Faith-based economic development is not a new trend. Churches
have worked in U.S. communities since colonial days. "What is
new in modern-day America is the focus on minority institutions
using their strengths and assets to develop inner-city
neighborhoods," explains Rev. Dr. Fred Lucas, president and
CEO of New York City's Faith Center for Community Development
Inc., which provides technical assistance to faith-based community
development groups.
Entrepreneurship has become a major tool that faith-based
community developers wield to revitalize urban areas. Lucas says
the move into entrepreneurial ventures was a natural evolution of
the churches' mission to help the poor. "It's not
enough to have housing programs; people need jobs and access to
quality goods and services," says Lucas. Religious
organizations also needed money to maintain their core activities
in the face of a shrinking government and corporate
belt-tightening. "It became an issue of how to generate
operating money and help community businesses develop," he
says.
Two organizations, in New Jersey and California, exemplify this
trend. New Community Corp. in Newark was started in 1967 by William
J. Linder, a Catholic priest, after civil unrest decimated the
community. The 1,600-employee nonprofit organization has no
affiliation with the Catholic church, but Monsignor Linder sits on
the board of directors, and clergy from 15 religious orders work in
capacities ranging from CFO to school director.
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One of New Community's first endeavors was establishing a
supermarket in a shopping center it had built. It took a while to
find a partner who would be willing to move into the community and
share equity, but the organization persevered. In 1990, Carteret,
New Jersey-based grocery store chain Pathmark came on board. Today,
the grocery store's annual sales are $35 million, and
two-thirds of the proceeds are plowed back into the community. New
Community now also owns franchises of Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza
Hut, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Taco Bell, Mail Boxes Etc. and Magic
Fountain Ice Cream.
FAME Assistance Corp., a nonprofit organization founded by the
First African Methodist Episcopal Church, also sprang from the
ashes of civil riots--this time in Los Angeles. The program began
in 1993 with a $1 million contribution from The Walt Disney Co. to
provide microloan funding and entrepreneurial training.
That initial investment has mushroomed. "We have a business
resource center containing the FAME Renaissance Venture Fund, which
invests in fledgling businesses," says FAME executive director
Mark Whitlock. In addition, FAME runs a job placement agency and
will open a 48,000-square-foot incubator in 2000 to nurture small
minority companies.
Entrepreneurship is certainly not new to FAME, which has been
part of the Los Angeles community since 1872. In fact, Biddy Mason,
one of the church's founders, once owned large parts of
downtown Los Angeles and was known throughout the community for
helping those who were less fortunate. Through efforts like these,
faith-based organizations are using entrepreneurship to help people
help themselves.
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