Good Soil Flowers | Amber Grant Application Page

Hello! If you’re reading this, you must be from Women’s Net! Thank you for taking the time to review our application for an Amber Grant! It’s an exciting opportunity, and we’re thrilled at the possibilities of this grant!

This page was created specifically for this grant, not to repeat the answers submitted on the application, but to introduce ourselves and provide some additional details and visuals to demonstrate our intentions with the grant and, more importantly, our vision!

Please allow us to introduce ourselves:

And now, let us introduce you to our van.

Above: Our kids carseats in the van provide perfect floral transport for a recent workshop for Airbnb in San Francisco : )

This van has been our trusted mode of floral transport since Good Soil Flowers began.

Lately, however, the van has broken down. We have an immediate need to repair the van before our upcoming December floral workshops (one of which is a return to Chief, Jackson Square in San Francisco!)

Once the repairs are complete, we have a vision to expand the use of the van beyond just transportation, transforming it into a fully functional mobile floral studio and pop-up bouquet shop:

Should we be blessed with the $15,000 Amber Grant, our van would be the top priority, not just the repairs, but outfitting it with the company logo decals, stylish cream and lavender awning, and the interior components to make it a mobile pop-up floral shop.

Repair costs: $3,650

  • Coolant system parts = $1,900

  • Labor = $1,750

Van pop-up costs: $1,500

  • Awning = $400

  • Interior shelving system = $600

  • Updated flooring = $300

  • Floral bucket and water storage system = $200

Beyond the van

The grant would also afford us the opportunity to invest in kicking off our retail partnerships. We’ve approached local cafe’s and proposed a simple bouquet drop-off, with pre-arranged bouquets and scannable pay link for consistent brick-and-mortar bouquet sales without having to make the enormous investment in a retail location. We want to begin with five locations, and the cost breakdown below represents a full month of operating expenses for this effort:

Retail pop-up costs: $2,600

  • Custom buckets = $440

  • Farm fresh stems = $1,920

  • Bouquet wrap materials = $240

Some Much needed professionalization

This grant would also provide us with the opportunity to professionalize our business with custom branded button-down shirts and aprons, as well as much needed industrial carts for use during our large floral workshops:

Supplies costs: $1,500

  • Custom button down shirts = $350

  • Custom aprons = $300

  • Collapsible industrial floral carts = $850

Marketing

And finally, we’d have an opportunity to see the impact of investing significantly in marketing our business. We’ve done a bit of marketing via Pinterest, and found some heightened engagement, however we really need to push locally targeted Google Ads for our in person workshops, and this grant would help us do that:

Our strategy would be a three-phase approach, with 70% spend on Google Ads, 30% on Pinterest. Phase one would occur during November-December of 2026, focusing on wreath & centerpiece workshops as well as corporate events, phase two in January-February, with an emphasis on Valentines workshops and gifting, and phase three in April-May, with a focus on Spring and Mother’s Day workshops and gifting:

Marketing costs: $5,400

  • Phase one Google Ads = $1,260

  • Phase one Pinterest = $540

  • Phase two Google Ads = $1,260

  • Phase two Pinterest = $540

  • Phase three Google Ads = $1,260

  • Phase three Pinterest = $540

$15K Grant summary

The $15K Amber Grant would allow us the opportunity to invest in our critical mode of transportation, as well as strides to move forward in significant areas within our business:

The $15 Grant spend:

  • Van repairs = $3,650

  • Van branding/pop-up ready = $1,500

  • Retail pop-ups = $2,600

  • Supplies/Uniforms = $1,500

  • Marketing = $5,400

What about the $75K Grant???

If we had the incredible blessing of receiving the end of year $75,000 grant, our minds would be blown! And once we gathered ourselves, our spend would be very similar to the $15,000 grant, with one major exception:

A grant of this size would allow us to invest in a brand new fully electric company van - and our choice would most certainly be a Volkswagen I.D. Buzz!

As mentioned in our grant application, this van would provide 100% eco-friendly reliability for our business in a striking and attention grabbing aesthetic that perfectly fits Good Soil Flowers.

The $75K grant would also provide sufficient funds to invest in the van branding, additional investment into our retail pop-ups, and would allow us to more than double-down on our marketing spend:

The $75 Grant spend:

  • Van branding/pop-up ready = $1,500

  • Retail pop-ups = $2,600

  • Marketing = $6,900

  • Volkswagen ID Buzz (with lavender wrap) = $64,000

Our Steps toward growth

We have great opportunities on the horizon, and a clear vision of what we currently need for growth, stability and professionalization. With the help of either one of these fantastic grants, we can achieve that vision and begin taking these critical steps foward.

No Matter What

We are thrilled to apply for this grant, and we thank you for making this grant available, we thank you for the opportunity to apply, and we thank you for taking the time to review our application and this page.

Keep on doing the great work you’re doing for us entrepreneurs! : )