CASE STUDY
Invisible Safety Net:
Invisible Safety Net — By providing free or inexpensive space to
secular nonprofits and community–serving programs, congregations
subsidize the operations of small programs ranging from substance abuse
groups to after school programs, and add to the social safety net of the
community. This economic value includes the value of the space that is
shared, as well as volunteer time, and in-kind support. The average
contribution of a congregation in our study via its invisible safety net was
$100,296 (with a low of $35,237 and a high of $674,830).
As a whole the safety net value was less than one tenth of the average
congregation’s total contribution to the local economy (6.6%). In this area,
volunteer hours contributed to congregation–led programs and
community–led programs accounted for 49.5%of the total effect; space
that is shared accounted for 25.7%; in-kind support for community-serving
programs accounted for 12.3%; and unbudgeted, unplanned financial
support for community-serving programs accounted for 11.3%.
First Christian Church
A cornerstone of the Fort Worth
community since 1885, First Christian Church
has maintained a tradition of innovation from
its founding through the present day. As
membership has decreased over the decades
and the building’s previously well-used spaces
have fallen silent—as is common among many
Mainline Protestant congregations—the
church has evolved to best reflect its strengths
as a congregation and its physical assets.
Because First Christian Church is centrally
located and open to sharing underutilized
space, it was able to connect with the
University of Houston’s College of Optometry
and the University of the Incarnate Word’s
School of Optometry, which was seeking space
to house a teaching clinic, in 2013.
Beneficiaries of Community Programs;
Members vs. Non-Members
An eye exam in progress at the Community Eye Clinic of
Fort Worth. Courtesy of First Christian Church.
First Christian Church is now home to the
Community Eye Clinic of Fort Worth, which is
the largest clinic of its kind in the United
States. It provides high quality healthcare to
Fort Worth’s most underserved populations.
This innovative public/private partnership also
gives patients access to critical social services,
some of which are provided by First Christian
Church. Occupying the entire second floor of
First Christian Church, the state-of-the-art clinic
houses seven exam rooms, two testing areas, a
cinema classroom, and a dispensary.
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