Stay Informed!

By Sean Luechtefeld on 04/12/2010 @ 10:00 AM

Tags: Innovation, Innovators, Events

Today I’m excited to feature my first guest blogger, Stacey Epperson. Stacey is one of the four CFED Innovators-in-Residence; strong leaders who take their proven ideas for economic and social improvement to scale. Stacey and Frontier Housing, a Kentucky-based nonprofit, are launching a new social enterprise that will aggregate demand for manufactured and modular homes from nonprofits across the nation to achieve lower costs and improved quality at scale. Factory-built technology offers untapped potential to supply high-quality, energy efficient, affordable homes in rural, suburban and urban settings. At CFED’s Fall 2009 Innovation Summit in Washington, DC, Stacey was thrilled to announce Frontier’s strategic alliance with Clayton Homes, the nation’s largest homebuilder and manufacturer of homes, creating the first national network of nonprofit manufactured homebuilders. Here’s what Stacey has to say about the Innovation Summit and about Frontier’s partnership with Clayton Homes:

Unfortunately, my thrilling announcement was delivered by proxy. A few days before the 2009 Innovation Summit I had the misfortune to become ill with what looked like the H1N1 Flu and could not attend the Summit. That morning I was stationed at home with my phone and laptop receiving updates from CFED staff and the Frontier team members in attendance and waiting to be tied into the Brain Trust session via Skype. It broke my heart to not be there.

I am so grateful to my partners and colleagues who attended and brought such insight and substance to our project. Kevin Clayton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Clayton Homes, came to announce the signing of Frontier’s historic contract with Clayton Homes to the Summit. I could hear the applause through a colleague’s cell phone. I appreciated the flexibility of the CFED staff and my coworkers in finding innovative ways to keep me in the loop.

A sure sign that a day has substance is discovering riches that unfold like waves in the weeks that follow. This is especially amazing when you weren’t even there.

The progress of our Innovation since the Summit has been substantial and challenging. It was such an honor for me to be selected as a CFED Innovator-in-Residence. To receive recognition and support for working in a very essential, but often overlooked housing sector reinforces my commitment to helping nonprofits find good, affordable housing choices for their low-income families. It’s astonishingly powerful to see an innovation come out of Appalachia which will have national impact. Our work has always been innovative, out on the frontier. We stand ready to face challenges as we build a large scale approach, knowing the impact will be far reaching in the affordable housing field. We look forward to building strong relationships with nonprofits moving into this field. Our success is dependent on their successes. Thank you all.

Thanks, Stacey, for writing for our blog readers! Have a comment or question for Stacey? Use the comments feature below to share your thoughts!

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