Focused Community Strategies - SOAR Analysis

Focused Community Strategies - SOAR Analysis

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

FCS MINISTRIES – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Authentic, organic & mutually purposeful partnerships/relationships* • Dedicated, hard-working, diverse staff* • Serving the community through housing development* • Innovative, entrepreneurial mindset* • Inclusive and welcoming culture • External reputation as thought leaders

STRENGTHS

• Improve engagement and communications strategy using DEI lens* • Increase partnerships and donors • Organizational expansion • Offer home financing opportunities

OPPORTUNITY

• Known for thought leadership* • Expanded workforce/Lupton Center franchise opportunities* • Create community wealth/ economic development*

• Offer home financing opportunities • Achieve neighborhood self-sufficiency

ASPIRATION

• Repeat donors and increase in donations over time* • Number of units we’re able to deliver* • Address and communicate issues of race and equity* • Increased housing unit development/ownership* • Stronger, more connected communities • Organizational success

RESULTS

*NOTE: Theme occurred across stakeholder groups. Stakeholder groups: Leadership, Board, Core Leadership Staff, Staff, Residents

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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STRENGTHS

► AUTHENTIC, ORGANIC & MUTUALLY PURPOSEFUL PARTNERSHIPS/ RELATIONSHIPS*

► INNOVATIVE, ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET*

“Innovation/Entrepreneurship – we’re willing to step out and try new things and that’s a very unique mindset that we carry in our DNA.” (Board) “FCS has honed being innovative and thought leadership. As an org well into its 40s, FCS has gotten to the stage in life (and success) where we have credible leadership.” (Staff)

“We excel at relationships - partnership, being authentic, being organic.” (Leadership)

“The partnerships. I think we’ve done a wonderful job of partnering and I’m very proud of the partners that choose us and that we choose.” (Board) “Relationships. We do so many things, some programs are run by our partners. Like the city. We have a lot of good connections. We know a ton of people in the Purpose-Built network. We know a lot of people” (Staff)

“Innovation. I don’t think we do anything the same we did 12 years ago. New responses to a whole new world.” (Core Leadership Staff)

INCLUSIVE AND WELCOMING CULTURE

►

► DEDICATED, HARD-WORKING, DIVERSE STAFF*

“Great work culture” (Staff)

“They are not selfish. They help any and everybody.” (Residents)

“Leadership has done the hard work of addressing equity and inclusion in our staff and moving our non-profit towards a salaried organization.” (Staff)

“We are place based and a good bit of our staff lives in the neighborhood. We know neighbors and neighbors know us. When you are living in your work, it becomes more personal.” (Staff)

“A level of dedication I’m not sure other organizations have.” (Board)

“Dedication. A level of dedication I’m not sure other organizations have.” (Board)

► EXTERNAL REPUTATION AS THOUGHT LEADERS

“FCS has honed being innovative and thought leadership. As an organization well into its 40s, FCS has gotten to the stage in life (and success) where we have credible leadership. We’ve done the work of building the muscles of expertise of a base organization and when you look at our portfolio (some say we look like a for profit entity), it lends itself to being in worlds that are not always faith based.” (Staff) “Providing models for the city and country on how to do housing and we’re still pretty quiet, flying under the radar while we do this work. More deep and meaningful while we perfect our craft.” (Core Leadership Staff) “We are ahead of the curve in so many ways. When I think about what FCS is doing and the practical ways, we live out WHO we say we are. The trends are following us in a lot of ways.” (Staff)

► SERVING THE COMMUNITY THROUGH HOUSING DEVELOPMENT*

“...percent of rental to homeownership - Majority homeownership. 1/3 of neighborhood, low-income, below 80% AMI” (Leadership)

“As an FCS homeowner, I’m most proud of their affordable housing initiatives.” (Residents)

“Housing development. Continue to provide housing even with the challenges we face.” (Core Leadership Team)

*NOTE: Theme occurred across stakeholder groups. Stakeholder groups: Leadership, Board, Core Leadership Staff, Staff, Residents

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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OPPORTUNITY

► IMPROVE ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY USING DEI LENS* “For the better part of our history, we’ve always addressed the issues of race and equity but that hasn’t been lead language for us. Often times, people call into question if we’re really addressing race issues. These last few years have moved us to being more apologetic and how we do actually address these issues. Opportunity to grow and strategically scratch the surface. I see that as a strong place for us to grow and scale.” (Staff) “The allyship strength that FCS has and its ability to be a part of the community and understand the community while not being OF the community and being great allies at the same time. There’s a difference between being IN the space and being an ally. FCS has a strength in that. Even if they don’t feel the pain, they carry it. That is key.” (Board) “The things FCS does, they do very well. But there is a lack of knowledge around all the things that FCS does. They do a lot of things, but I don’t necessarily know about all of them.” (Residents)

ORGANIZATIONAL EXPANSION

►

“Because we have so much coming (expansion), I feel like we’ll be hiring a lot of people. Challenge is expansion but keeping what is special about FCS. Sometimes we can get siloed in our work. Sometimes we don’t know what’s going on in the other pillars and are not able to talk about it. I worry with adding more people that they’re incorporated into the larger team.” (Staff) “Gives us opportunities to be recognized as a leader (thought leader, etc.). I feel like people might seek us out to ask how we do that (opportunities for Lupton Center, etc.) We’re primed to receive racial equity funds because we’ve already been doing the work.” (Staff) “Because we have so much coming (expansion), I feel like we’ll be hiring a lot of people. Challenge is expansion but keeping what is special about FCS. Sometimes we can get siloed in our work. Sometimes we don’t know what’s going on in the other pillars and are not able to talk about it. I worry with adding more people that they’re incorporated into the larger team.” (Staff)

► INCREASE PARTNERSHIPS AND DONORS

► OFFER HOME FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES

“City’s desire for affordable housing - new financing opportunities. City is changing some of its zoning. Beltline - if done well. We’re on their radar as a good example of an equitable neighborhood. Growth happening all around the city that’s impacting all neighborhood. We’re excluding from the HOT GROWTH areas that are driving gentrification, etc. Purpose Built Schools and Community.” (Leadership)

“Opportunities to increase partnerships, increase donors, get some organizations focus. Curious how Lupton Center has evolved.” (Leadership) “We struggled with it until we got a grant. Looking to have someone make that investment. There’s a lot of opportunity there. There are a few key foundations out there that care about community development and housing, and I’d like to see them as a partner. Would like to see them as a partner to meet their goals. (The Home Foundation)” (Leadership) “The complexity of transactions. The more things we do, the more layers there are. The relationships become more important. It’s a complex and changing game. New methods to accomplish our goals.” (Board)

“As we become a CDFI, providing financing (down payment assistance) programs.” (Core Leadership Staff)

“The current market for housing is a challenge (rising costs of properties and cost of construction). Have to be strategic about how we keep housing affordable for families in our community.” (Core Leadership Staff)

*NOTE: Theme occurred across stakeholder groups. Stakeholder groups: Leadership, Board, Core Leadership Staff, Staff, Residents

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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ASPIRATION

“Income level in the neighborhood should improve to include level neighborhood is showing a commensurate increase in income as it related to the city.” (Leadership) “We all have budget goals, but I’d like us to think more deeply than that. When I think about the new financing instrument Katie is working on, there should probably be some goals around that. Some things around economic development in terms of what’s being developed, income and jobs. Number of articles published in national media. Number of conferences we’re speaking at. Something about development (grants, dollars raised).” (Staff)

KNOWN FOR THOUGHT LEADERSHIP*

►

“Flourishing neighborhood index that we’ve crafted is really beneficial and can be fleshed out and get it in the hands of others. I would love for the Lupton Center to be seen as a consulting center of choice.” (Board) “Raise our public profile. We’ve gotten on some interesting radars (60 Minutes, Purpose Built). There are a lot of ways that we could be on a more national/public stage. The way that we can talk about things in a unified way is unique and important. The only way to solve these issues is to talk about them together (versus in silos). I want to raise our profile in a way that allows us to be a part of conversations on a larger scale.” (Staff) “We’ve had a lot of great opportunities to influence communities in the US (globally as well). Our principles, core values and change work provide a framework for others. As our future unfolds, being able to see more of this model taking root nationally. How is the model influencing globally as well as nationally?” (Core Leadership Team)

► OFFER HOME FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES

“It’s in those moments, about housing development, people want to know about the funding piece. When we talk about what we had to do to scale, people want to talk about the funding.” (Staff)

“For example, tax credit model” (Leadership)

► EXPANDED WORKFORCE/LUPTON CENTER FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES*

“Make FCS Community Finance - CDFI. Creating systems that are inclusive are opportunities to grow and scale. South Atlanta is a neighborhood that everyone would like to move to. We can protect those that thrive in the neighborhood.” (Leadership)

“Professional development and the cultivation of practitioners. Giving the grooming to become the next leaders. FCS has the opportunity to create that opportunity, especially as the next generation comes along.” (Board)

► ACHIEVE NEIGHBORHOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY

“People are theoretically interested in what the Lupton Center can do but also on what the housing can do. People’s eyes light up.” (Staff)

“A theme of handing the work off to the neighborhood. Legitimately finding a plan for neighbors to take over (training for neighbors to become actively engaged). There is definitely more space for neighbors to jump in.” (Residents) “The ultimate goal is to leave the neighborhood self-sufficient. We leave when we’ve stabilized the neighborhood enough. The dream is to feel the people in the neighborhood have been able to rise (not displaced) with property values and gentrification.” (Staff) “I would love to see FCS be able to leave and continue their work somewhere else. They’ve provided all of the tools, commerce…That’s my ultimate goal. Creating spaces that have businesses. They’ve created an ecosystem of commerce and that’s great, but we’d be fooling ourselves if we thought they’d be here forever.” (Residents)

“The Lupton Center having a franchise of FCS around the country.” (Core Leadership Team)

► CREATE COMMUNITY WEALTH/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT*

“FCS doesn’t want to take over the neighborhood, they want to empower the neighborhood. Quantify folks that feel empowered to stay in their homes as long as they want to without worrying about taxes, gentrification, etc. Some initiatives around measuring employment, and impact of various initiatives.” (Residents)

*NOTE: Theme occurred across stakeholder groups. Stakeholder groups: Leadership, Board, Core Leadership Staff, Staff, Residents

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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RESULTS

“I would add to (budget and program goals) the equity measures around race and gender. We talked about being leaders and ahead of the field - I’d say these measures are most important for where we’re going. National/state/down to local.” (Staff)

► REPEAT DONORS AND INCREASE IN DONATIONS OVER TIME*

“Number of repeat donors and increase in donations over time.” (Board)

“The receptivity in the funder pool. I look at donors and there’s measurement with how much money we raise but it’s indicative of the work that we do. “Reputation and how we are being received”. We do what we say we’re going to do. What others are thinking of you and if they’re willing to put their money behind you.” (Core Leadership Team) “Beneficial for your own due diligence with history of the organization (white founder with unique audience). Who we are today is centered around that diverse group of partners. It looked one way “back then” but under Jim and Katie’s it looks another way today (still diverse). In the history of place (current community), the longevity of how long we’ve been in it. Extremely important. Don’t miss the internal work that FCS had to do to woo and keep brown leaders like those on this call. Opportunity to set the tone for where we’re going.” (Staff)

► INCREASED HOUSING UNIT DEVELOPMENT/OWNERSHIP*

“Double down on the F&I meaning. I would clarify the linkages of score to benchmark. Neighborhood - housing should improve. Economic development - should tie to tell us that we’re making progress.” (Leadership) “The number of units we’re able to deliver. That’s the catch when you’re a housing organization.” (Board) “I think we can around generational wealth based on how long we’ve been around. Can do the work with the right funding. We could do that kind of archival work to discover how 40 years ago we’ve seen success. Around generational wealth is how within the housing program, people have paid off their mortgages and their houses are near the Beltline. Now they’re just able to think about taxes. As equity in your house goes up (equity), they could cash out and move away.” (Staff)

► NUMBER OF UNITS WE’RE ABLE TO DELIVER*

“The number of units we’re able to deliver. That’s the catch when you’re a housing organization.” (Board)

► STRONGER, MORE CONNECTED COMMUNITIES

“There are goals for each pillar. Ex: How many houses built” (Core Leadership Team)

“If the current children, would like to remain in the neighborhood once they are adults. It’s a strong sign that this is my home and I want to stay here. I have the option of going elsewhere but I want to stay.” (Board)

“That’s what I think about every day. The program outputs and activities. Yes, we can measure the number of families, the number of units but we’re looking at the long game. FNI is where we’re actually looking at the statistics from the neighborhoods (long term indicators of success). We’ve done it twice before. The first and third will be similar so we can compare.” (Staff)

“Less blight, more connectivity. More transportation within the neighborhood.” (Residents)

“If we have other neighborhoods that are inviting us in in the future.” (Board)

► ADDRESS AND COMMUNICATE ISSUES OF RACE AND EQUITY*

ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS

►

“We know the direction we’re headed. We need to refresh the aspiration. Our work has always been rooted in racial equity. We’ve been a do-good ministry and disrupting systems that are using economics, but we aren’t telling that story explicitly. It’s institutionalized in our culture, but it’s not in our processes and systems.” (Leadership) “We have a lot of positive things going on with FCS in South Atlanta, and we need to continue to know that people watch us and also from a color perspective too. Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, FCS is represented by all of the Black people. Outside of the community, people think FCS is Black owned. The way that we partner and present, I don’t want us to get caught up in “I thought they were Black owned” and know what our face to the community looks like and be okay with that. We present diverse in our communications and present what we are, but let’s make sure we continue to do that.” (Board)

“Also something to be said about organizational success. Speaks to our organization’s maturity/development…there are success measures around departments, potentially, departmental goals and how we’re able to be at the forefront (but those measures will likely be different from what Donnell and Alexandra talked about).” (Staff)

“Staff development goals” (Staff)

“Integration of multiple divisions (We’re a large organization of different divisions). We all really like each other a lot and are amazed at the work we’re doing. But what is my responsibility to other team members in this one organization/one mission? It gets more complicated as the organization grows. Seamlessly integrating is crucial in this strategic planning process.” (Core Leadership Team)

*NOTE: Theme occurred across stakeholder groups. Stakeholder groups: Leadership, Board, Core Leadership Staff, Staff, Residents

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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FCS - SOAR SUMMARY AND DETAILS

Core Leadership Team Staff

Neighborhood Residents

Leadership

Board

Staff

• Our Partnerships (authentic, organic & mutually beneficial) • Our Innovation (Entrepreneurial mindset) • Our staff/organization longevity (Longevity - 40+ years, 20+ years in on place and founders 35, Katie 20+ years) • Our sustained impact over time • Our Proximity (majority of staff in neighborhood) • Our commitment to valuing neighborhood’s voice • Our staff’s diversity (35% non-white board) • Homeownership rates • Scale/Growth (increase partnerships, increase donors, organizational focus) • Home financing opportunities • Vision of impact • Economic Development • Housing affordability • Purpose Built schools and community • Staff/Talent (Intention recruiting, honor tenure, increase salaries) • Philanthropy (to better prepare for shifts) • To create more community ownership (land trust, community investment trust) • Home financing opportunities (FCS Community Finance – CDFI) • Partnerships (political alliances) • Scale/Growth • Thought leadership • Increased equitable, diverse homeownership • Increased neighborhood income levels • Improved housing and community economic development • Team longevity • Economic liability • Relational mobility • High performing schools • Access to health and wellness

• External communications/ Storytelling • Community development • Presence in the community (Staff lives and works in community) • Staff dedication /hard work • Partnerships/Relationships (quiet and nimble, working at neighborhood’s pace) • Servant leadership

• Culture (DEI-focused internally and welcoming) • Innovation/Thought leadership • External Communications/ Storytelling • Safe place for youth • Holistic approach to outreach • Partnerships/ Relationships (Purpose build network, Lupton Center)

• Partnerships/Relationships in community • Innovation • Core Values (neighboring) • Agility to adapt

• Neighborhood Engagement

• Community development (housing, Carver Market) • Affordable housing development

• Housing development • Thought Leadership/ reputation • Impact (Outcomes)

• Retention (history, people, prices) • External costs (real estate & construction costs) • Managing scale/ growth (complexity of transactions)

• DEI strategy (address issues of race equity)

• Scale/Growth • Housing affordability • Partnerships/ Relationships • Inclusive Neighborhoods (Equity) • Community Economic Development (strategic partnerships, transportation, sidewalks, economic mobility) • Home Financing Opportunities • Scale/Growth (larger workforce/office expansion/ Lupton Center franchise opps) • Culture (internal DEI) • Thought leadership (US and global influence) • Core Values (serving the community, community relevancy, staying rooted in purpose)

• External Communications/ Storytelling • Competition (Developers/ Investors) • Resident training (financial literacy) • Community development (senior home improvement, leadership training, neighborhood watch)

• Thought leadership (affordable housing/ health disparities) • Culture (increased employee hiring with team cohesion)

• DEI & social justice alignment (heighten interest in DEI and increased allyship)

• Replication (continued impactful work) • Professional development (grooming future leaders) • Community economic development (job creating, training, scaled housing) • Thought leadership position (Flourishing Neighborhood Index, “bigger conversations” participation, • Measured community feedback • Repeat/increased Donors/ Donations • Increased Housing Unit Development • Indigenous Community Leadership • FCS Expansion • Constituent retention entrepreneurship/ pioneering spirit)

• Neighborhood self- sufficiency (stability) • Thought leadership (External Reputation)

• Neighborhood self- sufficiency

• Community economic development (food and healthcare) • Neighborhood engagement (legacy neighbors) • External communications/ storytelling (Impact, suitability of outcomes)

• FNI (program outcomes) • Organizational success (internal maturity/ development) • Donors/Donations • DEI (Equity measures around race and gender) • Communications/ Storytelling (beyond Bob’s story) • Staff development

• Program outcomes • Increased Donors/ Donations

• Access to health and wellness (7 areas of holistic development/ 7 wellness dimensions) • Neighbor self-sufficiency (training for neighbors to become actively engaged)

• Organizational Success (place-based change and division integration) • DEI (communications lens/ engagement)

• DEI focus (honest reflection of FCS to community)

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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SOAR – LEADERSHIP Leadership

What They Said

OUR PARTNERSHIPS “We excel at relationships - partnership, being authentic, being organic. Someone asked what FCS from being colonial - we value relationships. We listen to the community well. Have folks live in the neighborhood. Makes a huge difference.” OUR INNOVATION “Most proud of - How we innovate - entrepreneurial mindset. Habitat - ReStore - FCS pioneered that in the 80s and 90s. We did that and modeled. Piloted and proven out. We have schools like the Atlanta Youth Academy (Spun). Started Wesley International Academy (Spinoff). A number of things that were conceived and incubated at FCS. Majority homeownership. 1/3 of neighborhood, low-income, below 80% AMI Carver Market / Community Grounds - keeping it healthy, serves neighbors in a unique way. Didn’t lose staff during covid. Owner/operator” OUR IMPACT “Transitioned the organization beyond founder – got beyond founder syndrome in a holistic healthy way, board members, staff members, scaling work and organization. Neighborhood, our mission has worked out – percent of rental to homeownership.” “Really good at understanding our neighborhood and having meaningful relationships with residents. Have gotten there with longevity and intention. “New ideas are coming from the community. Real unified vision for the community. And there is an appetite for affordable housing. NIMBYism doesn’t exist or it gets called out. It’s a community ripe for innovation, equity, economic development. We don’t have the same political hurdles - freedom, support and collaboration.”

• Our Partnerships (authentic, organic & mutually beneficial) • Our Innovation (Entrepreneurial mindset) • Our staff/organization longevity (Longevity - 40+ years, 20+ years in on place and founders 35, Katie 20+ years) • Our sustained impact over time • Our Proximity (majority of staff in neighborhood) • Our commitment to valuing neighborhood’s voice • Our staff’s diversity (35% non-white board) • Homeownership rates

STAFF “Longevity - 40+ years, 20+ years in on place and founders 35, Katie 20+ years. Sustained impact over time.”

PARTNERSHIPS “We struggled with it until we got a grant. Looking to have someone make that investment. There’s a lot of opportunity there. There are a few key foundations out there that care about community development and housing, and I’d like to see them as a partner. Would like to see them as a partner to meet their goals.” (The Home Foundation) “Create a group of businesses so they break even. Its’ a supply chain gap, being competitive is extremely difficult. Gap in Thomasville Heights - FCS as a community quarterback.”

• Scale/Growth (increase partnerships, increase donors, organizational focus) • Home financing opportunities • Vision of impact • Economic Development • Housing affordability • Purpose Built schools and community

“Our mission to provide holistic development.”

• Staff/Talent (Intention recruiting, honor tenure, increase salaries) • Philanthropy (to better prepare for shifts)

SCALE/GROWTH “We got into South Atlanta for 20 years. We have a good strategy that works with lead time. Continuing to provide affordable housing.”

“Fickled philanthropy - We’re in a good space now but we never know how things might shift. (for example - west side blank). We’re holistic so we should be able to shift.”

“We need to now determine what does impact now look.”

HOME FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES “City’s desire for affordable housing - new financing opportunities. City is changing some of its zoning. Beltline - if done well. We’re on their radar as a good example of an equitable neighborhood. Growth happening all around the city that’s impacting all neighborhood. We’re excluding from the HOT GROWTH areas that are driving gentrification, etc. Purpose Built Schools and Community.”

STAFF/TALENT “We can do diversity, equity and inclusion but may be opportunistic - we have room to improve in terms of the board - being intentional - recruiting, etc. Managing board dynamics.”

“Talent Acquisition - Grassroots scrappy team, we’re getting more sophisticated. Our current team can’t take us to where we need to be. Stronger staff. Might mean changing compensation. Also, we want to honor tenure.”

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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SOAR – LEADERSHIP

Leadership

What They Said

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP “Partnerships. We can’t do it all. Deep long-term neighborhood commitment. Improve our ability to get the funding we need. Brand - and still being authentic. As things tend to get bigger, you lose personal touch. We have been neighborhood-focused, faith based. If we do our job well, we work ourselves out of a job. FCS doesn’t get the win, South Atlanta does”.

• To create more community ownership (land trust, community investment trust) • Home financing opportunities (FCS Community Finance – CDFI) • Partnerships (political alliances) • Scale/Growth • Thought leadership

“We could be a leader in Atlanta for community investment trust.”

“South Atlanta is a neighborhood that everyone would like to move to. We can protect those that thrive in the neighborhood.”

“I see us thinking about our next and future neighborhoods. They may remain urban. We may need to think differently about where we work and how we work.”

“For example, tax credit model”

INNOVATION “Continue to scale our work and be the thought leader in development community. Filling in gaps where we aren’t planning currently (early education, healthcare, etc.) We need to be able to fit and manage those partnerships.” “Make FCS Community Finance - CDFI. Creating systems that are inclusive are opportunities to grow and scale. South Atlanta is a neighborhood that everyone would like to move to. We can protect those that thrive in the neighborhood.”

PARTNERSHIPS “I don’t know what our future will look like. Same values, same approach. We’re pretty nimble and entrepreneurial, We may have to change our strategy and get involved in policy. Working with the next mayor.”

“If we have policies in place, as people put apartments, and they have purview to see us as a partner.”

SCALE/GROWTH “3 metrics in the neighborhood. We want to see those benchmark increase in scale. Each benchmark has 4 metrics in it. We want to see these move.”

• Increased equitable, diverse homeownership • Increased neighborhood income levels • Improved housing and community economic development • Team longevity • Economic liability • Relational mobility • High performing schools • Access to health and wellness

REFLECT VALUES “Overly simplistic, we’re following our values. Dignity, Neighboring and Developing. There’s a difference between results and impact. How do we measure the value of what our moms did? One of our strengths of FCS is we will invest overtime. Those things produce results.” “We know the direction we’re headed. We need to refresh the aspiration. Our work has always been rooted in racial equity. We’ve been a do-good ministry and disrupting systems that are using economics, but we aren’t telling that story explicitly. It’s institutionalized in our culture, but it’s not in our processes and systems. “ COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT “Income level in the neighborhood should improve to include level neighborhood is showing a commensurate increase in income as it related to the city.” “Flourishing Neighborhood Index. Sometimes you can measure that Economic indicators, crime, education, different ways to capture information. We have done intuitively and now we have this measure. We need to continue to flush that out and invest in it.” “Tangible Outcomes: All children have cradle to college education. That we increase life expectancy Wealth is created for our families through high employment and assets. Vibrant local businesses (locally owned businesses)”

“Double down on the F&I meaning. I would clarify the linkages of score to benchmark. Neighborhood - housing should improve. Economic development - should tie to tell us that we’re making progress.

“Map every house of the neighborhood to Flourishing index.”

“We have created the flourishing neighborhood index.”

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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SOAR – BOARD Board

What They Said

COMMUNICATIONS “I’ve been in the neighborhood all my life and one thing FCS excels at is communication. They’re great communicators. Even when the message may not be what the people on the other side want to hear. FCS does a great job at communication and storytelling.”

• External communications/ Storytelling • Community development • Presence in the community (Staff lives and works in community) • Staff dedication / hard work • Partnerships/ Relationships (quiet and nimble, working at neighborhood’s pace) • Servant leadership

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT “Community - They build purposeful, well thought out communities. Inclusive communities. That’s the meat of it.”

“When I brag about FCS, I’m attracted to how we identify community development. They start from within with health and wellbeing of an individual and progress up the ladder. You don’t see other organizations doing that – seeing an individuals’ life transformed.” COMMUNITY PRESENCE “The presence of the organization in the community. You have staff from FCS that actually lives and works in the community and that’s different from what other organizations are doing.”

STAFF DEDICATION/HARD WORK “A level of dedication I’m not sure other organizations have.”

“They excel at doing hard things well. The corner market, land trust, CDFI… you lean into hard stuff in a way that brings equity to the work that you’re doing and there’s a lot of innovation there.” PARTNERSHIPS/RELATIONSHIPS “The partnerships. I think we’ve done a wonderful job of partnering and I’m very proud of the partners that choose us and that we choose.” “Most proud and impressed with FCS incarnational approach to development. We see a lot of examples of coming at it from afar. FCS is quiet, humble, there are starts and stops but it’s hyper local. It goes at the neighborhood’s pace and in partnership with the neighborhood. The word is getting out because we’ve been at it for as long as we have.” “Relationships/Cultivation. We really believe in our relationship with the community over time. Innovation/Entrepreneurship – we’re willing to step out and try new things and that’s a very unique mindset that we carry in our DNA.” SERVANT LEADERSHIP “Servant leadership describes us. The leaders of FCS being leaders but leading in a place where they’re being of service to the community and that’s important when you serve a community that feels they’re not deserving of “stuff”. FCS presents as if it’s what the community deserves (not just, I’m going to give you something). Everyone at FCS is in a position of service.” RETENTION “I see the shift. The neighborhood has shifted out of our control. FCS will have a substantial challenge with retaining history, people, prices and we’ll have an issue maintaining that.”

• Retention (history, people, prices) • External costs (real estate & construction costs) • Managing scale/ growth (complexity of transactions) • DEI & social justice alignment (heighten interest and increased allyship)

EXTERNAL COSTS “Keeping up with real estate costs and construction costs. Everybody is feeling it and seeking relief.”

MANAGING SCALE/GROWTH “The complexity of transactions. The more things we do, the more layers there are. The relationships become more important. It’s a complex and changing game. New methods to accomplish our goals.” “Over the years, FCS has been more in the background. At what point do you become a larger organization that everybody knows, not just in the neighborhood but in the city of Atlanta and nationally. How comfortable will FCS be if that happens? A shift from being small and good at what you’re doing to being on everybody’s radar screen.”

“I feel confident we can scale well but do it at our own pace and not be pulled by the trends of the day.”

“How do we maintain when our biggest strength has been being local? How do we translate the impact of the organization outside of Atlanta or outside of south Atlanta?”

“There’s always the challenge of leadership and staying the pace. This last year has been a lot of stress. What does that mean for burn out and sustainability?” DEI & SOCIAL JUSTICE ALIGNMENT “Philanthropy and a heightened interest in social justice. This is a moment to push ourselves through the door before people lose interest. Being a part of the Purpose Built network – provides opportunity.” “The allyship strength that FCS has and its ability to be a part of the community and understand the community while not being OF the community and being great allies at the same time. There’s a difference between being IN the space and being an ally. FCS has a strength in that. Even if they don’t feel the pain, they carry it. That is key.”

“ XXX shifts. That’s their bread and butter. They know how to do that.”

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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SOAR – BOARD

Board

What They Said

REPLICATION “Simply replication. More of the same for others.”

• Replication (continued impactful work) • Professional development (grooming next leaders) • Community economic development (job creating, training, scaled housing) • Thought leadership position (Flourishing Neighborhood Index, bigger conversations, entrepreneurship/pioneering spirit)

“Replication leads to the elimination of poverty.”

“FCS is entering a new time and space and with the work that has happened in the past, being able to communicate that to funders, governmental agencies…we’ve been doing this well for a long time and tooting our horn enough that it will expand those that are expose to it.” PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT “Professional development and the cultivation of practitioners. Giving the grooming to become the next leaders. FCS has the opportunity to create that opportunity, especially as the next generation comes along.” COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT “Filling community needs (job creation, training, etc.) – scale that up. The number of homes that need to be preserved needs to be scaled up. How do we do more filling the needs of the community?” THOUGHT LEADERSHIP POSITION “Flourishing neighborhood index that we’ve crafted is really beneficial and can be fleshed out and get it in the hands of others. I would love for the Lupton Center to be seen as a consulting center of choice.” “The Lupton Center and FCS becoming a thought leader in some of these bigger conversations. I think we’re unique in that we’re not activists but we’re on the ground and I think the Lupton Center hasn’t launched into it what it will be but it can become a thought leader because we’ve been on the ground doing the work.”

“Entrepreneurship and keeping that pioneering spirit. That will be helpful to others that are doing this work.”

MEASURED COMMUNITY FEEDBACK “The measure is the feeling in the community. We are so close to the community that we can gauge if we’re on target. When we go and ask for space, participation, etc. all of those things will tell us how we’re doing and allow us a unit of measure.”

• Measured community feedback • Repeat/increased Donors/ Donations • Increased Housing Unit Development • Indigenous Community Leadership • FCS Expansion • Constituent retention • DEI focus (honest reflection of FCS to community)

DONORS/DONATIONS “Number of repeat donors and increase in donations over time.”

HOUSING UNIT DEVELOPMENT “The number of units we’re able to deliver. That’s the catch when you’re a housing organization.”

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP “Indigenous leadership. The folks that have grown up in the South Atlanta neighborhood. Most proud of the staff that has come up in the neighborhood and are now leaders.”

FCS EXPANSION “If we have other neighborhoods that are inviting us in in the future.”

“If the master plan comes to fruition. If everything comes together and hopefully FCS is at the heart of that.”

CONSTITUENT RETENTION “If the current children, would like to remain in the neighborhood once they are adults. It’s a strong sign that this is my home and I want to stay here. I have the option of going elsewhere but I want to stay.” “When I grew up in South Atlanta, the goal was to get out. When you finished high school, you were ready to move because you wanted better. My classmates can’t even afford to come back now. “ DEI FOCUS “We have a lot of positive things going on with FCS in South Atlanta, and we need to continue to know that people watch us and also from a color perspective too. Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, FCS is represented by all of the Black people. Outside of the community, people think FCS is Black owned. The way that we partner and present, I don’t want us to get caught up in “I thought they were Black owned” and know what our face to the community looks like and be okay with that. We present diverse in our communications and present what we are, but let’s make sure we continue to do that.”

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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SOAR – STAFF Staff

What They Said

OUR CULTURE “Equity and inclusion (internally). Leadership has done the hard work of addressing equity and inclusion in our staff and moving our non-profit towards a salaried organization. Allowed them to enter in a competitive way (mainly minorities). Reflected across the board from board level all the way down. Others consider us light years ahead of them. As a white founded, faith-based organization, we are very inclusive and that makes me very proud.” “Welcoming new people” “Meeting people where they are. Accepting people for exactly who they are. That’s big.” “Great work culture” INNOVATION /THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FCS has honed being innovative and thought leadership. As an organization well into its 40s, FCS has gotten to the stage in life (and success) where we have credible leadership. We’ve done the work of building the muscles of expertise of a base organization and when you look at our portfolio (some say we look like a for profit entity), it lends itself to being in worlds that are not always faith based.”

• Culture (DEI- focused internally and welcoming) • Innovation/ Thought leadership • External Communications/ Storytelling • Safe place for youth • Holistic approach to outreach • Partnerships/ Relationships (Purpose build network, Lupton Center)

“We are ahead of the curve in so many ways. When I think about what FCS is doing and the practical ways we live out WHO we say we are. The trends are following us in a lot of ways. “

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS/STORYTELLING & SAFE SPACE FOR YOUTH “Yes, we do great at storytelling. Proud to create a safe space for youth in the neighborhood.”

HOLISTIC APPROACH “Doing a holistic approach to outreach instead of focusing on 1 or 2 areas.”

PARTNERSHIPS/RELATIONSHIPS “Relationships. We do so many things, some programs are run by our partners. Like the city. We have a lot of good connections. We know a ton of people in the Purpose Built network. We know a lot of people” “In the practical and tangible ways, we touch the community. The housing department and how they’re touching the community. Carver Grounds being an anchor in the community. The Lupton Center and the ways we help other people create that same feeling and showing them how to do the work where they are.” “How we’re able to raise and make money. That’s rare. I’ve worked at nonprofits that rely almost exclusively on government grants. That is not the case here where we’ve found a way to generate our own income and supplement it from other sources (housing, Lupton, capital campaign). It seems to me we’ve raised a lot of money really fast. Speaks to us being able to articulate who we are. All of us don’t have to worry about where the money is coming from. We can feel good that income is coming in to support our work.” DEI STRATEGY “For the better part of our history, we’ve always addressed the issues of race and equity but that hasn’t been lead language for us. Often times, people call into question if we’re really addressing race issues. These last few years have moved us to being more apologetic and how we do actually address these issues. Opportunity to grow and strategically scratch the surface. I see that as a strong place for us to grow and scale.”

• DEI strategy (address issues of race equity) • Thought

leadership (affordable housing/health disparities) (increased employee hiring

“Atlanta is changing so fast (wants, pricing, neighborhoods), how are we staying ahead of the curve in terms of housing?”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP (AFFORDABLE HOUSING/HEALTH DISPARITIES) “The housing market has had a crazy year and a half. It’s more of strength than opportunity but FCS has done a really good job of adapting. I think a lot of the folks at FCS are very plugged into other nonprofits and have connections to the city and builders. People starting to do ADUs to bring more affordable housing. I’ve been pretty impressed at how the people at FCS seem to be paying attention.” “The challenge and opportunity in that (part of our secret sauce) is our head down, committed to our geographic location and not creating a lot of hoopla around what we’re doing has allowed us to purchase a lot of homes and that’s been critically important to our success. We’re entering into a time when that under the radar mode of operating is dying (not to the scale we’ve been doing). This is an opportunity for us to step out into the forefront (carpe diem). Have the opportunity to do well in thought leadership if we seize the moment. We’re Beyonce (get out of the way).” Marketplace changes/trends: - “Gives us opportunities to be recognized as a leader (thought leader, etc.). I feel like people might seek us out to ask how we do that (opportunities for Lupton Center, etc.) We’re primed to receive racial equity funds because we’ve already been doing the work.” - “Opportunity to direct and influence how they’re thinking about. We have a place in the health disparity conversation.” - “On a national level, government (White House level), the issue around health disparities and how they’re tied to housing and education (place) is something we’ve already been in the modus operandi of when everyone else was NOT about place. Because we’ve stuck to our guns and committed to our practice, it makes us thought leaders. It also does that in how we’ve had to diversify ourselves in that we couldn’t just be dependent on grants. Had to think innovatively about funds. Makes us great partners across the board.” CULTURE “Because we have so much coming (expansion), I feel like we’ll be hiring a lot of people. Challenge is expansion but keeping what is special about FCS. Sometimes we can get siloed in our work. Sometimes we don’t know what’s going on in the other pillars and are not able to talk about it. I worry with adding more people that they’re incorporated into the larger team.”

• Culture

with team cohesion)

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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SOAR – STAFF

Staff

What They Said

NEIGHBORHOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY “The ultimate goal is to leave the neighborhood self-sufficient. We leave when we’ve stabilized the neighborhood enough. The dream is to feel the people in the neighborhood have been able to rise (not displaced) with property values and gentrification.” “What makes FCS different is that the whole mission is based around the people we’re serving, can also provide something to us. They have something of value. Equal transaction. What we’re trying to do is empower and lift up the residents to make them self-sufficient. That’s our baseline values and why people come to us.” THOUGHT LEADERSHIP (EXTERNAL REPUTATION) “Raise our public profile. We’ve gotten on some interesting radars (60 Minutes, Purpose Built). There are a lot of ways that we could be on a more national/public stage. The way that we can talk about things in a unified way is unique and important. The only way to solve these issues is to talk about them together (versus in silos). I want to raise our profile in a way that allows us to be a part of conversations on a larger scale.” “In that public platform, I want us to own and scale within each of the sectors that we have credibility in. Oftentimes, these fields operate in silos but pulling them together raises questions. Elevate our ability to be thought leaders in each of those areas. This only works best if we create the points of connectivity and do it holistically. That is extremely important for where we’re going. Almost like Marvel (each superhero has its own unique superpower), but the power is in the brand (collective). It is our manifesto and our methodology, and we have a great opportunity to do it individually and create a long road map in the silos where we are now.”

• Neighborhood self- sufficiency (stability) • Thought leadership (External Reputation)

“And the avengers’ ability to work together. LMAO”

“People are theoretically interested in what the Lupton Center can do but also on what the housing can do. People’s eyes light up.”

“It’s in those moments, about housing development, people want to know about the funding piece. When we talk about what we had to do to scale, people want to talk about the funding.”

“People are excited about FCS methods of measurement. How we’re measuring our impact (versus activity – how many houses we built last year). People are wanting to move from activity to how do we measure impact. Where do we find the people that do that/templates? Opportunity for us to scale how we share to the public and solidify ourselves as innovators and thought leaders and flourishing.” “Operating in my silo of housing, I automatically go down that channel. But the fact that FCS has been around for more than 40 years and has been very intentional with what real help looks like (big picture, hand up versus hand out). It was a very intentional approach, to not just want to build an entirely low-income neighborhood, but to get a percentage of good quality, safe housing, mixed income housing options for people. It’s the long game, and FCS has come into that very intentionally. I have a lot of respect for that approach. Forty something years speaks for itself.”

FINDING YOUR FORTE SOAR SUMMARY & DETAILS

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SOAR – STAFF

Staff

What They Said

FNI (PROGRAM OUTCOMES) “That’s what I think about every day. The program outputs and activities. Yes, we can measure the number of families, the number of units but we’re looking at the long game. FNI is where we’re actually looking at the statistics from the neighborhoods (long term indicators of success). We’ve done it twice before. The first and third will be similar so we can compare.” “The measuring tool we’ve created (FNI). Katie and Jim’s leadership the last 20 years…their ability to build on Lupton’s innovation and the diverse group of people he brought to the table is key. Their ability to think about strategic plans…gives us guidelines and guard rails. They pair that with internal strategic staff development. It’s both of those. The FNI is the way in which we do that qual/quant measurement of what success looks like for us. The ability to use a tool that’s competitive in the market and speaks the language of the planning world and at the same time allows the lay person to think through >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20

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