United Fund Advisors

The Open Door

2007-10-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

One hears the phrase “take the ball and run with it” a bit too often, but once in a while it’s just the right way to describe a person who takes an idea, owns it, and really makes it succeed.

As Portland Center Stage was preparing to move into the Gerding Theater at the Armory, Artistic Director Chris Coleman was thinking about ways to reinvent the relationship between his theater company and the community. (He describes this experience with refreshing honesty in the book, Voices of the Armory.)

An idea surfaced: keep the door open.

One might think that Chris has enough to do running a growing theater company. And this was when, in my estimation, Chris elevated from talented theater director to “change agent” in our community.

With Chris’ leadership (and the creativity of Tim DuRoche), the PCS has shared its space with many, many performing arts companies, businesses, non-profits and schools over the past year. They’ve run festivals and a summer camp. PCS has also hosted visioning sessions for the sustainable redevelopment of New Orleans, federal transportation meetings, the Sustainable Oregon Schools Initiative, Self Enhancement Inc., Reclaiming Future’s RAD program, Portland State University, Pacific Northwest College of Art, to name a few. This is in addition to a bustling café in the lobby, daily Tai Chi classes on the mezzanine, monthly First Thursday events, and of course, the beginning of their second season in the Armory, featuring Cabaret.

The Bishop

2007-09-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

Few of us will ever forget scenes of South Central LA during the riots of 1992. But just a few blocks from the intersection of Florence and Normandie Avenues, good change is occurring under the leadership of a charismatic minister, Bishop Noel Jones, who preaches to a membership that he has grown from 3,000 to over 10,000 faithful at the City of Refuge Church. His vision is profound, and his church services are breathtaking, but Bishop Jones is also undertaking a project that promises to leave a powerful and lasting legacy.

In this neighborhood, the poverty rate exceeds 60%, unemployment stands at 9%, and the average per capita income is less than half the City of Los Angeles’ average. Home ownership in the area is only 15%, and there is strong need and demand for affordable workforce housing. There has been no major development of commercial space in the neighborhood in over 8 years.

Bishop Jones, along with Urban Holdings, Inc. and its CEO Scott Chaplan, and the Greater Bethany Economic Development Corporation are the drivers behind a new master-planned development in South Central called Bethany Square, with which he hopes to offer ownership opportunities in the community while addressing some of its most pressing needs.

Bethany Square is a big idea: the project includes for-sale condominiums, commercial space, affordable senior rental housing, day care space, retail space, a transitional living facility and parking. We were fortunate to have been able to help acquire an allocation of new markets tax credits for the project, to help structure the transaction to finance initial development costs, and are working with Bishop Jones and his partners to complete financing and bring this dream to reality.

Celebrating Good Change

2007-08-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

This blog is the beginning of a conversation about creating good change. Change in the way we think about financing buildings and communities. In the way we conserve resources. And how we build infrastructure for renewable energy.

I’d like to celebrate projects that demonstrate good change, and those who make it happen - true leaders with the vision and guts to build opportunity in their communities.

I’d like to kick things off by introducing Cheryl Bickle. She started teaching at the Community Transitional School in Portland, Oregon in 1990 and is now the Principal. The school serves children who are homeless or in poverty-related crisis.

As Cheryl told us, these kids and their families live in motels, at friends’ houses, in transitional housing, and several even live in their cars. Their circumstances ar dire, and their needs are great. Under her leadership, the school serves about 200 kids a year, or about 70-80 each day. The school also transports the children to and from school, and gives them two hot meals, clean clothes, dental and health care.

To help Cheryl, her teachers and community and foundation supporters, we use New Markets Tax Credits to bring the final piece of financing to construct a permanent school building– which will be ready for the students in the fall of 2008. Our partners at US Bank, Nixon Peabody LLP and Novogradac & Company went the extra mile to get it done.

Community Transitional School is one act of good change, championed by a community leader one can’t help but admire. When people like Cheryl Bickle are supported, they can create the massive good change that makes communities great.

As Margaret Mead said, “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

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