One Purse lands first Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation grant

The Orlando nonprofit will use the funding to add a chief operating officer and expand services for women rebuilding their lives after domestic abuse and trafficking. The grant is meant to help One Purse scale its social enterprise and strengthen long-term sustainability.

Why it matters: - The grant gives One Purse new leadership capacity to grow beyond its current scale. - The funding is aimed at helping more women in Central Florida and across the country gain employment, education support and financial independence after abuse or trafficking. - Financial instability is a major reason many women return to abusive or exploitative environments.

What happened: - One Purse received its first grant from the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation. - The Orlando-based nonprofit said the funding will support expansion of its social enterprise and services for women. - The organization is adding a chief operating officer to strengthen day-to-day operations. - Heather Case, founder and CEO of One Purse, called the partnership with the foundation an honor.

The details: - One Purse repurposes donated designer purses and resells them to fund employment and scholarships. - The organization uses that revenue to help women establish financial independence. - The new COO role is intended to free up the organization to scale programs and increase capacity. - One Purse serves women through three programs. - The rePURPOSE Project employs women in Central Florida at an e-commerce purse shop where they learn job skills. - The Restore Her Dream Fund provides national scholarships for college tuition and vocational training. - The Dream Cycle Series offers a curriculum focused on heart and life skills. - One Purse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. - The organization says its model supports women reclaiming their lives after domestic abuse and trafficking. - The foundation described the grant as consistent with its goal of helping nonprofits be better managed, governed and led. - David Odahowski, president and CEO of the foundation, said the grant reflects the legacy of the foundation’s late benefactor, Edyth Bush, and her belief in women helping women through private voluntary initiatives.

Between the lines: - The grant signals that the foundation is backing capacity-building, not just program funding. - Adding operational leadership can help a small nonprofit translate mission growth into more stable service delivery. - One Purse’s social enterprise model ties fundraising directly to workforce training and scholarships, which could make expansion more sustainable if operations scale well.

What's next: - One Purse plans to bring on the COO and use the added leadership to expand its social enterprise. - The nonprofit expects the new support to help it serve more women in Central Florida and nationally. - The foundation will continue its broader mission of supporting nonprofit management and leadership development. - More information is available at One Purse and the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation.