Social entrepreneurship requires vision, resilience, and a deep commitment to serving communities. In this episode of DO GOOD X, host Stephen Lewis sits down with Dr. Kit Evans-Ford, founder of two thriving social enterprises: Argrows House of Healing and Hope, and Autistic and Loved. Dr. Kit shares her journey of building mission-driven businesses that provide healing spaces for women survivors of violence and sensory-friendly resources for children with autism. She discusses essential strategies for scaling social entrepreneurship, including customer discovery, navigating nonprofit fundraising, winning pitch competitions, and the power of trust-based philanthropy. This conversation offers practical wisdom on how to start a mission-driven social enterprise while maintaining your values and serving marginalized populations.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How to balance purpose-driven leadership while growing a sustainable business model that serves your community's real needs

✅ Proven startup funding strategies, including grant writing, entrepreneurial journey insights, and leveraging community-based entrepreneurship networks

✅ Why business pivot strategies and listening to your customers are essential for impact-driven ventures that create lasting change

Join the DO GOOD X Community to access resources, connect with purpose-driven entrepreneurs, and grow your impactful business with intention.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Dr. Kit's advice on building mission-driven businesses: listen to your heart and community needs, practice customer discovery, and pivot based on what families actually want

08:51 Strategies for scaling social entrepreneurship: winning pitch competitions to raise money, and receiving transformational donor support

11:56 Three revenue streams for social enterprise success: business profit, grant writing resources, and private donations that fuel nonprofit fundraising efforts

14:19 How DO GOOD X and networking with like-minded social entrepreneurs create a ripple effect of resources and community-based entrepreneurship connections

17:35 The realities of social entrepreneurship: serving marginalized populations, maintaining boundaries, practicing self-care, and sustaining entrepreneurial resilience through challenges

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 Customer discovery is critical for social entrepreneurship success. Listen to your community's actual needs rather than just your initial vision, and be willing to pivot strategies as you learn what truly serves people

💎 Multiple funding streams strengthen mission-driven businesses, such as combining business profits with nonprofit fundraising, grant writing opportunities, and pitch competitions to raise seed money and sustain your impact-driven ventures

💎 Building a network through community-based entrepreneurship programs like DO GOOD X creates invaluable connections with like-minded social entrepreneurs who provide resources, referrals, and support throughout your entrepreneurial journey

💎 Self-care and entrepreneurial resilience are essential when serving marginalized populations. Protecting your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being ensures you can sustain purpose-driven leadership without burning out.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Dr. Argrow “Kit” Evans-Ford is a spiritual director, social entrepreneur, and founder of Argrow’s House of Healing and Hope, a safe space offering free services and employment for women healing from violence in the Quad Cities. She also founded Autistic & Loved, LLC and the Autistic & Loved Foundation, creating sensory-friendly products and resources for children with autism. An award-winning author, Kit has received the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for...

Black Church Food Justice is transforming communities through purpose-driven initiatives. Join Stephen Lewis and Kimberly Daniel on the DO GOOD X podcast as they interview Dr. Heber Brown III, founder of the Black Church Food Security Network. Discover how his leadership at Pleasant Hope Baptist Church sparked a movement to combat food apartheid by leveraging church land and Black farmers. Learn how Black food ecosystems empower communities and foster social justice and food sovereignty. Dr. Brown shares insights on building community-led food justice solutions that honor cultural identity and drive lasting change.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How Dr. Heber Brown III founded the Black Church Food Security Network to address food apartheid.

✅ Strategies for creating Black food ecosystems with Black farmers and churches.

✅ The role of social justice in transforming black church food justice initiatives.

✅ How to leverage church assets for food sovereignty and community empowerment.

Join the DO GOOD X Community to access resources, connect with purpose-driven entrepreneurs, and grow your impactful business with intention.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Meet Dr. Heber Brown III, pastor and founder of Black Church Food Security Network, for food security and food sovereignty

03:35 Dr. Brown shares his core values: agency, love, social justice and the launching of Black Church Food Security Network, inspired by food apartheid patterns of members in his church

09:06 Frustration with the local market leads to a church garden vision; yields 1,200 pounds, tapping community knowledge from the Great Migration

15:39 Utilizing the opportunity that exists in land owned by Black churches: underutilized church land, an opportunity for Black food ecosystems, and engaging rising entrepreneurs

22:14 Favorite story: Ebenezer Baptist Church CSA program with Black farmers, 100 subscribers shifting to food sovereignty

28:21 Approach to lasting change: honor food charity, show congregations by example what can be accomplished

32:24 Aligning funding with values and relationships and being unapologetic for the black base of power

38:24 Dr. Brown speaks to shifting from being a pastor to leading a business, but staying connected to your base and not delegating critical aspects of your core values

42:59 Scaling the philosophy, and allowing the values to guide the ecosystem you have created

44:52 Listeners are invited to join the DO GOOD X Mastermind Community, beginning November 6, 2025

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 Dr. Heber Brown III's vision for Black Church Food Justice transforms communities through black food ecosystems and church gardens.

💎 Food sovereignty thrives as black farmers and churches unite, tackling food apartheid with social justice.

💎 Community-led food justice solutions empower black churches to leverage land for sustainable food security.

💎 Unapologetic Black Church Food Justice aligns funding with values, fostering resilient community gardens.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Reverend Dr. Heber M. Brown, III, has been a catalyst for personal transformation and social change for over twenty years. For nearly fourteen years, he served as pastor of a Baptist church in Baltimore, where he saw and personally experienced the impacts of food apartheid. This helped inspire him to launch the Black Church Food Security Network, which advances food security and food sovereignty by co-creating Black food ecosystems anchored by nearly 250 Black congregations, in partnership with Black farmers and other food justice stakeholders. He serves on the board of Bread For The World. He is Senior Church Advisor to Justice Connection, the...

A purpose-driven business is more than just profit. It’s about aligning values with impact, authenticity, and community building. On the DO GOOD X podcast, hosts Stephen Lewis and Kimberly Daniel explore the commitments that guide social entrepreneurs. They discuss the power of authenticity, community building, and creativity in entrepreneurship, as well as how intuition in leadership influences decision-making. Centering your business around faith and intention helps entrepreneurs stay aligned with their vision and purpose. By focusing on mutual relationships and authenticity, this episode inspires growth for anyone building a purpose-driven business designed for sustainable impact.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ How to align your purpose-driven business with your core values to create long-term impact.

✅ Why authenticity and mutual relationships are essential for building trust in a purpose-driven business.

✅ Ways to use intuition in leadership to guide decisions and strengthen your community-building efforts.

✅ How creativity in entrepreneurship fuels innovation and growth in a purpose-driven business.

✅ The role of social entrepreneurs in shaping businesses that honor faith, intention, and the common good.

Join the DO GOOD X Community to access resources, connect with purpose-driven entrepreneurs, and grow your impactful business with intention.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 How a purpose-driven business can be rooted in authenticity and community building

04:28 Kimberly shares the key values that guide her life and work—authenticity, mutual relationships, community, and creativity in entrepreneurship

08:26 Listeners are invited to join the DO GOOD X Mastermind Community, beginning November 6, 2025

09:45 Stephen emphasizes the importance of intuition in leadership to create a purpose-driven business

12:45 Stephen discusses living with purpose and intention, sharing how every social entrepreneur carries a “divine genius”

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 Discover how building a purpose-driven business anchored in authenticity, mutual relationships, and community building creates long-term impact.

💎 Learn why intuition in leadership, creativity in entrepreneurship, and values are essential for every social entrepreneur seeking meaningful growth.

💎 Explore how aligning purpose and intention with your purpose-driven business fuels innovation, strengthens community, and empowers entrepreneurs to thrive.

💎 Understand how authenticity, creativity in entrepreneurship, and purpose-driven business practices help leaders honor faith, vision, and sustainable impact.

ABOUT THE HOSTS:

Kimberly R. Daniel, co-founder of DO GOOD X, empowers faith-driven social entrepreneurs to create positive change through supportive programs and initiatives. She helps purpose-driven organizations craft compelling brand and communication strategies. With over 15 years of experience, she builds authentic, community-centered brands and effective processes. As a certified life coach, she facilitates workshops and writes on innovation, entrepreneurship, and social impact. She co-authored A Way Out of No Way: An Approach to Christian Innovation (2021).

Stephen Lewis, president of FTE and co-founder of DO GOOD X, supports faith-driven social entrepreneurs through programs fostering positive change. He is an organizational change strategist and leadership development specialist inspiring purposeful leadership and entrepreneurship. Lewis co-authored "Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose" (2020) and "A Way Out of No Way: An Approach to Christian Innovation" (2021).

RESOURCES MENTIONED: