Restored. Refreshed. Revived.
A Portfolio Company update: The Well
The Well offers co-working space paired with on-site childcare for infants and toddlers, so moms can work while their kids are cared for next door. Their membership profits fund scholarships and partnerships that support women transitioning out of crises like domestic violence or homelessness.
There was a time when community happened naturally. Neighbors knew one another, children played together until dinner, and churches and local gathering places were woven into the rhythm of everyday life. Today, many of those gathering places have disappeared while parents search for places where they can care for their families, pursue meaningful work, and find the support of a village.
In 2018, Kara Lee founded the nonprofit The Well Community for Women in San Diego around a simple but transformative idea: what if one place could strengthen families, equip women, and bring neighbors together again? Rather than creating another coworking space or childcare program, Kara envisioned a vibrant community hub where parents could work just steps away from children who were learning, creating, and growing.
The Well also serves as a hub for 13 sister nonprofits, collaborating to support women experiencing human trafficking, domestic violence, crisis pregnancy, financial hardship, and other difficult circumstances. Together, these organizations share resources, host programs and events, and connect women directly with the support they need.
Over seven and a half years, approximately 21,000 women and children have come through The Well’s doors to work, gather, and attend events, and the organization has raised more than $1 million to support its mission. Today, approximately 80 women and children are served each week, with even more reached through events and nonprofit partnerships.
But the numbers tell only part of the story. Every day, women work, build businesses, find resources and form friendships while their children are cared for nearby. Families who once felt isolated find belonging, and parents rediscover purpose without sacrificing connection with their children.
The Start of Something New
Drawing on the seven years of firsthand experience leading The Well Community for Women, Kara has recently formed a separate company, The Well Communities, to equip local leaders to create similar places of work and belonging in communities across the country.
While traditional childcare has helped make work possible, it hasn't always addressed the emotional reality of being separated from young children during some of their most formative years. Knowing that many parents feel the tension of making the choice between meaningful work and meaningful parenthood, The Well Communities provides an opportunity to bridge the gap between those ideals and ease those tensions.
Through the Well Communities children's program, Little Wellies™, children participate in an environment that utilizes the play-based, virtues-and-values curriculum Follow the Karavan™. The curriculum immerses them in stories, imaginative play, creativity, and relationships that help cultivate curiosity, kindness, resilience, and belonging. The result of having both parents and children on-site is something greater than convenience: it's peace of mind for parents and an environment designed to help entire families flourish together.
The Well Communities Model
The Well Communities provides a proven operating system, curriculum, branding, coaching, and ongoing support so founders don't have to start from scratch. Communities can launch a Well in one of three ways:
Led by a Church: A church licenses The Well and operates it as its own, transforming underutilized weekday space into a vibrant hub for moms, children, entrepreneurs, and neighbors. The model creates meaningful employment opportunities, generates sustainable revenue, and breathes new life into facilities that might otherwise sit empty for much of the week.
Founder + Church Partner: An entrepreneur partners with a local church, utilizing existing facilities during the week while the church continues its regular weekend ministry. This model significantly lowers startup costs, creates a new source of income for the church through revenue-sharing, and allows both organizations to work together to strengthen the surrounding community.
Founder + Commercial Space: Entrepreneurs can also launch a Well in a dedicated commercial location, such as a storefront or office suite, operating as either a nonprofit or a for-profit business. This option provides flexibility to shape the space, expand programming, host community events, partner with local nonprofits, and even provide a home for a young church plant on weekends.
No matter which model is chosen, the vision remains the same: to create places of belonging where families can flourish, children can thrive, entrepreneurs can pursue meaningful work, and communities can rediscover the kind of everyday connection that so many people are longing for.
Communities Built for Redemption
The Well Communities represents the kind of redemptive entrepreneurship Impact Foundation exists to support. Informed by Kara's years of firsthand experience serving families, the new venture is designed to equip local leaders with the tools to strengthen families, activate underutilized spaces, and cultivate meaningful community where they live. For Impact Foundation, the opportunity is to help a proven vision for human flourishing take root in communities across the country.
Learn more at https://thewellcommunities.com/.