Alicia Bell | GraceWorks Ministries
CEO of GraceWorks Ministries
Alicia Bell is the CEO of GraceWorks Ministries, a nonprofit serving thousands of neighbors each year with food, shelter, and support. She shares how GraceWorks grew from a collection of small community efforts into a unified movement grounded in faith and service.
What business does she run?
Alicia Bell is the CEO of GraceWorks Ministries, a nonprofit based in Franklin, Tennessee, serving nearly 15,000 neighbors each year. GraceWorks functions as a community resource center, providing food, shelter, and support to those in need. But it’s more than a service provider — it’s a unifying force. The organization was founded in 1994 when various faith-based groups came together across denominational lines to combine efforts, small food pantries, housing funds, and clothing closets into one mission: love God and love their neighbor.
How did she get started as an entrepreneur?
Alicia stepped into nonprofit leadership with both a mission-driven heart and an entrepreneurial mindset. GraceWorks wasn’t something she created from scratch, it was something she stepped into with deep reverence and big vision. She quickly learned that leading a nonprofit comes with the same pressures as leading any business: scalability, sustainability, and stewardship. She believes the most important skill early on is listening — sitting down with your team, understanding the details, and making decisions with clarity and care.
How do you think about growth in your current business? How do you plan for the future?
Growth in the nonprofit space, Alicia says, is no different than in the for-profit world. You scale, or you stall. She operates from the belief that “the organization will only be as big-thinking as its leader.” That guiding principle pushes her to dream bigger, not for the sake of growth alone, but to make room for others to shine. “There are people on my team who are smarter than me in a lot of areas,” she says. “So I have to make sure our structure is big enough for them to be great at what they do.”
She also emphasizes the balance between being present and delegating well. Knowing the ins and outs of an organization matters, but so does trusting your team to lead in their own right.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
For anyone stepping into leadership, Alicia’s advice is simple but foundational: build the right systems, trust your people, and keep your mission front and center. Whether you're in the nonprofit space or building a business, success starts with clarity about who you’re serving, how you’ll show up, and why it matters. Be willing to think big, and surround yourself with people who’ll help you get there.
