L'Arche Atlanta

L’Arche’s current strategic plan goals are as follows:

1. LEAD. Sustain & Expand Board Composition & Best Practices
Strengthen our board through increasing our diversity and continuing the
implementation of best practices
2. GROW. Sustain & Expand Housing Opportunities
Launch our second home to double our available housing opportunities.
3. FUND. Sustain & Expand Financial Resources
Strengthen our development efforts and financial reserves to increase our impact and
ensure longevity
4. SHARE. Sustain & Expand Outreach & Community Awareness
Expand the telling and sharing of the L’Arche Experience in ever-widening circles

In addition to these operational goals, L’Arche Atlanta is working towards a radical vision of inclusion. We envision a society where people with intellectual disabilities live fully-engaged lives in their communities and are recognized for their contributions. We are among what New York Times columnist David Brooks calls the “weavers.” Brooks hypothesizes that isolation is an underpinning of social discord. Isolation is a source of profound pain and can worsen trauma. Weavers across the country are working to solve this problem “by building community and weaving the social fabric” locally. Brooks describes the diversity of these weavers and the common thread that ties us together: “...the trait that leaps out above all others is ‘radical mutuality.’ We are all completely equal, regardless of where society ranks us.”

This is L’Arche’s key function. We build relationships, one by one, bringing people closer together. Our outreach events are opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities to connect joyfully with the surrounding community. Whatever the venue, whether a Braves game or a more intimate Thanksgiving meal, these events help banish the isolation and loneliness experienced by so many people with disabilities and create a space where old perceptions can transform into new relationships.

Priority 1 – LEAD
• Develop Board recruitment strategy
• Develop Diversity Policy statement
• Develop Board Chair succession plan
• Develop Executive Director succession plan
• Revisit Board committee structure
• Develop New Board member orientation
• Devote time to L’Arche formation at Board meetings and events
• Engage past board members with current board
• Provide opportunities to engage connection with L’Arche USA & Federation
• Engage non-board members in committees

Priority 2 – GROW
• Purchase 915 Clairemont Avenue home
• Renovate 915 Clairemont Avenue home so it is ready for occupancy
• Raise the additional funds needed to open the home
• Define what volunteer help will be needed or where consulting is needed
• Implement our Funding Plan: Foundation, Individuals, Institutional, Partners,
Organizations
• Long-term: Conduct a feasibility study around a partnership with Columbia, Emory,
or Agnes Scott

Priority 3 – FUND
• Input: growth plan (number of housing opportunities); Output: scaled budget
• Determine Capital campaign feasibility
• Draft fund development plan
• Develop policy for use of Reserve fund
• Hire Development/Communications staff to support Executive Director
• Develop a young professionals network that will assist in fundraising/social media and
form future board members

Priority 4 – SHARE
• Define Community Events relationship to the board
• Assess cleanliness of database
o Enhance capture of contact info of event participants
• Develop communications brief and plan
o Improve our website
o Leverage Core member talents to tell story
o Monthly L’Arche messaging
• Core member volunteer & job experiences
o Define/outline universe of opportunities
• Highlight L’Arche in local & regional communications
• Additional regional / state advocacy events
• Host PORCHFEST event
• Host events for groups who advocate for persons with ID/DD, Small group events
• Host Fund & Friend raising events
• Increase Board engagement at community events

L’Arche Atlanta has significant organizational capacity to achieve these goals thanks to several key factors:
- Leadership: L’Arche has a strong board of 15 fully engaged members. They hire, assess performance, and manage the Executive Director & Community Leader, Tim Moore. Tim has successfully grown L’Arche’s budget and enhanced our presence in the community. He fosters leadership qualities among the staff, encouraging them in their growth. We also benefit from the leadership of an Advisory Board and our young professional-led L'Arche Atlanta Community Council.
- Policies and Procedures: L’Arche has robust policies and procedures that adhere to L’Arche USA standards, DBHDD licensing requirements, and CQL accreditation standards. These documents ensure accountability for adherence to best practices and a matrix of complex requirements.
- Community Support: We enjoy hearty support from our community, which extends outward from our Oakhurst home into the neighborhood, wider Decatur community, and throughout Atlanta. This strong sense of community has enabled us to foster greater inclusion and welcoming for people with IDD. The community demonstrates support by attending our events, making generous financial and in-kind donations, and providing volunteer help.
- Values: L’Arche homes around the world are tied together by a commitment to celebrate the unique place a person with a disability holds within the community. The L’Arche philosophy of caregiving begins with the premise that people living with disabilities are a gift to society and that expressions of care must honor the dignity, personhood, and gifts of each person with a disability. L’Arche’s values and culture are reflected in practices that continually reinforce the inherent dignity and value of people with disabilities.
- Model: The L’Arche home is a place of celebration, spirituality, and connection. Starting in our home and branching out, we work to bring these qualities into the broader community. Distinct from other providers who provide quality, dignified care, the L’Arche Atlanta home is embedded within the local community. Our homes provide the space for mutually-transforming relationships for Core Members, House Assistants, volunteers, and friends to be nourished.
- Fiscal Health: L’Arche’s annual budget has grown steadily to match our expanded programming and reach. We have ended each of the last six years with budget surpluses. Strong board supervision and an independent audit help ensure our financial integrity. The board is committed to fundraising and we execute a revenue development plan to secure funding from diverse sources.
- Strategic Plan: L’Arche is guided by a board-approved strategic plan, which establishes our priority goals and strategies for achieving them.

We continue to progress with our Home for Life campaign, which meets L’Arche Atlanta’s second strategic goal within its 2017-2019 Strategic Plan to GROW: Sustain and Expand Housing Options. The main objective in this goal is to open the second home to double the available housing opportunities of L’Arche Atlanta. This strategy aligns with the larger L’Arche International Federation. Just as L’Arche International has grown and increased its reach around the world since opening its first home in 1964 to having communities on five continents and a membership of over 10,000, so does L’Arche Atlanta seek to expand its programming and residential capacity.

Advocacy: We continued our partnership with GCDD through the Storytelling Project. In 2018, the GCDD Storytelling Project collected 75 stories representing the experience of individuals living with a developmental disability in Georgia. This collection of stories and pictures included representation from 53 of Georgia’s 56 State Senate Districts. We are in the process of completing a film, podcast series, and in-depth stories that will extend the project to other forms of media in 2019.

Partners: In addition to our work with GCDD, our partnership with St. Thomas More in Decatur has afforded us the opportunity to educate the community on disability issues and recruit new volunteers. We have also continued our partnership with Woodlands Garden through the capital campaign.
Outreach and Education: In 2018, over 900 attendees came to nine events, the highest participation in our seven year history. Staff and Core Members spoke at civic and community groups, including Candler School of Theology, three churches, and the Atlanta Autism Consortium forum on housing and disability, reaching many people with compelling, inspirational stories of hope and transformation.

Financial: Over the last 12 months we have raised over $375,000 from individual contributions, community partners, and events. To date, we have raised $1,074,000 through our capital campaign towards the purchase and renovation of a second L'Arche location. In 2019, our annual auction event raised $130,000, an increase of 62.9% from the previous year. In 2019, L’Atlanta rallied our community with a L’Arche Madness fundraising competition, and received $45,000 in donations.

Last year we launched the L'Arche Atlanta Community Council (LACC). The LACC is made up of 14 Atlanta young professionals who work on a variety of strategic projects to extend L'Arche's mission in the community. The group helps with crowdfunding, volunteer projects, and raising awareness. Their recent projects include holding “spirit nights,” hosting a L’Arche Open House, and organizing 30 volunteers to install garden beds.