Subject category:
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Published by:
Harvard Kennedy School
Length: 34 pages
Topics:
Housing; Non-profit management
Notes: For terms & conditions go to www.thecasecentre.org/freecaseterms
Abstract
Forty years after its founding, the Friends Rehabilitation Program Inc, a Quaker-affiliated non-profit housing developer and management firm in Philadelphia, finds itself facing an unexpected dilemma: what should an organization founded to help the poor do when one of its properties becomes unexpectedly valuable? FRP learns that its 172-unit PennTowne apartment complex, located in an increasingly desirable part of North Philadelphia, could command a $5 million price, should it be sold to a private, for-profit developer. The Friends Rehab board of directors finds itself split amongst a number of options as to how to proceed. Should it sell and use the proceeds to ensure adequate maintenance of its other 16 properties? Should it sell PennTowne and develop new housing in one of Philadelphia''s many distressed neighborhoods? Or should it retain and improve PennTowne because of its historic commitment to its original neighborhood and long-term tenants? In approaching the PennTowne question, Friends Rehab would have to work within a long-established board process, which required that consensus be found before the organization could proceed. The case can serve as the basis for discussion of the sorts of issues commonly faced by non-profit housing developers as their properties age and cities change. It can serve, too, as a vehicle for discussion of a decision-making process within a non-profit organization, including the relationship between an executive director and board, and relationships within a board of directors. Written for the Hauser Center for Non-profit Organizations with funding from the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.
About
Abstract
Forty years after its founding, the Friends Rehabilitation Program Inc, a Quaker-affiliated non-profit housing developer and management firm in Philadelphia, finds itself facing an unexpected dilemma: what should an organization founded to help the poor do when one of its properties becomes unexpectedly valuable? FRP learns that its 172-unit PennTowne apartment complex, located in an increasingly desirable part of North Philadelphia, could command a $5 million price, should it be sold to a private, for-profit developer. The Friends Rehab board of directors finds itself split amongst a number of options as to how to proceed. Should it sell and use the proceeds to ensure adequate maintenance of its other 16 properties? Should it sell PennTowne and develop new housing in one of Philadelphia''s many distressed neighborhoods? Or should it retain and improve PennTowne because of its historic commitment to its original neighborhood and long-term tenants? In approaching the PennTowne question, Friends Rehab would have to work within a long-established board process, which required that consensus be found before the organization could proceed. The case can serve as the basis for discussion of the sorts of issues commonly faced by non-profit housing developers as their properties age and cities change. It can serve, too, as a vehicle for discussion of a decision-making process within a non-profit organization, including the relationship between an executive director and board, and relationships within a board of directors. Written for the Hauser Center for Non-profit Organizations with funding from the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.