Greater Peace on the Move
Since my focus is on non-profit organizations, I thought I would talk about the organization I am currently working for in a class project called the Greater Peace Community Development Corporation (GPCDC). The GPCDC began as a vision of the Rev. Clifford E. Jones, senior pastor of the Greater Peace Missionary Baptist Church in Opelika. The church was established in 1917, and was located at the corner of Dover Street and Jeter Avenue, Opelika, Ala. In 1996, three years after Jones became pastor of Greater Peace, a new building was erected at 650 Jeter Ave. The church is currently approaching 900 members. Jones dreamed of an organization extending the church’s programs to benefit the community. The CDC was established May 16, 2000, as a public non-profit organization under Section 501c(3) of the Internal Revenue Service. It is located next to the church and primarily focuses on addressing the needs of individuals from the Auburn, Opelika and Lee County areas.
The CDC consists of three major programs: the Youth Leadership Academy, the Child Development Center and an affordable housing project. Since beginning in 2000, these programs have had consistent success. The Youth Leadership Academy has had 100 graduates to date, there are 74 children out of a possible 89 student capacity at the Child Development Center, and there are six families participating in the affordable housing program.
A board composed of 17 community and business leaders from the Auburn-Opelika area governs the CDC. The board meets six times a year with special meetings called on a per-need basis. Officers of the board include a chairperson, vice-chairperson, treasurer and secretary.
The interesting thing about this company is that it all this time, it has only used one form of public relations, and that is through word-of-mouth by Jones. He has gone to other local churches and various community events to spread the good word of his organization. I am currently working with a group to prepare a public relations plan for them. Any ideas would be great! To date, the corporation as a whole is effective, but there is no evidence that it is due to public relations efforts, particularly through the word-of-mouth campaign and church visits. The corporation needs to have many more public relations efforts to help raise awareness and create an image with the target publics. Since the CDC is still fairly young, word-of mouth has been all they needed to get the message out to the public, mainly the Greater Peace Missionary Baptist Church. They are looking to get more people involved with these programs that they have to offer. So I am currently working for two non-profits and have my head full of ideas. This looks to be a fun and exciting end to a great semester at Auburn.