b'was born. This opportunity filled a ministry needthat are focused on social impact face a common and enabled us to build a revenue stream thatstruggle, referred to as the serving two masters met our requirement to stay within the bounds challenge. While there are plenty of companies of our mission.that have found the right business model and The second venture, CreationWorks, was anbalance, new companies face frequent decisions existing business that the ministry absorbed andthat pit profit against purpose. invested in. It was a low-risk business opportunityImagine a Christian nonprofit that developsthat provided additional options to equip the peo- a social enterprise but begins facing significant ple we serve. It offered hands-on and soft skillslosses. They have some difficult decisions to make. training that our guests could utilize to reenter theShould they compromise the social impact to workforce. Additionally, it met a need for landscap- make budget, or should they adamantly insist on ing in the community. Staffing for CreationWorksfinding alternatives to make necessary reductions? is handled through BridgeWorks. Both enterprisesEarly in BridgeWorks life cycle, we were faced benefit from one another, creating a cycle of effi- with the loss of a significant set of clients. During ciency for the common good of the ministry.this downturn we reexamined the purpose and According to the Case Foundation, nonprofitscall of the business, confirmed our commitment \x02 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG 23'