The Chicken or the Egg Paradox
[First published in our November e-newsletter here]
We need land to raise the substantial money necessary to make Autumn Hills Village a reality, but we need substantial funds to acquire land. When we talk about our project plans to families and potential funders, the first question almost every time is where will we build it. We need that answer. Three of our client projects have gotten land donated and that would be great for us, but that's not a business plan. We did make an offer for land in August, but anyone who has tried to buy a house and been beaten out by a cash buyer (in this case a major homebuilder) will understand why we did not prevail.
Chicken or egg. Land or money. Which comes first.
We know there is an unmet need in Boerne for a 5-day-per-week all-day program for adults with IDD (intellectual or developmental disabilities). We surveyed families and self-advocates and they told us what they wanted. I want that also for my girls. But we need someone to run it and a place to operate. And transportation. These things take start up money to get going. We can charge fees for the program once we are operational and our goal is to be financially self-sustaining. But...
Chicken or egg. Program or money. Which comes first.
So here we are. We need your financial support. We need enough funding to hire a Director of Education and Enrichment, lease a space, equip it, and get access to a van. Ideally we would like to launch our Autumn Hills Engage day program in Boerne before April next year. Our grant writer is doing an amazing job of getting us in front of foundations, but 70% of funding for nonprofits comes from individuals with capacity, a history of giving, and a connection to our mission.
It's end-of-year giving time. We need $125,000. Can we count on you for $1,000? [Donate]
"$1,000? Mark, isn't that a lot? Yes, it is. And if you can only do $100 now, we're profoundly grateful. But no one ever said, "hey, you're not asking for enough if you ask for only $100 so let me give you $1,000 instead."
We've had numerous donors contribute $1,000 already. We've also received $10,000, $15,000, $25,000, and $40,000 donations. We know the money is out there. "Don't ask, don't get, right?!?!" So we're asking.
As for land, that's a whole other story. We need to build a war chest for land, or at least commitments from a consortium of individuals with the capacity, philanthropic history, and connection to our mission that we can activate when we ready our next offer.
How much you ask? You might want to sit down for this. Texas is no longer a cheap place for land. We need 17 acres for Autumn Hills Village. In August, for dry cropland with no utilities we offered $3.24/sf or $141,134/acre. Times 17 acres that equals $2.4 million. The land we went after appraised at $4.30/sf or $187,308/acre. Times 17 acres that would have equaled almost $3.2 million. For dirt.
So we need a war chest of $2.5 to 3.5 million with the liquidity to put down 10 percent in earnest money at the time we sign a purchase agreement and to be able to close within 120-150 days.
Anyone interested in changing the lives of Texas adults with IDD? Contact me.