Small Enough to Make a Big Difference

Abundance Angels Mike and Beth Andrews made an uncharacteristically emotional decision almost 20 years ago, in 2006, one they’ve never regretted.

“We were visiting Greenville, hiking Raven Cliff Falls trail near Caesar’s head,” Mike recalls. “It was 70 degrees, in January, and we were thinking, ‘We HAVE to move here.'"

Although still in their 40s at the time, both had already retired from successful careers as electrical engineers and wanted new soil in which to bloom. “Greenville is big enough to be its own place, but small enough to be comfortable and get around in,” Beth says. “It hit a lot of buttons for us.”

In time, though, the couple grew to understand Greenville not just as transplants, but as faithful church members with deepening roots in the community. “We were looking for how we could plug in to our community, and be helpful,” Beth remembers. 

“Along the way we’ve met a number of people who’ve been really, really helpful,” Mike says. “Bob Morris of the Community Foundation … Katy Smith with Greater Good Greenville … and it was Mike Gatchell (of Abundance Capital) who sought us out.”

“A number of things are happening in Greenville that are not intuitive, but make a lot of sense, and Abundance Capital as a philanthropic venture capital mechanism makes a lot of sense.”

Beth says Abundance is unique in that they’re open to working with the “little guy” investor, the one who is ready to invest in an initiative they believe in.

Mike, who in 2020 received his doctorate in Ministry from Duke University, says that work in many ways informed he and Beth’s philanthropic mission. “I interacted with and interviewed a number of people in Greenville who are influential on a one-on-one basis, people with deep influence over individual lives,” he says. “Pastors, poets, nonprofit leaders … .” 

And in that, a sense of clarity and connection on where-and how-to invest. “We’ve never really been ones to jump and try and rally a movement where the whole community is going after one thing,” Mike says. “It’s more trying to work with people on a smaller basis. And that’s what Abundance Capital does.”

As a couple of engineers with no children, Beth says they’ve always saved and, in turn, tried to be generous. “As we’ve gotten to this point in our lives, we want to be a little more specific in how our dollars align with our personal giving goals,” she says. “We don’t want to wait until we die before the money is dispersed. And as we’ve engaged in philanthropy, we’ve learned as we’ve gone along.”

“Abundance goes where some of the deeper pocket funds don’t go,” Mike says. “They’re allowing us to place bets on things that, even if they don’t work out, we’ll still feel good about having invested in them.”