Partnerships Can Change Lives

This may seen like an oxymoron. Yet, the subtle changes may not always be evident.
The following are two stellar examples.
One is a church that partners with an popular national chain grocery store that is known for its organic brands. Each week the store donates thousands of dollars in food. The church prepares a meal once a week. After lunch, participants have the option to select their own groceries without cost. Too many programs focus on  handouts and may never know the outcome. This group shares a meal together every week. They develop relationships and take an interest in others'. Many grocery recipients are people who want to work or contribute, but they've hit a rough patch. That might be a temporary job loss, serious medical concern or other dilemma. While it is true that a few participants are just along for a free ride, others have used the savings to pay medical bills, save enough for an elementary school child to attend Summer Camp with peers, tough it out a few months until they have another paycheck. The real value is dignity and new found relationships. People genuinely care. It is a place where healing takes place. And it is a stable place where people can rebuild their lives without fear of judgment.

The other is a nonprofit that houses international students. The program is unique. The design is highly successful in that 98% of students return to serve as national leaders in their country of origin. This is in contrast to 50% nationwide. Partners include one or more colleges in Portland, but also overseas partners. This nonprofit also delivers high quality intensive training in Africa and Latin America to equip new leaders in their homeland.

What makes these partnerships unique? There are many food programs all over the country. Many persons are served efficiently and some with dignity. The unique factor is the caring relationships. The other is also unique. Why so? Again there are many housing arrangements for college students, even international students. However, again the design is the relational aspect. It is a place of peace and respect where international students don't just have a room, but work out relationship dynamics which gives them tremendous insight into the lives of others'. Like the U.S., the Middle East and New Zealand have diverse religious and ethnic populations, yet the Middle East has been at war for hundreds of years, and New Zealand has a high suicide rate, especially among teenagers. This seems to indicate that it takes more than a casual exposure to living with diverse populations. Indeed respect is intentional. It is built into the design, nurtured and refined. In the end, students emerge as whole people able to bring healing, help and hope as they return home.

Partnerships can be static or life changing.

Five Produce Sharing Ideas

Years ago we coordinated an informal garden produce exchange at a local church. People brought in their extras, and those who needed or had use for it took what they wanted-no questions asked.

Years later we began sharing our abundance with others. What we didn't grow we picked at local farms. Since we were picking for ourselves, and were already there, we began asking for donations to share at church. We obtained a receipt book from the church. At the height of the season we brought in two pick up trucks filled with boxes of produce. We washed, trimmed and displayed it. Anything that remained was taken to Blanchet House. Blanchet house is downtown Portland. They prepare meals 365 days a year for anyone that comes through their doors. We always appreciated their willingness to make use of anything we brought in.

In a recent post we added a picture of a raised bed. All the produce in this raised bed is free. The US Marines grow this garden. Many small businesses have room to grow a raised bed. Produce can be used to prepare group meals to improve nutrition at work. Moreover working together in the garden builds relationships.

One church near downtown has historically grown a row in their community garden for the food bank.

Finally, many nonprofits serve persons in need. There are many ways to share produce. One is through a work share. Rather than a hand out, a person requesting assistance could volunteer at a garden and receive part of the bounty.

Nine Core Values

Nine Core Values

Our operational values include sustainability, efficiency and growth.
Financial sustainability is required to fund operations which includes paying taxes, upgrading technology, reimbursing the cost of gas, paying vendors, meet payroll and improving cash flow. Efficiency has to do with governance. Our company uses a strict formula which balances how resources are allocated. Cash flow is the life blood of any company and though painful, it comes before before us receiving a paycheck. We've made the statement that we are focused on quality, not quantity. Operational capacity comes from a commitment to place quality in the drivers seat and make growth secondary. Although growth is critical to operational capacity, it can never be at the expense of quality.

The next grouping is our service category. These values include diversification, evaluation and mission clarity/brand. This is a family business, so nothing moves forward without agreement of the partners. Family relationships are always more important than money. Here is an example from the property management side of out business. This e-mail correspondence from the office manager is just one way we show respect by keeping each other informed.

"We got a new water heater for 17138. They were not getting hot water so the operations manager went over twice to light it. It did not stay so we called our mechanical guy. Then we realized we might still have a warranty, which we did, until July 12. God takes pretty good care of us!

We had Gabe come because he was a LOT less expensive than the plumbing vendor, and the warranty was only for parts. He got it going, but he said, "If this doesn't do it, there is nothing else I can do. It just means a new one”. Then the renter called and asked when we were coming back. I guess they thought we would have ESP or something to know it did not work. I did mean to call and check with them-- She calls him, then he calls us, because she thinks her English is not okay. He may be in some other state, so some of the communication is interesting. Okay, so the operations manager called the plumbing vendor and told them the situation. They traded the old one for a new one (no warranty) Another tenant helped him get the new one into the space and he had it up and going on the 3rd. He is returning the old one today. With mileage, it will cost more than $100., since we had Gabe come and the operations manager had to buy some tape and new straps (the others did not fit).
If we had not had the warranty it would have been some big dollars, so we were glad we had the papers in the file and glad it had not expired. It was the one you and I bought at the sidewalk sale".

We use cloud streams as part of our planning process. Income streams may be vulnterable to economic conditions such as a recession, inflation or legislative changes which affect taxes. They are also subject to changes in supply and demand. Companies that thrive must be able to adjust rapidly and flexibly to those changes without losing sight of their original mission and vision. Diversity helps to protect against risk, and allows us to offer customers more. Evaluation and improvement is used to scrutinize every decision. We must understand what services are in vogue- their usefulness, who our customers are, our pricing structure, the return on our investment of resources for those we serve, and for our own company. Mission clarity, is essential to our identity, and our ability to communicate effectively. The best services in the world are of little value if customers don't know they exist. This drives research and development practices.

Lastly, we understand the importance of staying in business, so our business continuity plan values the importance of reliable vendor relations, information management and contract fulfillment under adverse conditions. Since we are a relationship-based business, our desire is to take good care of vendor relations. We want to make sure our vendors have plans that will minimize any disruptions to their business and are available to help with that process. To prevent a disruption to our business we may in some instances need to identify alternate vendors, with different logistics networks to ensure the availability of supplies. This also means finding work around solutions to paying our vendors on time if there is a technological failure on a company or regional basis. Information management means working to protect and back up vendor and customer information. It means mainating electronic information we can safeguard and access from a remote location and hard copies in the event of a technology failure. For instance we maintain copies of all business documents in off-site.
Lastly, we are working on succession plans to ensure our ability to fulfill contracts under adverse conditions. This means if a member of our team is working on a project and is affected by serious illness, an accident, a family emergency or natural disaster, we are working to develop plans to continue work seamlessly to fulfill our obligations.