How Nest turned a $24,000 idea into a global movement supporting women artisans

In 2005, Rebecca van Bergen was a graduate student in social work at Washington University when she won $24,000 in a school innovation contest. That seed money sparked the creation of Nest Inc., a nonprofit that empowers women artisans globally by providing training, funding, and market access.

From its modest beginnings, Nest has grown into a force in the artisan economy. It now supports creators in 125 countries and 47 U.S. states, helping women transition from informal craft work to sustainable business ownership. Nest's network includes around 3,000 handcraft businesses and has reached more than 345,000 entrepreneurs — mainly women — with grants and coaching on skills like pricing and financial management.

''Most people still have an aunt or grandmother who knits or crochets or made them clothes,'' van Bergen said. ''It's still pretty deeply embedded in our societies. It's income-generating, and it also preserves cultures.''

Van Bergen's first break came in 2010 when Nest partnered with FEED Projects, fashion designer Lauren Bush's social enterprise. That relationship opened doors to collaborations with Amazon, Etsy, and West Elm. Over the years, Nest's mission has attracted support from funders like the Oak and Moody's foundations — as well retailers like Tory Burch and L.L.Bean, now totaling 25 companies, which purchase and sell the artists' goods.

From an initial team of two, Nest has grown to 33 staff members, with net assets of $6 million and annual revenue of $7.2 million in 2025 — nearly double its 2019 revenue. It doesn't take a cut of artisan sales, relying instead on grants, program service revenue, fundraising events, and individual donations. The organization has received more than $10 million in grant funding since 2017, according to tax information from Cause IQ, which collects nonprofit data.

Domestic expansion

In recent years, Nest has expanded domestically, providing funds and training artists in all but three U.S. states.

Among the artisans is Stef Ratliff, who was born and raised in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky. She creates custom pottery and art through her KYARTRAT business. Though she had painted trophies for the Americana Music Awards for more than a decade — and created a custom guitar for Grace Bowers at this year's Grammys — Ratliff struggled to run a sustainable business until joining Nest and working as a community manager identifying Appalachian artists.

''I did a business consultation program with them (that) focused on marketing,'' she said. ''It taught me I can make the greatest pot or painting of all time, but if I don't present them in the right light, no one is going to see them properly.''

Working with Nest and connecting to Etsy through a joint program called Uplift Makers was fundamental to setting up an Etsy shop for KYARTRAT, Ratliff said.

''We're all reaching new customers through Etsy,'' she said, referring to Nest's eastern Kentucky group of 100 artisans.

''That's huge for Appalachia,'' Ratliff said. ''I would never have thought to sell my pottery through Etsy because I felt like a lot of people don't really care about southern stories and Appalachian stories. I didn't think they really cared about history.''

Preserving craft, creating markets

Nest's mission is rooted in van Bergen's own experience watching her grandmother and great-grandmother sew and quilt. The organization focuses on traditional crafts like basket weaving, ceramics, and candle-making, which are both income-generating and culturally meaningful.

Globally, the handcraft market is valued at $906.8 billion and a vital source of employment, especially for women, according to the data service Research and Markets. Nest helps artisans tap into this market by connecting them to brands like GAP, Ralph Lauren, Target, and Amazon.

In 2021, Nest partnered with Etsy to launch the Uplift Makers Program to support six heritage craft communities, including Gullah basket weavers from South Carolina, quilt makers from the Gee's Bend area of Alabama's rural Black Belt region, Afghan refugee craft business owners throughout the United States, Indigenous artisans from the United States and Canada, artisans from Oaxaca, Mexico, and craft makers from Appalachia.

Etsy supported the Gee's Bend quilters with a $50,000 grant and has since helped over 140 U.S. artisans generate more than $1 million in sales.

Recently, Nest received a $300,000 grant from the Mastercard Impact Fund to bolster its work with Appalachian artisans.

Meeting the moment

Nest has adapted to economic shifts and policy changes over the years. During the pandemic, it prioritized financial literacy and business development. Now, it's monitoring global trade policies — like tariffs — that could affect both artists and their retail partners.

Nest intentionally chose not to pursue microlending, which was popular among development groups in the early 2000s but sometimes left borrowers in debt. Instead, the organization focuses on partnerships with groups like Indego Africa, which works with over 700 artisans in Ghana and Rwanda. That partnership has helped connect Ghanaian craftswomen to retailers like Tory Burch, which sells their hand-woven straw tote bags for close to $500.

''Those partnerships are super valuable, both to us and to our partners, because the size of those orders tends to be quite large. It could be anywhere from 300 items to 1,500 items,'' said Sara Wohlers, Indego Africa's director of marketing and communications. ''That creates a lot of consistent work for our partners, and consistent income.''

Empowering rural U.S. artisans

As Nest shifts to more U.S.-focused work, it is helping women who face similar economic barriers.

Among them is Cynthia Main, a Kentucky-based woodworker who has participated in Nest's Makers Future Fund, a program that provides professional coaching with a $5,000 grant. Main owns Sunhouse Craft, where she sells handmade brooms, dustpans, and other goods. Despite Berea's status as Kentucky's folk arts capital, its economy has suffered from industrial closures and persistent poverty — nearly 1 in 5 residents lives below the poverty line.

Main said Nest helped her overcome many financial and retail obstacles and build a broader client base for her products. She used her $5,000 grant to attend her first wholesale trade show in New York. That exposure helped double her company's annual profits, from $120,000 to more than $240,000.

''I just think the work that Nest is doing is so important,'' Main said. ''I can't stress enough how being in a rural place, there's not a lot of help, or a lot of people who understand the uniqueness of a handmade business, and their advice has been so spot on.''

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Stephanie Beasley is a senior writer at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where you can read the full article. This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of a partnership to cover philanthropy and nonprofits supported by the Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for the content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.