Ep 18: Quarantine Cookbook and Affordable Housing with Marc Pollack
What’s a “recipe” for success in housing and homelessness in Atlanta? This week, we invite Marc Pollack, developer, investor, community activist, and home chef to discuss his work in affordable housing and his recent new project, the Quarantine Cookbook. In addition to having a fun conversation on cooking, the slow-food movement, and farm-to-table practices, we talk with Marc about his work with Partners for Home Atlanta, the Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund, and The Gateway Center, three organizations working to address affordable housing and homelessness in Atlanta, GA. We begin the episode discussing the role of staff and leaders taking time to know their community - drawing inspiration from the phrase, “good shepherds smell like their sheep.” Roger also shares this week’s trivia question that will test your knowledge of 90s baseball trivia.
Key Takeaways
Good shepherds smell like their sheep. Every person in an organization should spend time connecting with the mission by spending meaningful time with the individuals and communities served by the organization. Avoid getting caught behind the community screen and spend time in encounter and relationship with those you serve.
Everybody is a storyteller. How can you build a culture of storytelling where every member of your organization sees themselves as an ambassador of your organization? How can you value the work and experiences of front-life staff, who are often “closest” to the social problem your nonprofit is set out to solve?
Be creative with your fundraising! Chez Marc’s cookbook is a great example of how you can combine a person’s passion and interests with an opportunity to raise awareness about homelessness or another social issue in your community.
Social Impact Investing is a model of approaching social good that links investing opportunities with opportunities for advancing the common good. The Affordable Housing Fund is an example of how private sector loan funds can be used to help support projects that create or preserve affordable housing by providing as a loan the last piece of capital funding needed to make an affordable housing project happen. What are examples of social impact investing that you could use in your area of practice?
Social services work and wrap-around services are so critical to helping address the challenges of housing and homelessness. To help individuals and families transition into secure housing, supports are needed in addition to housing units.
Resources and Links
Our Guest
Marc Pollack, based in Atlanta, GA, is a multifamily developer & investor, a community activist and a home chef. Marc is Chairman of RangeWater Real Estate, Board Chair of Partners for Home Atlanta, and co-founder of the Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund. He’s a self proclaimed hedonist, lover of life and all purpose do-gooder, working to make the world a better place, one day at a time.
MP: LinkedIn
Marro Foundation: Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
