5 areas of focus
Hurt, harm and abuse don’t occur in a category. When we look at the problems of homelessness, human trafficking, orphan/foster care, addiction and poverty, we do not see people that neatly fit into a bucket. We see a collection of problems jeopardizing someone’s chance at a healthy and sustainable life. If these problems do not occur in isolation, neither should the solutions. The More Than Initiative is about helping people facing life insecurity. Therefore, it will focus on the 5 areas of harm that most attack the most vulnerable, homelessness, human trafficking, orphan/foster care, addiction, and poverty.
Why these areas?
The Movement
At the heart of the More Than Initiative is a belief that we can do more working together than apart. We need to stop thinking in silos and start talking farms. A farm is not a singular piece of equipment or building used for one purpose. It is an interrelated network of buildings, fields, machinery and equipment, all which do different things yet work in the collective for a common purpose.
The More Than Initiative is about breaking down the silos, bringing together a collection of separate organizations to build capacity, and work together using the various expertise of each organization to work for a common purpose to change people’s lives.
Through a movement that relies on radical partnership, co-location of facilities and shared services, the More Than Initiative will create a network of interrelated organizations that specialize in different things, but who also benefit from the partnership for the good of our shared clients.
Our hope is that the agricultural capital of the world will be known for a different type of farm: one that grows people.
Three Phase Initiative
The plan
Phase I
City Center
The vision of City Center is to create a shared campus serving as a one-stop shop providing a pathway out of crisis for people experiencing life insecurity related to lack of homelessness, trafficking, orphan care, poverty, addiction, and trauma.Â
Phase II
RTC-2 Tiny home Community
RTC 2 will be Fresno‘s first tiny-home community dedicated to women and children transitioning toward healthy living. The ground, once home to one of Fresno’s worst and most crime-ridden hotels, will be transformed into a haven of light and hope.
Phase III
City Ranch
City Ranch is a 27-acre master-planned community featuring the largest tiny home development outside of Texas. City Ranch will include vocational training facilities administered by local colleges and schools, supportive services related to addiction, mental health and counselling, and mixed-use housing that will provide job opportunities for residents.
The Plan
The MORE THAN Initiative will happen in focused phases that will create shared campuses and build organizational capacity among our partners. Phase 1 will create a new front door for crisis at City Center. Phase 2 will develop a safe and supportive 63-unit transitional housing community for women and children at Rescue the Children (RTC). Phase 3 will develop City Ranch, a long-term transformational program within one of the largest master-planned developments in the U.S.
more than initiative
Watch the stories that shaped
the More than initiative.
Celia
Zachary
Tania
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After being homeless the Mission felt like hope.
I felt cared for, but most of all, I figured out that God was real and that he loved me and had a plan for me. That meant so much more than anything else in the world.
– Michael
A different investment
Why is your investment worth more? Normally when you give to a non-profit, your $1 is only worth 100 pennies. When you give to the More Than Initiative, your $1 is worth $5 or more. Why? Through our model of radical partnership, your dollar gets multiplied by all the partners who are coming to work together. Instead of one organization bearing the burden of all staff, programs, and resources, the work and expertise is done in the collective, multiplying the value of what is given.
The Numbers
How you can partner with us.
At the heart of the More Than Initiative is a belief that we can do more by working together. That is why we need your help. The first phases of the More Than Initiative will provide various forms of housing for up 500 people, multiple spaces to help vulnerable youth, kitchens and coffee shop equipment, Fresno’s first tiny home community and more. These important projects support the work of not one organization, but the many partners who have chosen to come together to do something great for Fresno. We want you to be a part of our journey, and doing something special.
- One time cash gift
- Multi-year pledge (Paid over 3 years)
- Gift of Appreciated assets (I.E. Stocks/Crypto Currency)
- Estate gift
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