Mother Founder Scholarship
The Mother/Founder Scholarship Winners
. The women featured in our book, MOTHER/FOUNDER, have voted and here are our 2025 winners!
Our grand prize winner was Dr. Maureen Nicol of Our House Baltimore! She was nominated by a friend who took so much care and time to explain the basis of Our House Baltimore and it really resonated with the judges. To quote Seun, “More recently, Maureen launched Our House Baltimore, a play space and cafe for children from birth to age five and their caregivers. It is financially accessible, deeply thoughtful, and rooted in community care. Maureen has a gift for creating spaces that are not only beautiful but also truly needed. She understands what it means to support the entire family and to build places where people feel seen and valued. Despite many challenges, Maureen has continued to push forward and is close to opening the doors of Our House. Her perseverance and vision are inspiring. This business is not just for her, it is for the families and community it will uplift. I cannot think of a more deserving mother and founder to this scholarship.”
Sounds like an amazing and special place. Maureen, we can’t wait to see Our House Baltimore take shape! Congratulations!
Second place is Soli Cooksey of Joonbird! Soli had a booming business just until a January when her studio and home burned to the ground in the LA fires in Altadena. To quote Soli, “First and foremost, my goal is to restart my business within 3 to 6 months and come back better than before. I am currently in the process of re-creating all my patterns and sourcing fabrics. But beyond this, my goal is to always use sustainable fabrics and materials and not to contribute to textile waste. Having an ethically run business is extremely important to me and I’m very proud of the way I’ve been running my business. I design every item in the shop myself, use vintage fabric or design my own fabric and print it on deadstock, and every item is made locally in Los Angeles. I am so proud to have a business that is 100% sustainable and helps support our local businesses.”
First and foremost we are so incredibly sorry for your tragic loss. We are inspired by your resilience and hope this helps with your rebuilding goals. We look forward to following along on your journey. Thank you Soli!
And third place goes to Lacy Myers of Wild Hollow Farm in Kansas! She is a first generation farmer which has been her only income since before her third child (of five) was born. She says, “Currently my income drops significantly in the winter months because outdoor crops can’t be grown in Kansas in the winter. I’d love to refinish my shop building and put in plumbing in order to run a microgreens operation during the winter months that would double as a seed-starting setup in the spring and a wash-pack station during the main season. It would allow me to expand my business significantly.”
We hope this helps you build your greenhouse and we can’t wait to follow along on your entrepreneurial journey. Thank you Lacy!
These were our runner ups! Their proposals and business plans were so thoughtful and smart and we hope each of you find ways to expand your businesses as you dream. Thank you for applying!
U.S. Residents only. Must be 18+ to enter.
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About the Mother / Founder Scholarship
When authors Amanda Jane Jones and Jennifer Fernandez began writing MOTHER/FOUNDER back in 2022, they knew that creating this kind of book hinged on the generosity of so many, so it was essential for them to show their gratitude and to give back to this community of amazing mom entrepreneurs. They offered all of the profiled mothers in the book a $100 honorarium to thank them for their time and wisdom, and they each set aside $5,000 from their own book advances to establish a scholarship fund for one lucky MOTHER/FOUNDER with dreams of building or expanding her business.
But then something magical happened. Most of the mothers they interviewed donated their $100 to the scholarship fund, bumping the prize value up to nearly $15,000. They then reached out to some of their favorite brands who also generously contributed enough products and services to bring the total prize value up to more than $20,000. With these incredible additions, we are now thrilled to be able to award scholarships to THREE lucky mom entrepreneurs to support their business endeavors this Mother’s Day season.
About the Book
An inspirational and empowering celebration of more than sixty women who are both dedicated mothers and successful entrepreneurs.
Starting a business can be daunting, scary, and exciting, all at once; so too can starting a family. But they can coexist—as the incredible roster of women in this book demonstrate, entrepreneurship can be both a sustainable and fulfilling model for working motherhood. Featured here are the stories of more than sixty mothers (including big names like author and artist Maira Kalman and Justina Blakeney of the Jungalow but also farmers, lawyers, pastry chefs, and more), who describe how they pursued their entrepreneurial dreams, overcame obstacles, achieved success, and found professional contentment, all while providing for their families and parenting their children.
The authors are themselves self-employed moms, and include within the book personal essays in which they open up about their own struggles and triumphs in balancing motherhood with their creative ambitions. It all adds up to a one-of-a-kind manual-cum-gift book for mothers looking to start and grow their own businesses.
Buy now from any of the retailers listed below or at your local independent bookstore.
About the Authors
