Mission Elevation Success Stories: Jeff Smith and Rush Homes
Jeff Smith, Executive Director of Rush Homes, shares his experience with the Mission Elevation Program.
Back in 2017, Jeff Smith learned about the Mission Elevation program from a coworker at his organization, Rush Homes. He was initially reluctant about it, having had experience with organizational workshops that never seemed to produce long-term change. But he soon realized that Mission Elevation was exactly what Rush Homes needed to tackle their sustainability challenges. Mission Elevation not only helped Jeff learn how to increase Rush Homes’ capacity in fundraising and property development, but it also helped him grow into a skillful, confident leader.
Rush Homes is a Lynchburg-based nonprofit that creates affordable housing for low-income families with disabilities. As of early 2020, Rush Homes has extended outside of Lynchburg as far as 100 miles, with the capacity to create homes in Roanoke, Danville, Waynesboro, Farmville, and neighboring areas. Jeff joined the organization 18 years ago and became the Executive Director in 2014. Though a smaller entity, he’s seen Rush Homes change at a large scale -- they’ve grown from just 12 apartment units when he started to 100 units with 31 currently under construction. The organization has also raised their liquid assets from $100,000 to over $1 million and doubled their staff. Jeff attributes a part of these accomplishments and his own growth to Mission Elevation’s impact.
“When you put energy into it, energy comes out, and I trust that - and, it worked,” Jeff said.
Jeff joined Mission Elevation in 2017 with his Board Chair, participating in the second cohort of the program. He had only been executive director of Rush Homes for around three years, and his organization was one of the smallest in the cohort. But, he described how the relationships, tools and experience from the program were invaluable to his success and growth as a leader. There was one aspect of the program that Jeff remembers fondly and attributes his success to: the coaching.
“The coaching was realistic,” Jeff said. “It was visionary and goal-oriented passionate coaching; not taking no for an answer.”
During the program, each organization is paired with a coach who guides them through a performance challenge over the course of a year. For Jeff, the coaching didn’t stop when he graduated from Mission Elevation – in fact – he still keeps in close contact with his coach. “He was strong support without taking excuses...and could help us gain some perspective on critical situations in the organization,” Jeff said.
Through the “take no prisoners, in a nice way” style of coaching -- as Jeff described it -- he learned constructive tools that helped Rush Homes work through their performance challenge, which centered around sustainability and capacity issues. The concept of creating 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day plans was one tool that Jeff continues to use and refer back to, and has helped his team become more efficient and organized while working towards their goals – even in situations when he didn’t realize the impact his planning had.
“I recall a time we had done our work and we were getting to the end, and it didn’t look like we were going to meet our goal,” Jeff said. “It seemed that a grant came out of nowhere...As I thought about it later on, it seems like it comes out of nowhere, but we prepared and planned for that.”
Jeff also reflected on the tools and coaching from Mission Elevation that have boosted his organization’s fundraising capacity, board relations, onboarding for new staff, and helping current staff work through challenging projects. One of his favorite tools that he regularly implements to this day is celebrating wins. What started as a simple concept Jeff learned through Mission Elevation coaching is now an integral piece of Rush Homes staff meetings.
I’m so shocked when I go in meetings, and somebody has a win and everybody’s excited,” Jeff said. “You know, it really does make a difference to start a staff meeting in a positive way and account these wins.”
On a more personalized level, Mission Elevation prepares and trains participants to improve their professional skills. Jeff recounted how he never saw himself as a great strategic thinker; he didn’t realize how much he had grown after the program until a Rush Homes partner told him that he was one of the greatest strategic thinkers they knew. “I think NSC [Mission Elevation] gave me a way to ground some of those things and think differently about them in ways that have benefitted me professionally,” Jeff said.
He also couldn’t emphasize enough how Mission Elevation solidified his leadership skills. By having an opportunity to present to like-minded nonprofit leaders, utilize abilities he never knew he had, and work alongside a dedicated coach who encouraged taking on challenges, Jeff’s confidence as a leader soared after Mission Elevation. Not only did he gain confidence, but he learned how to take charge and be the leader that his team needed.
In terms of organizational growth and community impact, Jeff described how his organization’s successes as a result of the program have bolstered Rush Homes’ recognition and impact on creating housing opportunities for families and individuals with disabilities.
Armstrong Place, a Rush Homes community in a former elementary school building designed for individuals with disabilities and lower incomes.
“The growth we’ve achieved brings us a reputation that makes us even more valued in our community,” Jeff said.
“I can see that in local grant sources and that sort of thing. I can see it when we do a cocktail party, and we have donors there. The ability to have that relationship and folks have enough respect for us to even come in dollars and that sort of thing is huge.”
Jeff has even noticed more appreciation of his organization’s work at the state level, as their production of housing over the past couple of years has brought Rush Homes a reputation that stretches beyond the Lynchburg region. Beyond the organizational change that Mission Elevation brought Rush Homes, Jeff is also grateful for the relationships he made with other nonprofit leaders, who he still roots for.
“That was a big deal, to have those connections,” Jeff said. “When we see each other at conferences, we know the deal.”
Jeff encourages other community nonprofit leaders to seriously consider an opportunity like Mission Elevation. For him, the cost is insignificant compared to what you can get out of it. He believes that organizations should think about the long-term instead of the next twelve months, because Mission Elevation will give you tools and resources to create change with a lasting impact. He believes that leaders of organizations like his would benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime coaching opportunity to build a more sustainable organization and better serve communities in need.
You can learn more about Rush Homes and the organization’s impact at their website here.
