator to learn how to run their business better. But the success stories are already happening.”
Founded in Massachusetts in 2014, EforAll is a nonprofit that aims to help underrepresented individuals start and cultivate businesses through training, mentorship and support. EforAll expanded into the Lowcountry for the first time in October of 2023, thanks to a $425,000 Catalyst Grant awarded by Coastal Community Foundation, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. Designed to support large-scale projects, the grant will be awarded over five years.
“Coastal Community Foundation dove into it and made sure that we were funded enough to have a good padding over the next few years so that we could grow this program into something that would serve these four counties. Because there was not anything here quite like this,” Padgett said. “Coastal Community Foundation and their contribution set all of this in motion, allowing us to serve this community and produce entrepreneurs who will boost this economy.”
Planning for the future
EforAll fosters entrepreneurship in underserved communities, and through 2023 had helped start over 1,700 businesses nationwide. The Beaufort location held its first pitch contest in March, allowing prospective business owners to gain feedback and compete for cash prizes. On July 9 it started its first business accelerator, comprised of 12 students who were set to graduate from the 12-week program in late October.
The accelerator program includes training on topics like branding, marketing, operations and bookkeeping, Padgett said. Students hear from established business owners and are connected with mentors who they can turn to for advice. Some of those students were able to start their businesses even before the program ended, and the majority of the participants—typically 70 percent of each class—are women.
“It’s a lot of moms and young women planning a future,” Padgett said. “If you look at the demographics of who’s starting businesses right now, women are the core, and that’s reflective in our class. Owning a business can provide you flexibility with your family, and if the business thrives, they thrive. Women do a great job of pouring their soul into it, because it has to work, and it can bring in more income than your day job.”
The donors who helped raise the matching funds were inspired by stories of disproportionate financial impacts on women during the pandemic. “The EforAll Lowcountry programs offer often underrepresented entrepreneur groups access to training, seed capital and mentors to help bring their business ideas to life,” said fundholder Lauren Bazemore. “By supporting families in their pursuit of building their own businesses, we hope to create a positive impact for both the families involved and our community as a whole.”
By being tasked to serve Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton and Hampton counties—areas added to the Coastal Community Foundation footprint 25 years ago—EforAll is also able to attack the lack of opportunity often found in rural areas. Padgett, a native of the Edgefield County town of Johnston who started by forming her own business, is very familiar with that challenge.
“Look at what a lot of these small towns were like 30, 40, 50 years ago. They were thriving towns with great local businesses. We want to bring that back,” she said. “We want to help revitalize these communities in these rural areas, and Hampton, Jasper and Colleton counties are the most rural. So we want to flood those areas with the message of EforAll and what we can do. I’ve gone into those areas and seen the enthusiasm of people who live there. They’re hungry for something.”
‘They want to see us succeed’
The Catalyst Grant awarded to EforAll was a product of the Beaufort Fund—the largest grant-making program within Coastal Community Foundation, awarding over $11 million to nonprofits serving Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties since 1998. The fund was established by the late Alan and Joanne Moses of Dataw Island, although their identities remained anonymous per their wishes until they passed away in 2018 and 2021, respectively.
The Moseses were residents of the metro New York City area who retired to Dataw Island and were committed to using their wealth to support meaningful causes. Grant-funded programs like EforAll continue that legacy by providing entrepreneurial opportunities to those who might not find them otherwise.
“What I love about Coastal Community Foundation is, they are hands-on. They are so helpful. I know they want to see us succeed,” Padgett said. “We’re being good stewards of their funds, making sure our program is the best of what can be offered here, because the community desperately needs it.”
Every retailer, restauranteur or small business owner who graduates from the program is living proof of that support—extending from Alan and Joanne Moses to the Costal Community Foundation, to the instructors and mentors at EforAll. “We’re making a difference in this community,” Padgett said. “We’re making a difference in the economy of this community, and we’re helping create a legacy for these businesses that we want to see last for a lifetime.”
