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Flourish: fund ideas that matter in des moines, iowa

Join us for our annual community investment event on September 24, 2024 at The Tea Room in Downtown Des Moines where three women / gender nonconforming individuals will present their ideas to a live audience.

 
 

make a difference in your community by funding a small business

 

BUY A TICKET

Your ticket gets you access to the event on September 24 at The Tea Room and includes light bites. Every dollar of your ticket goes to the winner!

ATTEND THE EVENT

When you attend the event, you get the opportunity to listen to three 5-minute pitches and vote for the individual you want to take home the biggest prize.

FUND A BUSINESS

One individual will leave with the $$, giving them a chance to bring their business idea to life.

 
 
 

MEET THE 2024 FINALISTS

We are excited to introduce you to our three finalists for this year’s pitch event!

 

joy hankins: The Joy of Curls

MARISSA FRIESEN: RISSEWN

TARA RAY-SMITH: The Period Collective Iowa

 

FUND IDEAS THAT MATTER

SEE THE 2022 EVENT IN ACTION

THANK YOU INVICTUS MEDIA FOR CAPTURING THE EVENT

 

FUND IDEAS THAT MATTER

 
 

why we exist

We created Flourish in 2018 when Emily Steele was running FemCity Des Moines. Emily met hundreds of women who were struggling to get their ideas off the ground simply due to money.

We wanted to create a simple concept where we opened up a space once a year to hear about the incredible vision and dreams these women had and let our community fund their next steps.

This event operates in partnership between Love Local and FuseDSM to continue creating impact in the metro.

 
 
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Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • $35 gets you access to the event and includes light bites. Price increases to $40 on September 24.

  • Our finalists have been local bakers, a micro-media brand, urban farmers, race car drivers, a chef, and so many more!

  • We bring together volunteers on our “external review committee” who review applications, score them 1-5, and the top three finalists are selected from their votes. Want to be on the committee? Email us at emily at emilyasteele dot com

  • All applicants will know if they were or were not selected by the end of August.

 

 
 

want to apply to be a flourish finalist?

HERE ARE THE RULES:

 

01/
YOU MUST BE A WOMAN OR GENDER NON-CONFORMING INDIVIDUAL

We are solely focused on supporting this population for this event! Please only apply if this description fits.

02/
YOUR BUSINESS MUST BE FOR-PROFIT AND IN THE GREATER DES MOINES AREA.

We are specifically looking for businesses that have already established a LLC and have locations in the areas listed below on the application.

03/
you CAN PITCH TO A LIVE AUDIENCE WITH NO TECHNOLOGY ON 9/24/24

You get five minutes to pitch your idea to a live audience without a slide deck. By applying, you understand this is the format of the event!

 
 

 

APPLICATIONS CLOSED

Come back in 2025 to apply for Flourish!