Small Business Spotlight
Faith Housing Coalition
From a deep belief in the dignity of every individual to addressing the housing crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, their story is one of resilience and community focus. Learn how they overcame challenges, secured funding, and built strong community relationships to provide safe and affordable housing.
Q- What inspired you to start your own business, and how did you turn that inspiration into reality?
A- Faith Housing Coalition was inspired by a deep-seated belief in the dignity and worth of every individual, and the recognition of a growing housing crisis during COVID-19 pandemic. The journey began during the pandemic, when we witnessed the profound challenges faced by families living in unsafe and substandard housing conditions, including evictions and foreclosures. This sparked a desire to do more for the community, particularly in providing education on financial literacy. Giving everyone the chance to acquire the financial education tools they need to succeed. Having worked in finance for my whole career and witnessed evictions and foreclosures, this problem struck me on a personal level. Being able to have conversations with clients and finding out once pulling their credit report the lack of understanding of their credit history/worthiness and the monthly expense was alarming.
Q- Can you share some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a small business owner and how you overcame them?
A- Our journey has been both rewarding and challenging. As a startup non-profit committed to providing safe and affordable housing opportunities, we have encountered several significant obstacles. Securing sufficient funds to support our initiatives has been one of our primary and ongoing problems. Getting over this obstacle, as a new organization, our focus was gaining the trust of potential donors and securing grants. Along with us focusing on building a strong relationship with local businesses. These efforts helped us build a solid network of supporters who believe in our mission. Still there are a lot of challenges and resistance to overcome however, I am looking forward to continuing community engagement and building trust. Through perseverance, collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to our mission.
Q- How do you prioritize building relationships with customers and your local community, and what strategies have you found most effective?
At Faith Housing Coalition, cultivating strong, positive relationships with our residents and the broader community is at the heart of our mission. We believe that these relationships are crucial for creating a supportive and thriving environment. Our approach begins with placing the community at the center of everything we do. We actively seek to understand the unique needs, challenges, and aspirations of the individuals and families we serve. This community-centric focus guides our programs and services, ensuring they are relevant and impactful.