From Our Executive Director
When Full Circle Communities was formed in 1999 it had no assets other than an idea. My co-founders, Milton and Martin Pinsky, and I wanted to create a model for how developers could leverage their expertise to build an organization that attacked the lack of adequate affordable housing, and the social challenges that can accompany such a lack, through a holistic approach to development and service provision.
Why do we do it? And why in this particular way, constrained by our bylaws to keep only 25 cents of every dollar we make?
First, we’re mission-driven. Providing quality affordable housing forms the core of our mission, and to us that means providing services that maximize residents’ independence and wellbeing. We work with service-provider partners to see that school-age children have access to resources and activities that help them perform well at school and make constructive use of their non-school hours. For seniors, we seek services that enhance mobility, improve nutrition, and minimize isolation and inactivity. Because we’re mission-driven, everything we do is directed toward expanding a community’s resources for housing to its more vulnerable or at-risk populations in ways that strengthen that community. We commit 75% of our economics to service provision because we believe that’s the best way to help residents enhance their lives, and a way for affordable housing to enhance the larger community.
Second, we’re the right balance of idealistic and informed. We want to build communities, not tilt at windmills. We work diligently to understand a community’s needs as we develop a project plan. We can’t save the world, but we can improve its housing options a little at a time.
Third, we love what we do. We’re concerned about the lack of quality affordable housing but we’re energized by opportunities to do something about it. We enjoy working with each other, and we like partnering with residents, community groups, local and state agencies, elected representatives – in short, everyone, who cares about their community. We like knowing that the better a property performs, the more services it can provide for its residents.
We think our friends at ArtVersion did a wonderful job on this web site (launched in July 2015). We wanted a contemporary look, easy navigation, and a better way of communicating with, and hearing from, the communities we serve. We’ll use the blog to talk what we’re doing, about issues in the world of affordable housing, and to share other items that catch our attention. We hope you’ll get to know us by exploring the site and checking in on the blog.
We’ll look forward to getting to know you, too.