When God Plants a Seed…
On February 16, 2001 around 7:00 a.m., in a dream, God instructed Sherrye Willis to begin a training that would equip the faith community in how to grow effective social service outreach to the poor and needy as well as connect to necessary resources to transform communities.  This instruction would unite faith and philanthropy in a way that affected positive, measurable change.  In the vision, she was also instructed to offer the first training in September 2001. Although, Ms. Willis did not fully understand God’s directive, He assured her if she was obedient and heeded the call, He would provide everything she needed.

He Lays the Groundwork…
Although some did not see nor embrace this vision, God sent a strategic alliance of individuals, public, and private organizations that had the single-minded focus of strengthening the role of faith-based organizations in community service and urban revitalization. From this coalition, Faith and Philanthropy Institute was born. 

Founding partners included:

Supplies the Growth Elements…
In June 2001, FPI began its journey by organizing a focus group of faith leaders to better understand the challenges they faced in effectively operating their community initiatives.   Information gleaned from this landmark gathering remains the foundation from which many of today’s programs and services are based.   

The Institute’s 2001 fiscal agent and first financial support came from the Foundation for Community Empowerment.  In addition, Washington Mutual Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, Guaranty Bank, Bank One, and Enterprise Foundation were all financial supporters of the intensive three-day “Moving Beyond the Walls” training symposium.

And Brings Forth a Harvest!
Held at the Wyndham Anatole in Dallas, Texas, Moving Beyond the Walls, was the first FPI initiative.  It was scheduled for September 26-28, 2001.  After the fateful events of September 11th, some encouraged FPI to cancel the training—knowing potential attendees might choose not to travel.   But FPI’s leadership knew it was paramount to be obedient to God’s February 2001 instruction.  In addition, the alliance agreed the need for spiritual renewal and outreach was particularly pivotal during that time of uncertainty and unrest.  The event proceeded as planned.  The September 2001 event was a SUCCESS—impacting more than 125 church and community leaders from Texas and Louisiana!

In 2002, FPI became a 501(c)(3) organization with an independent board of directors and an expanded agenda of services and activities.  Since that time, FPI has reached over 375 individuals and organizations with intensive training in capacity-building, faith-based community economic development, nonprofit consulting, and more. 

FPI also serves as the capacity building partner of the Foundation for Community Empowerment’s (FCE) Building Capacity/Building Communities program (www.fce-dallas.org) which is funded by a grant from the Administration for Children and Families Compassion Capital Fund.  This program’s goal is to extend the capabilities of Dallas faith- and community-based organizations to serve city residents who live in lower-income neighborhoods, and to better position them to compete for private and public resources through capacity-building activities and support.  FPI and FCE are co-developers of the training curriculum used in this three-year program.