I have been involved with the Compassion Coalition since 2004 and have absolutely loved its vision and the people invested in it. They have produced the Salt & Light Guidebook since their start in 1999 and now in August of 2008 the third edition, along with a state of the art web site is due to be released. I had the honor of assisting with some of the preliminary research for this edition of the guidebook and was also given the opportunity to write an article for the "Windows of Knoxville" section on Nonprofit Knoxville. I'm sure the article will differ from the original in its published form but I thought it was something I would share. My prayer is that as the church of Knoxville continues to grow into the church God desires it to be that beautiful partnerships would be an even more regular occurrence between the church and the nonprofit community.
Knoxville’s nonprofit sector is extremely diverse with well over 2,000 nonprofit organizations according to Guidestar.org; that is one nonprofit for every 86 people! These nonprofits are active in almost every area of Knoxville’s society, including: arts, education, human services, social action, philanthropy, health, environment, religion, sports, and others. With this kind of sweeping impact, it is hard to imagine Knoxville without such distinctive nonprofits as Bijou Theatre, Dogwood Arts Festival, Knox Area Rescue Ministries, Baptist Hospital, Hope Resource Center, Habitat for Humanity, Community Action Committee, or its 90+ private foundations, amongst thousands of others.
With hundreds of types of nonprofits, it is often hard to recognize that which is or is not a nonprofit organization. Generally, all nonprofits, “exist to serve a mission, to respond to a situation or opportunity that has not been addressed,”[1] without profiting monetarily.
Over the course of Knoxville’s history, when there was a need to be addressed or an opportunity to be taken advantage of, the creation of a new nonprofit soon followed. For example, following the Civil War there was an urgent need to educate the South’s newly freed slaves. In response, Presbyterian missionaries established Knoxville College. Knoxville College has now been providing quality education to African Americans for over 130 years. Or consider Emerald Youth Foundation (EYF). EYF is a faith-based urban youth organization, located in the heart of Knoxville. The foundation grew out of a vision of Emerald Avenue United Methodist Church in 1988 to serve children and youth in its low to moderate income Oakwood/Lincoln Park community. Twenty years later, EYF works annually with over 850 inner city preschool through high school age youth.
Along with communities of faith and government, nonprofits are often viewed as one of three spokes in the wheel of human service. With over 300 nonprofit human service organizations in Knoxville, extensive duplication of services is not uncommon. Unfortunately, such duplication has at times, lead to confusion and frustration from within the community. When considering the vast landscape of faith and community-based organizations in the Knoxville area, there are many respectable organizations working for noble causes. However, in order to more effectively address the deep and systemic community challenges Knoxville faces, there must be an increased emphasis on cooperation and collaboration amongst these organizations in order to bring about holistic impact.
Knoxville Leadership Foundation is one nonprofit that is helping to lead the way and unite organizations through its Center for Communities (CFC) program. Over the past three years, over 52 nonprofit organizations participated in CFC’s capacity building training and consultation. With a strong emphasis on collaboration and partnership to achieve greater community good, the CFC program helps encourage numerous organizations to join forces in strategic partnerships such as Destination Hope. Destination Hope is a partnership among 5 local nonprofits to help move women from street-life and addiction into lives of self- worth & self-sufficiency. Operating alone, these organizations could never accomplish what they are now capable of accomplishing together.
At times the church has demonstrated a view of the nonprofit world that suggests that the two are in competition with one another; as if the nonprofit is doing the work to which God exclusively called the church. However, if and when the two entities can begin to view themselves as potential and essential partners in Kingdom work, then will there be resources shared, more lives changed, and communities restored.
[1] Zdenek, Robert. "Organizational Culture and Nonprofits." SPAEF: Public Administration and Management: An Interactive Journal. http://www.pamij.com/zdenek.html (accessed April 15, 2008).
