Current Landscape:

Since its inception 12 years ago, The Elderberry has provided the Charlottesville community an opportunity to experience herbalism, not as a wellness trend, but as the living, time-tested healing practice it truly is. 

People who want more than a five-minute doctor’s visit, who want to be heard, or who simply want to see what herbal medicine is all about, find themselves at The Elderberry. Upon stepping into our world, people experience a kind of health care that isn’t just “alternative,” but that fundamentally alters their experience of health. It reminds them of something their mind forgot but their body remembers: Plants, The Earth, and Community are our greatest allies in healing.

We’re humbled and honored to have guided so many people on their journey from surviving to thriving. Now, we are asking for your help as we start this journey for ourselves. 

Currently, The Elderberry isn’t able to provide its employees or owners with a living wage. We are at that turning point in growth where we need to invest in more staff, updated systems, and an online store that reaches beyond Charlottesville, so that the business can sustain itself and all of us. 

Despite our next steps being so clear to us (see below), we’re struggling to find the time and energy to take on more projects when our plates are already so full maintaining our day-to-day operations. 

We know our situation is not unique; we are certainly not the first business owners to find ourselves in this predicament. 

What’s different about us is that we envision thriving as we grow, rather than forcing growth at the expense of our health and wellbeing. We have no interest in being burnt out, under-slept, over-caffeinated, and drained as we’re making a heart-soothing tea for someone in grief, or a mother whose baby has croup again, or simply making the medicine we distribute to the community from our apothecary.  

Burnt out health care workers are common, but we don’t want that to be the norm in our space. We want to normalize people working in health and wellness (and all workers) being supported in doing the work they’re called to do. We want to do the unthinkable — feel supported doing the work that’s connected to our life’s purpose. 

This is where you come in…

And why are we asking you? Certainly, there are other ways we could go about funding our vision. But we’re coming to you first because we don’t want to be accountable to investors or shareholders who haven’t felt the spirit of The Elderberry. 

We are accountable to you, our community, whom we’ve humbly and joyfully served for over a decade. You are the ones who have supported us along the way. It’s your feedback that matters the most to us; we design classes, formulate products, and host events with your needs in mind. 

We’re asking you to step into the current of reciprocity where your support pays it forward: 

• We’ll create/stock all the things you’ve been asking us for (supplements, homeopathic remedies, flower essences, and body care; more classes on topics like nutrition and herbalism for specific conditions; and so much more…).

• Plant medicine will spread to more people, and our offerings will expand beyond Charlottesville. 

• We will feel supported doing this work and bolstered to make The Elderberry sustainable for years to come. 

Seeds We’re Planting (click the + icon to read more):