Imagine Los Angeles, Inc.
Building Equity Together
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Imagine LA seeks to end the growing problem of family homelessness and chronic poverty. We believe that housing is a human right and poverty is a womens issue. Furthermore, we believe that building social capital for families at risk of or experiencing homelessness is essential to ending chronic poverty in our community. LAHSA recently asked women, What would have kept you from becoming homeless? They summarized the responses of multiple women in one response: Having someone who cared about me. Housing must be paired with equitable access to resources including social capital to ensure families can build a pathway out of poverty. Imagine LA provides individualized support to the whole family to address barriers and create wellbeing.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Imagine LA Family Partnership Model
Imagine LA was conceptualized by Rev. Dr. Mark Brewer in 2005, who was then Senior Pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian Church. The original concept behind our work was the idea that if each of Los Angeles’ 6,500 faith communities were to partner with just one of the then 6,500 families experiencing homelessness in our community, they could create deep personal connections and leverage the faith community’s social network to have a profound impact on that one family. Furthermore, this idea could drive significant change on the issues of family homelessness and intergenerational poverty across the County.
Imagine LA has one program, the Family Partnership Model, designed to advance equity and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, homelessness, and neglect. The model is a unique, whole-family approach that leverages a combination of intensive case management, volunteer mentors, and economic mobility pathways to build strong family stability, economic independence, and wellbeing.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Percentage of our families that maintain housing stability, eliminating the cycle and costs of repeat homelessness..
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Imagine LA Family Partnership Model
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Two program graduates have purchased their own homes.
Percentage of participating school-aged children who are enrolled in school and, if applicable, on a postsecondary pathway.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Imagine LA Family Partnership Model
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Percentage of participating families that self-report feeling empowered to face challenges and resolve them
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Imagine LA Family Partnership Model
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Percent of children members who received a wellness exam
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Imagine LA Family Partnership Model
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Percent of participants who report that Imagine LA helps them build confidence in their ability to achieve their goals & influence their future
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Imagine LA Family Partnership Model
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our ultimate goal is to end the cycle of family homelessness and generational poverty in L.A. and beyond.
Imagine LAs new path, as outlined in this 2022 2024 Strategic Plan: Driving Impact Building Equity Together, will enable the organization to pursue new initiatives, roles, and opportunities while strengthening organizational health, refining its models and approach to serving families, continuing to guide families in achieving financial independence and preventing repeat homelessness.
The pillars of Imagine LAs new trajectory are
(1) Growth, Enhancement, Innovation, and Expansion
(2) Organizational Culture and Infrastructure
(3) Sector Leadership
(4) Succession and Transition Planning, built on the cornerstones of (A) Financial Durability, Sustainability, and Efficacy, (B) Communications and Marketing, and (C) Internal Processes, Systems, and Human Capacity.
Successful execution of these primary pillars will increase Imagine LAs impact on families, strengthen organizational health, and benefit the sector of family homelessness and poverty.
The Imagine LA of tomorrow will continue to be recognized and acknowledged as a key service provider, advocate, and innovator within the sector. Through its infallible commitment to families, it will continue to play a transformative role in preventing family homelessness and poverty in Los Angeles. Through continued evaluation and advocacy and the dissemination of Imagine LA-designed tools and models, its impact may reach nation-wide.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Strategic Priorities
1. Growth, Enhancement, Innovation, and Expansion
2. Organizational Culture and Infrastructure
3. Sector Leadership
4. Succession and Transition Planning
Essential Building Blocks
A. Financial Durability, Sustainability, and Efficacy
B. Communications and Marketing
C. Internal Processes, Systems, and Human Capacity
Through the strategic planning process, the Task Force determined these strategic priorities and essential building blocks for their roles in strengthening and expanding Imagine LAs ability to Drive Impact and Build Equity Together, toward ending the cycle of family poverty and homelessness.
The Task Force also identified the following North Stars that further guide and inform the work and decisions that will flow from this Strategic Plan.
Delivery: The provision of Imagine LAs services, including the organizations programmatic models, innovative tools, and approaches to ending poverty and preventing first-time and repeat homelessness among Imagine LA families.
Enhancement to maximize impact: The identification, through analysis, of what Imagine LA needs to do in order to provide services, innovate, advocate, lead, and empower more efficiently; to function in alignment with our core values; and to measure and achieve better outcomes.
Expansion: The identification, through analysis, of what Imagine LA should be doing more of including, but not limited to, service provision and injecting innovative tools and models into the sector.
Innovation: The commitment to envisioning what Imagine LA could be doing to strengthen, inform, support, and lead the family homelessness and poverty sector.
Funding: The implementation of a thoughtful fund development plan that safeguards the financial durability of the organization, intentionally pursues methods of increasing financial sustainability through growing a diverse portfolio and revenue streams, and ensures that funds are strategically invested to furthering the organizations mission to transform the lives of families and prevent family homelessness and poverty.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Imagine LA believes in the combined power of professionals, partners, and those with lived experience to design and implement an effective program to address family homelessness.
Individuals with lived experience shape our work. We currently have one Family program graduate on staff and two Family Board members on our Board of Directors.
Imagine LAs professional staff possess extensive experience in homeless services, child welfare, and community engagement. Imagine LAs professional social workers serve as intensive case managers designated as Family Team Managers for each family in the program. Our CEO, TuLynn Smylie, has a broad range of experience working with at-risk and vulnerable populations in a variety of nonprofit endeavors in New York, Denver, and California. She brings a holistic, systems approach to building and leading the organization.
We also engage in partnerships with other organizations invested in ending family homelessness. Our partnerships help to ensure that we effectively engage the community, recruit a diverse and committed group of mentors, and create pathways for families to access the resources needed to create stability and wellbeing.
These partnerships fall into five major categories:
1. FAMILY REFERRAL PARTNERS, such as the Los Angeles County Development Authority, Department of Children and Family Services, the LA Homeless Services Authorities Coordinated Entry System, Upward Bound House, LAUSD, the Children's Institute, PATH, Alexandria House and many more.
2. MENTOR REFERRAL PARTNERS, including faith communities, businesses, and civic organizations like Rotaries, the United Way, and LA Works;
3. RESOURCE PROVIDERS, such as workforce development providers, childcare providers, dentists, child enrichment activities, physical and mental health care providers, and diaper banks;
4. HOUSING DEVELOPERS, LANDLORDS, AND ARCHITECTS, such as Thomas Safran & Associates, Logos Faith Development, CSH, and Gensler;
5. OTHER PARTNER AGENCIES that we train to implement our model, such as The Whole Child which operates our first licensee, Imagine Whittier.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2023 we served a total of 277 families (614 individuals). Imagine LA families have experienced the trauma of homelessness the most extreme form of poverty and tied to financial hardship in 48% of cases. Unpartnered women lead 85% of our families, and 83% of families identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Our families live primarily in South LA and at Missouri Place. In 2023, 44% of our families have experienced family violence, 61% have had mental healthchallenges, 14% have a child with neurodiversity, and 12% have been in the child welfare system.
Of the families that participated in our program in 2023:
96% have maintained their housing
47% of households have at least one adult who is employed, enrolled in school, or enrolled in a workforce development program
83% have completed wellness exams
100% of school-aged children are enrolled in school and, if applicable, are on a postsecondary pathway.
98% self-report feeling empowered to face challenges and resolve them
73% of family members who have a mental health need and/or diagnosis have received a referral for therpeutic services and/or are getting their mental health needs met.
As we grow and evolve in the coming years, Imagine LA is privileged to live out the title of this Strategic Plan: Driving Impact Building Equity Together. We commit to our families wellbeing always being our guiding light. We acknowledge that our success as an organization depends on every decision and action being grounded in social justice. And we will continue to embrace togetherness in every sense of the word: walking alongside our families and mentors on their journeys, working inclusively and intentionally as staff and board, building strong collaborations and partnerships with our communities, and understanding that no single organization can end family poverty and homelessness; we must work together.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Imagine Los Angeles, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/27/2024
Joe Takai
McKinsey & Co.
George Phillips
Phillips Law Partners LLP
John Terzian
h.wood
Dana Kiesel
Clinical Psychologist
George Phillips, Jr.
Phillips Law Partners LLC
Pastor Terry Brown
Liberty Baptist Church
Lindsey Dunn
City National Bank
Troy Brown
University of West LA
Cambria Tortorelli
Holy Family Church
Joe Takai
McKinsey & Company
Caroline Goldzweig
Cedars-Sinai
Maria Oliva
Leilani Reed
Diego Torres-Palma
Ventana Ventures
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/02/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.