Design with a Mission

Welcome to Design with a Mission, a resource dedicated to leading purposeful design projects that serve your community and amplify your impact. Each edition equips leaders and organizations with valuable design advice, transforming hard-to-find information into helpful and accessible insights. We invite guest contributors to share their expertise, allowing you to learn from their experiences. Sign up to hear from nonprofit leaders, mission-driven architects, and community design changemakers.

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Leading a Mission-Driven Renovation Project 

In this inaugural edition, we spotlight More Than Words, a nonprofit social enterprise serving at-risk youth in Boston. Chana speaks with Jodi Rosenbaum, the visionary founder and CEO behind More Than Words' remarkable success. Jodi shares her experience leading a first-time capital campaign project, fostering consensus among funders, board members, and teams, and proactive project planning. Chana worked with Jodi and her team as Project Architect, overseeing visioning, design, and construction while employed at Peter Rose + Partners. This article distills their dialogue into three actionable pieces of advice aimed at empowering others to effect positive change within their communities.

Organization: More Than Words

Mission: Empower youth who are in foster care, court-involved, homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by providing them with job training, education, and support to become successful and self-sufficient.

Insight from: Jodi Rosenbaum, Founder and CEO of More Than Words

Interview and Text by: Chana Haouzi

Gratitude:  We extend our thanks to Jodi for her invaluable time and to Peter Rose + Partners for generously sharing the drawings and images featured in this article. 

1.    Start with a Key Donor and Build Momentum

“A big step is getting your first big donor to support. Nonprofits should be thinking about that before they start a project. Like, who do I already know that if we come up with a good plan, they're gonna come to the table with a public display of commitment?”

A More Than Words fundraising event at the completed space. Photo by Chana Haouzi.

When planning a renovation project and capital campaign, it’s often hard to know where to begin. At More Than Words, Jodi’s strategy was to start with their existing network. Share your plans for growth with people already familiar with your organization and its impact on your community. They are best positioned to envision the change and champion a vision for growth. With More Than Words, Liberty Mutual came in as an early supporter and hosted the annual fundraising event More Than Breakfast. Not only did they commit early funds, they also invited their network to the breakfast and leveraged their influence to attract additional support. This built momentum, kickstarted their campaign, and generated excitement around the future growth of More Than Words.

2.    Measure Twice, Cut Once: The Value of Project Planning

A thorough analysis of More Than Words existing space was conducted to better understand their needs and priorities for future renovation. Plans courtesy of Peter Rose + Partners.

Prior to commencing the three-million-dollar renovation, Jodi and her team leveraged a $75,000 planning grant to thoroughly research project possibilities and establish a roadmap for fundraising, design, and construction. Engaging an external nonprofit real estate advisory consultant, they delved into details such as market needs, demographics, and site selection. This work directly supported future lease negotiations, business planning, communications, and fundraising strategy. Initial planning also ensured the project was right-sized, avoiding underestimation of space requirements or organizational needs. For instance, expanding staff and user services also necessitated increased support in administrative, finance, and development areas. The planning grant empowered More Than Words to confidently shape the project's direction and strategy, ensuring decisions aligned closely with their genuine needs and aspirations. From Jodi:

"As nonprofits, we often feel the pressure to tackle big projects alongside our day-to-day responsibilities. However, investing in external expertise for planning can be invaluable, allowing us to focus on core activities while ensuring project success."

3.    Create a Vision Image to Build Excitement and Consensus

Vision image created in collaboration with More Than Words to demonstrate the possibilities of the future space. This image was critical in raising the $3 million dollars needed for the renovation.  Image courtesy of Peter Rose + Partners.

“The rendering was huge because it was a starting place to ground everyone into the vision of what this could be.”

Once an organization has a growth plan and direction, the next important step is to raise awareness of the vision and potential impact and gain support from funders and sponsors. With More Than Words, we created a vision image to showcase what the future space can look and feel like. Before the renovation, More Than Words only occupied the second floor of an industrial building. The image invited people to envision a new future, one with an expanded footprint and street presence that celebrated the organization's work and mission. This vision image was instrumental in building consensus among the numerous stakeholders and in raising $3 million for the project's design and construction.

Architecture For Public Benefit is a Chicago and Boston based practice on a mission to make exceptional design accessible to all.

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