Metro-area church holds Shark Tank-like contest for social good
For a second year, Wayzata Community Church is giving away $225,000 in it's social entrepreneurship program called 'Dough Grants.'
Courtesy Wayzata Community Church
It is the season of giving, and one local church is going above and beyond in a unique way. For a second year, the Wayzata Community Church is giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars to social entrepreneurship initiatives.
The program is called “Dough Grants” and you can think of it like a church-based Shark Tank. The best ideas get an investment from the church, with no strings attached. Reverend Danielle Jones joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to explain.
Rev. Danielle Jones is the co-lead minister at Wayzata Community Church.
Courtesy Rev. Danielle Jones
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: Of course, we were just talking about giving, it's the season of giving. And one local church is going above and beyond in a unique way, for a second year the Wayzata Community Church is giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars to social entrepreneurship initiatives, it's called Dough Grants. You can think of it like a church based Shark Tank, the best ideas get an investment from the church, but there are no strings attached. Joining us to explain is the Reverend Danielle Jones, who helps lead the program. Reverend Jones welcome to the program.
DANIELLE JONES: Thank you so much.
CATHY WURZER: Well, this is really innovative, how did you come up with this idea?
DANIELLE JONES: Well, this is actually an idea that was developed at a church in Edina when my husband and I worked there about 10 years ago, and we realized that mission is important. Mission is the call of the church, and that we wanted to do it in a creative way that empowered people in our own community to do good in ways where they could see the needs were available and that those needs needed to be met.
CATHY WURZER: OK, it's called Dough Grants, why is that?
DANIELLE JONES: So we were working on a name for this project and we actually had one of our members of the congregation help us in naming it. And as we were doing that process, we realized that Dough has a multitude of meanings, Dough means money, of course, but Dough also rises when yeast is a part of the Dough, so we felt like this project and this program at its very best will help people and ideas rise. So that's our tagline for this Dough mission project.
CATHY WURZER: And this is the second year, I understand, and the pool of money is substantial $225,000.
DANIELLE JONES: That's right, the first time we gave away $200,000 and because of inflation and things that have been changing, we decided we could give away more this time, so this pool is $225,000, and we are thrilled to be able to give this money away. We have raised the money through our giving in our church, but also we have a rummage sale every summer. The church is 145 years old and for more than 100 years, we've had a rummage sale that nets about $130,000. So that--
CATHY WURZER: What?
DANIELLE JONES: --money, I know.
CATHY WURZER: Wow.
DANIELLE JONES: You need to come. It's in July, there are the best things available and it's super fun.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, OK that's decent money. So you use some of that money from the rummage sale to funnel into the Dough Grants. Who can apply and what are the ideas you're specifically looking for?
DANIELLE JONES: We basically-- the idea is that we're looking for are really broad. What we say is if you have a good idea that meets a need in the world, you can apply for Dough. So the winners tend to be ideas that have already begun, but maybe need a boost up to get to the next level. So nobody will win the whole $225,000, we'll probably give away between $40,000 and $60,000 per winner, so we're hoping to have five or six winners, and the winners are organizations that maybe you've heard of.
In the past Wildflyer Coffee was one of our winners, that's a local coffee shop in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, that helps homeless teenagers. And a place called Edith's House that works with some of the people that have been forgotten on the streets and gets them into work and housing. So we are looking forward to creative ideas coming in. And so in some ways, we can't even dream up yet what it will be.
CATHY WURZER: I'm sure the selection process is difficult because I bet there are a lot of really great ideas out there.
DANIELLE JONES: That's right. Last time we did this project we received 130 applications and 20 of those applications made it to the semifinalist process and that's one of the parts of this project that we're most proud of, is that, the semifinalists get to experience, like you said, Shark Tank for churches, so a bit of an incubator experience where they get to have some coaching and some encouragement from members of our church who connect in with their ideas and help them make connections that can help their idea grow. So we'll have five winners ultimately, like I said, and it's such an incredible project that both empowers our congregation to use their Monday through Friday gifts in the world, but also empowers people in the Twin Cities to take their good idea and bring it to the next level.
CATHY WURZER: Why is it important for a spiritual community like the Wayzata Community Church to do something like this?
DANIELLE JONES: Oh, that is such a good question. Churches were never meant to be monuments, they're meant to be mission organizations, organizations that are empowering the community and using the gifts of the community. And so our church has so many people that are talented, just like so many churches, but oftentimes, we'll say to them, hey, will you pass out bulletins on Sunday morning, which isn't necessarily activating their Monday through Friday gifts. So what we found is that our members love being a part of these missions because their hearts and minds and gifts are expanded and used in fresh ways to help others do good in the world. So it's a win, win really for everybody that's a part of the project.
CATHY WURZER: The mentorship, I'm glad to hear that, so are you talking about members of your congregation mentoring some of the winners?
DANIELLE JONES: That's right. So we have members of our congregation that serve in a variety of different roles. Some of them will be screeners, they'll read through all those applications, and they'll help select the semifinalists. Some of our members will be what we call navigators, they will be the coaches and encouragers for the semifinalists.
We tell those navigators that the most important role they can play is to be a good listener, to listen to the entrepreneur, and to say to them, OK, you have this amazing idea, it seems like here are the next two things that you're looking for, let us help you make connections to help you get there. And then we use members to be the judges, to select the winners and also skills coaches too. So if we realize, gosh, this idea could really use the help of an attorney or somebody in HR, then we look for members of our community that have those gifts and connect them for that coaching and mentoring role.
CATHY WURZER: So how can folks apply?
DANIELLE JONES: Applications are open right now, and we have a website set up called doughgrants.org, and there is-- there are a series of questions that people can answer. They'll upload a video of themselves telling a little bit more of their idea and the applications are open through January 2. So a few more weeks to go, plenty of time to get the application done and plenty of time to spread the word with anyone that might be interested.
CATHY WURZER: It was fun talking to you. Thank you Reverend, good luck.
DANIELLE JONES: Thanks so much Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Danielle Johnson is the Reverend with the Wayzata Community Church, helps lead the Dough Grant program. If you're interested in applying, we're going to have a link up later on at mprnews.org.
DANIELLE JONES: Thank you so much.
CATHY WURZER: Well, this is really innovative, how did you come up with this idea?
DANIELLE JONES: Well, this is actually an idea that was developed at a church in Edina when my husband and I worked there about 10 years ago, and we realized that mission is important. Mission is the call of the church, and that we wanted to do it in a creative way that empowered people in our own community to do good in ways where they could see the needs were available and that those needs needed to be met.
CATHY WURZER: OK, it's called Dough Grants, why is that?
DANIELLE JONES: So we were working on a name for this project and we actually had one of our members of the congregation help us in naming it. And as we were doing that process, we realized that Dough has a multitude of meanings, Dough means money, of course, but Dough also rises when yeast is a part of the Dough, so we felt like this project and this program at its very best will help people and ideas rise. So that's our tagline for this Dough mission project.
CATHY WURZER: And this is the second year, I understand, and the pool of money is substantial $225,000.
DANIELLE JONES: That's right, the first time we gave away $200,000 and because of inflation and things that have been changing, we decided we could give away more this time, so this pool is $225,000, and we are thrilled to be able to give this money away. We have raised the money through our giving in our church, but also we have a rummage sale every summer. The church is 145 years old and for more than 100 years, we've had a rummage sale that nets about $130,000. So that--
CATHY WURZER: What?
DANIELLE JONES: --money, I know.
CATHY WURZER: Wow.
DANIELLE JONES: You need to come. It's in July, there are the best things available and it's super fun.
CATHY WURZER: Wow, OK that's decent money. So you use some of that money from the rummage sale to funnel into the Dough Grants. Who can apply and what are the ideas you're specifically looking for?
DANIELLE JONES: We basically-- the idea is that we're looking for are really broad. What we say is if you have a good idea that meets a need in the world, you can apply for Dough. So the winners tend to be ideas that have already begun, but maybe need a boost up to get to the next level. So nobody will win the whole $225,000, we'll probably give away between $40,000 and $60,000 per winner, so we're hoping to have five or six winners, and the winners are organizations that maybe you've heard of.
In the past Wildflyer Coffee was one of our winners, that's a local coffee shop in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, that helps homeless teenagers. And a place called Edith's House that works with some of the people that have been forgotten on the streets and gets them into work and housing. So we are looking forward to creative ideas coming in. And so in some ways, we can't even dream up yet what it will be.
CATHY WURZER: I'm sure the selection process is difficult because I bet there are a lot of really great ideas out there.
DANIELLE JONES: That's right. Last time we did this project we received 130 applications and 20 of those applications made it to the semifinalist process and that's one of the parts of this project that we're most proud of, is that, the semifinalists get to experience, like you said, Shark Tank for churches, so a bit of an incubator experience where they get to have some coaching and some encouragement from members of our church who connect in with their ideas and help them make connections that can help their idea grow. So we'll have five winners ultimately, like I said, and it's such an incredible project that both empowers our congregation to use their Monday through Friday gifts in the world, but also empowers people in the Twin Cities to take their good idea and bring it to the next level.
CATHY WURZER: Why is it important for a spiritual community like the Wayzata Community Church to do something like this?
DANIELLE JONES: Oh, that is such a good question. Churches were never meant to be monuments, they're meant to be mission organizations, organizations that are empowering the community and using the gifts of the community. And so our church has so many people that are talented, just like so many churches, but oftentimes, we'll say to them, hey, will you pass out bulletins on Sunday morning, which isn't necessarily activating their Monday through Friday gifts. So what we found is that our members love being a part of these missions because their hearts and minds and gifts are expanded and used in fresh ways to help others do good in the world. So it's a win, win really for everybody that's a part of the project.
CATHY WURZER: The mentorship, I'm glad to hear that, so are you talking about members of your congregation mentoring some of the winners?
DANIELLE JONES: That's right. So we have members of our congregation that serve in a variety of different roles. Some of them will be screeners, they'll read through all those applications, and they'll help select the semifinalists. Some of our members will be what we call navigators, they will be the coaches and encouragers for the semifinalists.
We tell those navigators that the most important role they can play is to be a good listener, to listen to the entrepreneur, and to say to them, OK, you have this amazing idea, it seems like here are the next two things that you're looking for, let us help you make connections to help you get there. And then we use members to be the judges, to select the winners and also skills coaches too. So if we realize, gosh, this idea could really use the help of an attorney or somebody in HR, then we look for members of our community that have those gifts and connect them for that coaching and mentoring role.
CATHY WURZER: So how can folks apply?
DANIELLE JONES: Applications are open right now, and we have a website set up called doughgrants.org, and there is-- there are a series of questions that people can answer. They'll upload a video of themselves telling a little bit more of their idea and the applications are open through January 2. So a few more weeks to go, plenty of time to get the application done and plenty of time to spread the word with anyone that might be interested.
CATHY WURZER: It was fun talking to you. Thank you Reverend, good luck.
DANIELLE JONES: Thanks so much Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Danielle Johnson is the Reverend with the Wayzata Community Church, helps lead the Dough Grant program. If you're interested in applying, we're going to have a link up later on at mprnews.org.
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