Virus 50 See our guide to COVID-19 in Atlanta

(this page last updated )

Dashboard Co-op featured in ‘Marie Claire’

Atlanta’s indie nonprofit earns shout-out in an article about the growing trend of female social entrepreneurs

Image

In the latest edition of Marie Claire magazine, Atlanta nonprofit arts organization Dashboard Co-op is featured in an article about the growing trend of female social entrepreneurs.

The article, “The ‘Purpose Economy’ Is Changing the Way New Businesses Are Created and Women Are Leading the Way,” takes writer Aaron Hurst’s coinage of the “Purpose Economy” to frame the work of female business owners who view social impact as the real bottom line.

There’s evidence showing that women entrepreneurs are more likely to reinvest their profit for the good of their communities and are also at the forefront of the move in starting mission-inspired businesses.

Of course, Courtney Hammond and Beth Malone, who started Dashboard Co-op in 2009, are largely credited with reenergizing the market value in otherwise decimated Atlanta properties by hosting arts exhibits and installations in abandoned buildings, warehouses, and other neglected spaces.

“In the past 12 shows that we’ve had, 11 of the spaces have rented out,” Hammond tells Marie Claire. “These are entire floors, from high rises in downtown to small store fronts.”

The organization’s 2011 show, Ground Floor, helped spark the overhaul of Edgewood Avenue into a premier nightlife district. “We were asked to have that show to bring business and development to Edgewood Avenue. We felt really good about breathing new life into that part of town and that’s when we realized our mission was changing,” Malone told CL editor-in-chief Debbie Michaud in her profile of the duo for 2013’s 20 People to Watch issue.

Dashboard is featured alongside other female-run businesses affecting social change locally and globally, from Detroit to Uganda.