Today we’d like to introduce you to Joanna Edwards.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Joanna. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My whole life has been in the human services field serving underprivileged or underserved populations of some capacity. I’ve always had a desire to empower people to tap into areas of their lives that they may not have acknowledged. Owning a real-estate brokerage with my husband and having the ability to influence others through homeownership heightened my desire to help others in a more significant way, through philanthropy. The idea of starting a non-profit organization, came naturally as we would find creative ways to give back to our clients and our community through hosting events like a Christmas toy giveaway for the children, backpacks, and school supplies giveaway during the summer and gift baskets for single moms. Knowing we had the capacity, and the resources to do these things made it a no-brainer to start a 501c3 organization where we can give back on a bigger platform. However, I didn’t want it to end there. I had a bigger vision for what I wanted this non-profit to represent. Having a real estate background and offering incentives to our clients, rewarding them on making one of the biggest purchase of their lives, we wanted to let people know on a bigger scale that homeownership is not impossible, knowledge is power, information is vital. At Thumbprint Cares Inc., we are committed to educating, empowering and building strong communities through homeownership, workshops and information gathering and service for action-driven individuals who are ready and able to receive life-changing information.
Has it been a smooth road?
As many people know, it is not easy in the non-profit world-primarily with funding. We are fortunate to have to financial support from Thumbprint Realty and some very generous sponsors who believe in our mission and what we have to offer. Being a small non-profit starting out, like many businesses in the early years can be tough and a lot of trial error. Doing things wrong the first time serves as a lesson for us to do things better the next time around. We are a work in progress, and strive to improve every day.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Thumbprint Cares Inc. is a 501c3 Non-profit organization and is the philanthropic arm of Thumbprint Realty. Our mission is to empower urban communities and action-driven individuals to actively close the wealth gap through financial literacy, home ownership, and service, one thumbprint at a time. We intend to empower, educate and give back to the community. The board of directors and I wanted to help families particularly people from low wealth communities, combat economic inequality by becoming homeowners and finding alternatives to maintain and enhance property values. The goal of Thumbprint Cares is to end generational poverty by way of learning how to obtain and sustain generational wealth. We accomplish our goals by through workshops and seminars that we host, partnering up with local community organizations and experts who are willing and able to provide the wealth of information that is otherwise not accessible to folks in the community. In addition, Thumbprint Cares is all about the kids and acknowledging that they are our future. We make it a point to incorporate financial literacy themes and education in all of our kid-friendly events to reinforce our mission.
What sets us apart from similar organizations, is that we don’t put ourselves in a box and are always looking for creative ways to engage folks and to allow for uncomfortable conversations to be taken place in a space where people feel empowered. Our events are not dull or dry. We make the biggest deal out of everything we do and blow it up so much that it creates curiously and interest. I am most certainly proud of the group of individuals that I have on my team as board members because they are just as passionate and driven as I am when it comes to Thumbprint Cares and what we represent. Their creativity and capacity to engage folks in a way that is genuine are truly unmatched. Thumbprint Cares wouldn’t be what is today without them.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
There is plenty of opportunity in the city of Boston to thrive. Being in the real-estate business in conjunction with running a non-profit I feel gives us a unique advantage to be able to tap into so many unmet needs. The real-estate market has shifted so much where the neighborhoods people are calling home are the neighborhoods they can no longer afford to reside. Gentrification is happening at an all-time high, causing people to reconsider their finances, living situations, and long-term planning. Thumbprint Cares is here to prepare folks for what’s to come by way of rebuilding their “financial health” putting people in better positions to thrive in a city that will look very different in 10-20 years. Our mindset is focused on how to prepare for tomorrow, right now! Boston is a beautiful city filled with opportunities for education, entrepreneurship, real-estate and more. Knowledge is power and information is vital. We are proud to say that our principles here at Thumbprint Cares is being able to provide people with information that can not only be life changing but powerful.
Contact Info:
- Address: 472A Washington St.
Boston, MA 02124 - Website: www.thumbprintcares.org
- Phone: 857-919-1330
- Email: thumbprintcares@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thumbprintcares/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thumbprintcares/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thumbprintcares/
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