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
10
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator