How can congregations cultivate fruitful partnerships with nonprofits that promote human flourishing and abundance? We talk with Mahogany Thomas, chief program officer of Bread for the City, about building partnerships to meet the needs in your community.
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Leading Ideas Talks is also brought to you by Healing Fractured Communities, a book written by alumni of the Lewis Center Community Leadership Fellows program. Each chapter paints a picture of the work of healing fractures like racism, education inequality, and poverty. Each chapter also includes takeaways to inspire healing in your community plus questions for reflection. All proceeds support the Dr. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Scholarship Fund. Learn more and order now at churchleadership.com/books.
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Jessica Anschutz: Welcome to Leading Ideas Talks, a podcast featuring thought leaders and innovative practitioners. I am Jessica Anschutz, the Associate Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, and I am your host for this Leading Ideas Talk. Joining me is Mahogany Thomas, Chief Program Officer at Bread for the City. It has been said that “her passion for service and community knows no bounds.” Thank you, Mahogany, for taking time to speak with me about nonprofit partnerships with congregations.
Mahogany Thomas: Thank you, Jessica. It’s good to be here.
Jessica Anschutz: Before we jump into our topic for the today, Mahogany, I want to invite you to share a little bit about Bread for the City and your role as chief program officer.
Mahogany Thomas: Of course. So, my name is Mahogany, and I work at Bread for the City, where we try our best to serve people here in the District of Columbia. We focus on a full service, radical hospitality sort of orientation to this work. And so, we provide food and clothing, advocacy, social services, legal clinic, a medical clinic to all of those who are living in poverty right here in the District of Columbia. Our mission and vision is rooted in this idea that we can meet the basic needs of folks living right here in the District; their basic need for survival so they then can not have to worry about that and can think about and be present to all of the ways that they can galvanize their own power and agency to determine their own future.
My work as the chief program officer here at Bread for the City is a new role and it’s a really exciting position because it means that I get to focus on all of those external, client-facing initiatives and programmatic work that we do. So, I get to spend time in the food pantry and work with clients and staff to talk about “how can we make it better?” We just did some work recently with expanding our hours. So, we used to be closed during the lunch hour and we know that people needed services during the lunch hour, especially in the food pantry. And so, we worked really hard to minimize the line. And so, we’re now open Monday through Thursday from nine to three in the pantry where folks can come and shop as they need. And so, things like that, I get to work on each and every day. And I get to work across all programs, so, food, clothing, medical, legal, social services, advocacy. You name it. Those are all the things I get to do every day. And here at Bread for the City, we have three buildings, but we run out of two facilities: one in Southeast D.C. off of what used to be Good Hope Road but it’s now Marion Berry Avenue, and then we have another location off 7th Street, which is where I get to speak to you from today, and it is in Northwest D.C. in the Shaw neighborhood.
Jessica Anschutz: I am inspired by all of the work that you’re doing to meet the needs of the people and the ways in which you’re really working to make sure that the work that you’re doing is meeting those needs in the best way possible. What a great example of expanding those food pantry hours. As we’re talking today and looking at community partnerships, I’m wondering if you can speak to, sort of, how community partnerships help you in your work and can help our listeners in their ministries to do this work to make sure no one is left behind.
Mahogany Thomas: Yeah. Community partnerships are essential to the work. Our origin story is one of my favorites. We started 50 years ago, and we started as two actually distinct organizations that eventually would become one, the Bread for the City that you know today. But our first iteration was the Zacchaeus Free Medical Clinic, and it began as there were doctors here in D.C. that realized that people were uninsured, and didn’t have healthcare, and weren’t able to have access to doctors. And so, they came together just kind of like an ad hoc way to meet the need and be present. They built a partnership among themselves. And so we had our Zacchaeus Free Medical Clinic, and then two years later a group of churches came together in the area, right here in The District. These churches are still along today, and they said we need to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and so, they started Bread for the City. Eventually these two merged into the Bread for the City that you see today, but it started because of partnership work. It started because faith-based communities came together and said, “hey, there are people right here, our neighbors, and they need something, and we can be present to that.” And it started because there were doctors who said, “I have skills and that there are people who need us, and we could be present in that way.” And so, to this day, we are not a faith-based organization, but those faith stories really are, they’re our origin stories. They are the beginnings of who we became, but to this day, partnerships are the reason why we do this work and how we do this work.
So, our food pantry, we partner with a lot of orgs. We partner with Capital Area Food Bank, and we partner with black and brown farmers here, we partner with Dreaming Out Loud. And that’s just one of the many, many, partnerships that we have. And that’s just on the food side.
As a federally qualified health care center, we partner with other FQHCs, other medical centers, to make sure that we can provide the support that’s needed. And so that work will often happen, and it happens both intentionally and organically. And then we have other partners, right? Along the way, we have congregations that partner with us, foundations that partner with us, corporate folks that partner with us because that’s how we do this work. Our work runs off of volunteers who so graciously give of their time and of their gifts to be present.
And when you think about what it means to be a community partner in this world, I think about wanting to be able to show up in a way that is present to my community that speaks to my vocation. But also, just says, “how can we help?” That’s one of my favorite things when I’m in the lobby and folks to come in. I might not have the answer, but I’d love to say, “Hi, welcome to Bread for the City. Thanks for coming in. How can I help today?” And if I can’t answer it, I’m going to find someone who can. And so, I think like leading from that really is a ministry gift. It is something that we see in Jesus. It is who we see in the divine. It is led by the Spirit. And I think that all of us can partake in that sort of posture that stands present in our communities and in places wherever we find ourselves and says, “how can I help and allow me to be fully present here so that you can both teach and lead me and I too can teach and we can help to make this world a little better together.”
Jessica Anschutz: I absolutely agree with what you have lifted up. I noticed that you mentioned that community partnerships have happened organically and also very intentionally. I want to invite you to share with our listeners, particularly those who may be thinking about initiating a community partnership, what might that look like? And for you being on the community-based organization side, what do you appreciate when those potential partners come to you?
Mahogany Thomas: Absolutely. So, the first thing is curiosity, right? Get curious. Get curious about your neighborhood. Get curious about what the place in which your office building resides. Get curious about your community. Get curious about those who you encounter. And I think that curiosity will then lend itself in a way that says “well, are there opportunities for me to volunteer? Are there opportunities for me to learn? Are there opportunities for me to just be present, to ask good questions?” That’s kind of your entry point. And so here at Bread for the City, the majority of our partnerships begin through volunteers. Groups will come in. Ministries will come in. Organizations will come in. Corporate groups will come in and they will volunteer with us. They will get to know us. They will get to know our clients. They will work with us and collaborate for a day, for a couple of hours. And that kind of begins a longer relationship where people really then feel open and called to build deeper partnerships within our space. I often like to say, “I know that we have a lot of different programs, but my work here is to ensure that we don’t run them in silos. My work here is to ensure that we can be integrated into one another.” We know that oppression doesn’t happen in silos. We know that we know that our liberation can’t happen in silos. And so, I think the same thing happens with partners: that we want to feel rejuvenated in this work and finding good people to do it alongside.
Not that we feel threatened. Not that we feel ownership of it. Not that we feel that, you know, asking for help is bad. We want to be clear with … partnerships are a good thing. And we want to lean into that. So, I will always say ask good questions, get curious, and see if you can find a volunteer opportunity. Ask to learn more. And it goes both ways, right? I think about when our food pantry a couple of years ago did a short sabbatical. So, we closed our pantry for a month, we had folks that were grieving, and we had been through a lot as a pantry. And so, we took a month off so that the team could really rest and nourish themselves, but that work could not happen if it were not for other food distribution sites and centers in the city and us leaning in and saying, “Hey, we need help. Hey, can we do this together? We’re going to send our clients there for a season. How can we be present? How can you be present? Can we do this work together?” And so, it, you know, sometimes partnerships can be risky. They take work, right? All relationships take work. And I just tell people that I think you have to be open, and for people of faith, you have to be open for the Spirit to commune in you, and through you, and with you, and beyond you. And that curiosity will then lend itself into something deeper.
The new book Healing Fractured Communities is written by alumni of the Lewis Center Community Leadership Fellows program who are pastoral leaders engaged in the work of renewal, resilience, and resistance in congregations, on college campuses, and in communities. Each chapter paints a picture of the work of healing fractures like racism, education inequality, and/or poverty and includes takeaways to inspire healing in your community, and questions for reflection. Proceeds from the sale of the book support the Dr. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Scholarship Fund. Learn more and order now at churchleadership.com/books.
Jessica Anschutz: Thank you for lifting up the risk that comes in these partnerships, but in a way that it is not a deterrent to engage in them, but to seek the opportunity. What are some of the misconceptions that community partners have in sort of developing these partnerships?
Mahogany Thomas: I think some of the misconceptions are around ownership. That it’s my work, not yours. We can’t lead from that. We have to lead from a place that is vulnerable and collective and deeply integral and intricate.
I think some of the other misconceptions are often [that]we operate from a scarcity mentality. And so, this idea that if I form a partnership with you that am I going to lose clients or are my folks only going to start going to you? Are they not going to also come to me? It’s almost like if we begin to form partnerships in this work that someone loses something. Sometimes that scarcity mindset can be our biggest misconception. And instead, I really want to challenge folks to see the beauty of abundance that comes when we come together. That there gets to be more than enough when we share. That we get to make each other stronger when we share. That we get to learn from each other.
I think that’s another misconception of partnerships that one person has to be this, or one partner has to be the strongest one or they have to be the guiding light. And I’m like, “no, we can be lights together in this work.” We can be teachers with each other in this work. We can be good stewards together in this work. And the reality is that we need each other. If we want to move beyond survival and into thriving, we need each other to do the work. And if we buy into the myth that we can do it all on our own, we just will always fall short. Bread for the City, we try our best to be a full service, one stop shop, but it doesn’t mean that I can do it independently. And if I think that my independence is my greatest asset, that is a misconception. Because it’s not actually my independence as an organization that is making me strong. It is my collective leadership model. It is my communal care ethic. It is my ability to say, “Hey, I need you and I want to be in relationship with you—from clients to staff to community members to organizers. I want to, and I need to be in community with you.” That is the posture that we have to be in. But I do, I think that our I think we get nervous, and we get scarce. And it’s easy, right? to kind of buy into that narrative of capitalism or even survival of the fittest. Yeah. I want us to lean against the opposite of that. That we’re all in it. We need each other. And that together we have what we need towards thriving.
Jessica Anschutz: So, given that, what would you say to a congregation that has lapsed community partnerships about how to sort of re-engage or re-invigorate those relationships?
Mahogany Thomas: Yeah. That’s good. I would encourage them to be vulnerable and to try again. I would also encourage them to ask good questions of themselves and also those they hope to be in relationship with. So, if my relationships have lapsed, I need to ask some questions of myself about how I showed up, where … where did I maybe fall short, knowing that I can learn from it and try again? What could I have done differently? What is it that went well? Where was my joy in the work, but also where was my neighbor’s joy in the work? Knowing that our joys might be different, and two truths can be beautiful and possible, but we have to make room for both of them to shine. And so, I think that’s important.
I would also say to congregations in that space, I would encourage them to not just get discouraged. Relationships and partnerships are hard. There are seasons where we’re going to gel and we’re going to be great. And we’re going to go together like peanut butter and jelly. And then there are going to be seasons where, like, someone is going to be like, “you know this isn’t quite working for me.” And that’s okay. It’s okay to pause. It’s okay to admit that I don’t have it. I’m not getting it right in this season and I need some help to make the next best step. And so, I would encourage people to build their resilience in that. And that too comes from an openness.
And I also would ask congregations, “Why is it that we want to be in partnership with others? What is, what is our leading posture?” Because we might need to do some work around it. If it’s, you know, just because I want to save somebody, I’m not sure that’s the posture that’s needed right now. But if it’s because I want to be in mutually healthy and fulfilling and holistic and beautiful relationships, I think there’s space there. It’s okay to be nervous. It’s okay to have a little bit of fear. It’s okay to say, “we don’t know everything.” Those are actually really good places to start relationships in and we have to be willing to lean into that.
Jessica Anschutz: Thank you. Thank you for that. My, my hope for these sorts of relationships is that they can not only thrive as a relationship but lead to other people’s thriving. And I’m grateful that you shared some of Bread for the City’s origin story about how it started, right? Because it wasn’t initially providing comprehensive care and support. It has grown to do that.
And sometimes I think churches have these grand visions, right? We want to do that, but they try to take on too much too soon and it leads to failure and disappointment. So how might you advise congregations to sort of start out in doing this work, and also related to that, for those that are already engaged in these community partnerships? How can they sort of evaluate and reflect so that they can seek to provide more comprehensive care and support?
Mahogany Thomas: Yeah, that’s good. I heard a preacher recently—a phenomenal pastor—the Reverend Doctor Rashad Moore. He encouraged us to do the slow work. And this is slower. So, we are going to take our time in it. We might have to do one thing at a time that we do well. I tell folks all the time, contrary to Paul, “I might not be able to be all things to all people,” and that’s okay. Because I’m going to do my best to show up in the ways that I can, and you’re going to do your best to show up in the ways that you can, and our neighbor’s going to do their best to show up in the ways that they can, and together maybe we can get to being all the things. And so, I would ask congregations, what are we passionate about? What is it that we feel that we do well? Where are the places that we could potentially grow a little bit in? And I would start there and say, “well, which one of those do we want to try first?” Because it can be really overwhelming if we’re doing a lot of things.
I would also take inventory of the people and places and congregations around you. So, if everyone has a food pantry, maybe a food pantry isn’t the next thing that I need to open. Maybe I need to figure out how to be a safe place, a place of refuge. Maybe we need to figure out what it means to partner with a shelter. Maybe we need to, right, focus on other ways so that we can be more comprehensive collectively, not just individually. I think that sometimes we always, want to do what our neighbor does, because that’s the one thing that we do well. And that’s a great, that’s great, it can work sometimes. And sometimes we need to lean into the curiosity of: where are the gaps? How can we help? And maybe what is the one best next step that I can do from that place that then will help my neighbor? If it is food, that’s great. And let’s see what’s missing. Do we need to think of some protein options? Does someone need to focus on vegetarian and vegan options? Does someone need to focus on things that are great for children or softer textures, right? Sometimes we don’t think about those things. We just think about cans, and I get it, like, canned goods are great. And we can broaden our horizon. Some folks need tofu too. And so those are good questions that we get to ask. But it is risky, and I just think being honest about that and being vulnerable with yourselves, and just being thoughtful, and intentional, and asking good questions in community will really be transformative to begin the work.
And then if you’re one of those places that’s already doing five things and you’re doing them really well and you’re thriving, you have lots of people, that’s great too. Think about how your services are, like, integrated together because often we will find that our ministries work really well separately. We don’t always work well together, even the ones in house. And so that sometimes is a good question to ask, “How can I partner with Christian education? How can I partner with the women’s group? How can I partner with the mission society? How can I partner with all of these things so that we can then do something stronger? Not just what I know to do well.”
Jessica Anschutz: Mahogany, I’m so grateful for all that you are sharing with our listeners today and for this conversation and unfortunately, I have to draw it to a close. But I do that with gratitude for the work that you are doing for Bread for the City. And as a final question today, I want to invite you to share what is your hope for congregations as they seek to partner with community-based organizations?
Mahogany Thomas: Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for taking the time to be curious about this work with me. My hope for congregations is that we will find more spaces and places of joy. That we will hold on to them, that we will share them, that we will recreate those moments of joy, and that together we can get to a place towards thriving. The work is hard enough. The world is hard enough. The struggle is hard enough. And I think that we don’t spend enough time basking in delight with the divine. And so, I would love to see us get to a place wherever you are, whoever you are, wherever we find ourselves on this life’s journey, finding and cherishing and sharing those places of delight that then can orient us towards a world that thrives together.
Jessica Anschutz: Thank you so much, Mahogany. Blessings on your ministry and your work.
Mahogany Thomas: Thank you.
Announcer:Thank you for joining us for Leading Ideas Talks.
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Related Resources
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- Listening to Your Community by Paul Nixon
- 10 Tips for Building Genuine Connections with Your Neighbors with Kay Kotan
- 9 Strategies for Meeting People and Learning Their Needs by Elizabeth Mae Magill
- Healing Fractured Communities featuring Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz | Watch the Leading Ideas Talks podcast video | Listen to the podcast audio version | Read the in-depth interview
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