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Soon after his inauguration, President George W. Bush signed an executive order establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The order holds in part that faith-based organizations are "indispensable" to the work of rebuilding distressed neighborhoods in materially rich America, where too much poverty and despair remain amidst abundance.
Such recognition at the highest levels of government, and in the press, is fairly new, while the involvement of churches in the lives of their surrounding communities is long established, deeply rooted, and enduring. Christian doctrine calls for communal responsibility, but Edwin C. Reed knows that church-based economic development activities can achieve far more. In fact, they give new meaning to the expression "good business."
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Edwin C. Reed (HBS MBA '79) |
As the chief financial officer of Allen AME Church and its affiliated corporations in the town of Jamaica in Queens, New York, Reed is responsible for financial and strategic planning for one of the country's most productive religious and urban development institutions, with an annual operating budget of nearly $24 million.
Allen's eleven corporations, church administrative offices, Christian school, and ministries comprise a workforce of just under 1,000, making Allen a leading private-sector employer in Queens. In fact, it has been suggested that if Allen were a for-profit entity, it would be ranked among the 100 largest African-American owned enterprises in the nation.
Equally important, Allen is universally cited, particularly as recognition of faith-based development organizations continues to grow, as a model of efficient operations and innovative financial management.
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| When you are a major stakeholder in the community, you can be a major player in its growth. | |
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| — Edwin C. Reed |
"Our historically underserved communities have tremendous potential, and people are beginning to discover that they can do well in these markets if they offer good products and pricing," Reed says. "And when you are a major stakeholder in the community, you can be a major player in its growth."
Reed's education and professional background prepared him to speak the language of bankers and investors, a skill that was of critical importance at a key juncture in Allen's history. Following his graduation from HBS in 1979, Reed spent eight successful years with General Motors, holding positions involving major portfolio management and financial policy development and analysis responsibilities.
In 1986, Reed and his wife, Mary Smith Reed, who is both a minister and practicing physician ("She's the real heavy hitter in the family," Reed says with evident pride) moved to New York and joined the Allen AME Church. He soon became involved with Allen's dynamic visionary pastor, Reverend Dr. Floyd Flake, who had decided to run for a seat in Congress.
"I wanted to see good people get elected to office," Reed explains. He started out stuffing envelopes after work, but soon, Reed relates, "Reverend asked me to run his campaign and I took a six-week leave from my job." He never went back.
Reed served as Representative Flake's Chief of Staff in Washington for eight years. As a key staff member of the banking committee, he wrote and managed key components of proposed legislation to reorganize the savings and loan industry, among other public policy initiatives.
But in 1995, Reed recognized the critical need for his expertise back at Allen, which had recently broken ground for a new $25-million cathedral. He decided to return to Queens and assume his current responsibilities.
"Reverend and I discussed the decision at breakfast in Washington, and that afternoon we flew home and he told the staff, 'Edwin is here.' That was my transition," Reed recalls with a laugh.
Reed's immediate and formidable task was convincing a consortium of banks to make a $15-million construction loan to his church. "Many of them were initially reluctant, but I laid out our plans just as though I were presenting to the board of General Motors," Reed remembers. "I took them through the analysis and had charts to address their questions. I talked about cash flow and market potential and told them to think of it as a capacity expansion loan."
The negotiation was ultimately successful, and in 1997 the rapidly growing Allen congregation rejoiced in the completion of their new 2,500-seat home.
Today, the Allen organization is engaged in a range of activities and enterprises that serve as models for urban commercial/residential development and faith-based programs nationwide. Allen corporations rehabilitate and construct affordable housing, operate a credit union and a community service center, develop and manage commercial enterprises, offer job training, direct a youth recreational program, and provide a residential safe haven for battered women and children.
They have built the Allen Senior Citizen Complex and Allen Plaza, while Allen's Christian school educates children from pre-kindergarten through the 8th grade. For-profit enterprises include a transportation leasing company, a real estate management company, and a corporation that evaluates new commercial ventures.
Given the pace of his workday and the range of his responsibilities, it seems a bit ironic that Reed uses words like peace and tranquility to describe the rewards of his work.
"You won't have stock options or become an overnight millionaire," he tells anyone considering a career in social enterprise, "but your family will be safe and secure, and you can make a real difference in people's lives."
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