FELLOWSHIP SQUARE FOUNDATION INCORPORATED
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The United States is facing an affordable housing crisis. In the U.S. today, only 37 affordable rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. This correlates to a nationwide affordable housing shortage of over 6.8 million rental homes (National Low Income Housing Coalition 2020). Simultaneously, the country’s population is growing older. These demographic trends are found throughout the Washington DC metro area, including Maryland, where the percentage of residents aged 60 or older is expected to rise to 25.4% of the state’s population by 2030, and Virginia, where the senior population is expected to expand by over 500,000 more residents in the same time period. Older adult renters are more likely to spend a large share of their income on rent than the population as a whole, and these rental cost burdens place them at increased risk of housing instability and homelessness (Justice in Aging 2021).
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Lake Anne Fellowship House
Lake Anne Fellowship House is a professionally managed, multi-family apartment building for independent adults who are over 62 or disabled and who have limited income. Conveniently located near the shops at Lake Anne Plaza, it has 240 units, common areas and a social hall.
Hunters Woods Fellowship House
Hunters Woods Fellowship House is a professionally managed, multi-family apartment building for independent adults who are over 62 or disabled and who have limited income. It has 224 units, plus common areas and a social hall. It is located next to Hunters Woods Plaza, which gives residents the convenience of a grocery store, drug store, and other shops.
Lake Ridge Fellowship House
Lake Ridge Fellowship House is a professionally managed, multi-family apartment building for independent adults who are over 62 or disabled and who have limited income. It has 100 units, plus common areas and a social hall. It is located next to the Tacketts Mill shopping center, providing convenient access to shopping.
Largo Landing Fellowship House
Largo Landing Fellowship House is a professionally managed, multi-family apartment building for independent adults who are over 62 or disabled and who have limited income. It has 106 units, plus common areas and a social hall.
Supportive Services, Programs and Activities
Fellowship Square offers a variety of programs, supportive services, and activities to promote residents' well-being and continued independence.
Each Fellowship House maintains a full schedule of activities organized by residents, staff, or community partners: trips to local museums and festivals, musical performances, parties, and educational seminars.
Exercise and wellness programs encourage residents to maintain their physical and mental health. This includes nutrition seminars, site visits from doctors, exercise groups and more.
With support from a HUD-based grant, the Service Coordinator plays a critical role to ensure services for financial security, physical security, social connections, and the delivery of long-term community based supportive services.
The Wegener Chaplaincy
A chaplain is available to all Fellowship Square residents offering free spiritual help and support, especially in difficult times. In addition, the Chaplain: Conducts worship services and leads memorial services for residents as requested; Coordinates services of interfaith groups to meet the spiritual needs of all residents; Welcomes new residents and seeks to understand their needs; Helps families understand the aging process; Visits and socializes with residents in all settings; Provides leadership for Bible studies, discussion groups and support groups; Nurtures relationships between faith communities and residents.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of senior living units in operation
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, Economically disadvantaged people, People with disabilities
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
This metric shows the number of living units (apartments) in operation for older adults and persons with disabilities.
Number of older adults utilizing programs and services offered by the organization.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Older adults, Seniors, Extremely poor people, Low-income people
Related Program
Supportive Services, Programs and Activities
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
This metric shows the number of senior residents who utilized programs and services offered by the on-site social worker during the calendar year. Statistics were not reliably collected before 2020.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn 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?
Fellowship Square envisions communities where all people have access to safe, quality living accommodations and services, regardless of their financial circumstances, so they can live with dignity and independence as long as they are able.
The Board of Directors approved a five-year Strategic Plan in January 2022. By December 2027, the Fellowship Square Foundation will have in place:
1) Vibrant affordable housing communities that provide a variety of activities and services for older adults.
2) Expanded services and support that focus on four areas of wellness: physical, spiritual, social, and intellectual, and that include new technologies, information and activities that meet residents’ needs.
3) Strategies to maintain diverse and reliable income streams that support the lives of our residents and the organization overall.
4) A “best in class” organizational infrastructure that allows Fellowship Square to have a greater impact on those we serve.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
To achieve our goals, over the next 5 years, the Fellowship Square Foundation will focus on the following priorities:
- Create strategic and tactical partnerships that expand housing opportunities and resident services.
- Explore new funding opportunities.
- Improve Board and staff knowledge, skills and expertise that advance our ability to add new affordable housing units and expand resident services.
- Clarify roles and responsibilities of staff, management, and the Boards to streamline decision-making.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Fellowship Square is led by a Board of Directors composed of members with experience in affordable housing, senior services, finance, attorneys and concerned citizens.
A professional staff of 11 includes a CEO, Senior Director, Resident Life Director, 4 Service Coordinators (one assigned to each property), a Volunteer Programs Manager, Finance Manager, Office Manager and Communications & Development Coordinator.
The organization has a long history of compliance with federal low-income housing laws. The four Fellowship Houses are managed by S.L. Nusbaum, a company that specializes in senior housing.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Over the past 60 years, Fellowship Square has acquired and maintains four communities that currently provide 670 affordable apartments in a safe and dignified environment for more than 850 older adults (aged 62+) living on extremely limited fixed incomes ($10,000/year on average). Many residents live on Social Security or Supplemental Security Income alone. Collaboration with, funding and subsidies from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Agency and other organizations ensure that rent is never more than 30% of a resident’s income.
Fellowship Square also offers vital services and programs that help our residents lead healthy and active lifestyles.
In addition to achieving the goals of the 2017 strategic plan, Fellowship Square has also:
• Initiated an $84 million redevelopment project at the Lake Anne property that includes construction of a new 240-apartment building to replace the existing structure.
• Refinanced and begun renovation of the 40+ year old Hunters Woods property.
• Joined a coalition of other senior housing advocates to successfully lobby Congress to increase U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 202 funds for elderly housing by 17%.
• Maintained the health and safety of its residents during the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing ongoing protocols to limit social gathering, enhance sanitization and encourage healthy practices.
• Offered COVID-19 vaccinations to all residents and staff in early 2021.
• Celebrated the organization’s 60th anniversary with a virtual fundraiser and a Zoom-based toast with residents in December 2020.
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 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 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 look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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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, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Language barriers with multiple languages spoken in our communities
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.
FELLOWSHIP SQUARE FOUNDATION INCORPORATED
Board of directorsas of 02/16/2023
Dan Flavin
John S. Gray
Dan Flavin
Carl Jenkins
Robert Sargeant
Robert Greenwood
Michael Scheurer
Lynn Thomas
Kathleen Harding
John Kelly
Shontay Kincaid
Thomas J. Van Lierde
Mark Fleming
Edward Byrne
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
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/30/2023GuideStar 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 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 seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.