Journal

Yad Ezra has selected Mission Throttle to develop an enhanced business strategy that supports its long-term ability to provide kosher food to families in need in Southeast Michigan.

 While federal programs help provide safety nets and other critical assistance to those at risk of hunger, these programs do not reach everyone in need, and food banks remain a critical component of the fight against hunger.  Yad Ezra opened its doors in 1990 to provide food-insecure Jewish families with kosher food that was unavailable through other programs. By distributing groceries to families in need, Yad Ezra works to alleviate some of its clients’ financial burdens. In 1990, Yad Ezra served an average of 250 families monthly; current statistics indicate that it now provides approximately 1,300 impoverished families (almost 3,000 individuals) with food, health care items, and household goods on a monthly basis.

While the problem of hunger in the Jewish community and beyond still remains, Yad Ezra will continue to play a critical role in supporting struggling families. The organization is uniquely positioned to respond to this persistent problem and expand its services to those in need by building on its already successful programs.

Mission Throttle and Yad Ezra will work in partnership to

• Identify key organizational assets
• Establish clear goals based on organizational strengths and aspirations
• Consider market gaps to pursue
• Determine market demand for its primary service offering and potential additional offerings
• Identify national best practices for comparable models with potentially marketable revenue streams

About Mission Throttle

Mission Throttle is a social impact strategy firm dedicated to accelerating philanthropic innovation in communities. We advise, invest in, and support mission-driven organizations that seek to use market-based strategies to address social and environmental challenges.  We are deeply passionate about our work and believe that merging business solutions and philanthropic values is critical to sustain and scale social impact for those in need.

 About Yad Ezra

Yad Ezra opened its doors in 1990 with the purpose of providing kosher food to needy Jewish families in Southeastern Michigan. The founders of Yad Ezra learned that there were impoverished Jews living in the community who relied heavily on government assistance programs, including food stamps.

Detroit Future City (DFC) has selected Mission Throttle to help assess opportunities to accelerate its Green Stormwater Infrastructure initiative through social enterprise.

There are more than 120,000 vacant lots — comprising 24 square miles— across Detroit.  While vacant land can be found in every neighborhood and has an impact on every resident, 72% of the city’s vacant lots are located in areas of concentrated poverty.  Detroit also has an aging water system that is often overwhelmed by frequent and intense weather events, leading to severe flooding and further damaging quality of life for residents in vulnerable areas. In urban areas, green stormwater infrastructures can reduce flooding and sewer overflows by absorbing large amounts of stormwater, replenishing the groundwater supply, and reducing the use of sewers.

By effectively utilizing open spaces and greenways throughout the city, DFC’s Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) is uniquely positioned to transform vacant land, and improve quality of life for Detroiters.  While this social enterprise is expected to create an earned revenue strategy for DFC, it will also create a path for Detroit’s environmental sustainability and ultimately, support economic growth. “Detroiters are critical partners in guiding vacant land transformation and assuring that land is an asset that promotes economic, environmental and social quality of life for residents in all neighborhoods” says Anika Goss-Foster, Executive Director, DFC.

Mission Throttle and DFC will work in partnership to determine market demand and capacity for GSI; identify national best practices for community education and GSI implementation that can be deployed in Detroit; and develop a sustainable funding model including earned revenue opportunities that will accelerate GSI adoption throughout the city. “We applaud DFC’s commitment to seeking both financial sustainability for itself and environmental sustainability for our community, and we are eager to collaborate to identify new market-based opportunities for growth” says Susan Gordon, Managing Director of Advisory Services for Mission Throttle.

About Mission Throttle
Mission Throttle is a social impact strategy firm dedicated to accelerating philanthropic innovation in communities. We advise, invest in, and support mission-driven organizations that seek to use market-based strategies to address social and environmental challenges.  We are deeply passionate about our work and believe that merging business solutions and philanthropic values is critical to sustain and scale social impact for those in need.

About Detroit Future City
DFC is a nonprofit charged with catalyzing implementation of the DFC Strategic Framework, a 50-year vision for the City of Detroit developed with input from more than 100,000 Detroiters. Its role is to steward equitable implementation of the recommendations made in the Strategic Framework.  DFC will accomplish this in partnership with residents and public and private stakeholders, and through data-driven strategies that promote the advancement of land use and sustainability, and community and economic development.