FIRE's History
In May 2004, Susan Juaire, Como Place apartment's manager, approached one of her former residents, Heather Cox, about offering literacy services in their building, located in a central area of St. Paul known as "Frogtown."
The Neighborhood
Frogtown, an ethnically diverse neighborhood sitting in the shadow of the State Capitol, is known as one of St. Paul's oldest neighborhoods. It is also known as an area struggling with a high crime rate, drugs, prostitution, and violence. Members of Como Place apartments were often afraid to venture outside, particularly if they had recently arrived in America. With the majority of the complex's residents being first generation immigrants, Juaire was concerned about their ability to access the language skills needed to communicate concerns regarding their apartment. She additionally wanted to offer the service as an amenity to living in the building.
Home: Como Place Apartments
Como Place Apartments is a 107 unit, low-income housing complex, with a high turnover rate and a history of police calls. At the time of FIRE’s inception, over half of the tenants in the building were immigrants living at or below the poverty line. Without their own transportation, many immigrants were forced to risk walking the five blocks necessary to catch a bus to attend ESL school. Because of the high-crime rate in the area, many immigrants’ educational opportunities were limited to the TV or a friend or family member's willingness to drive them to schools in St. Paul.
Why Build the Organization?
Cox met with colleagues Nathan Thompson and Rosanne Lynch to discuss Juaire's request. The three of them believed this was an opportunity to create a fledgling organization, founded on a learner-centered social service model. With many of the immigrants at Como Place Apartments not getting the help they needed, and with a new wave of Hmong arriving in June 2004, Cox, Thompson and Lynch knew that their expertise and vision needed to be part of a community-based response from adult literacy professionals and others to minimize the ESL waiting lists around the Twin Cities.
FIRE's Name
Co-founders Lynch, Thompson, and Cox met at the immigrant owned and operated coffee bar, Cahoots, to discuss what they could do to support adult literacy in Como Place Apartments. Over several hours of discussions, the name and the symbol was born: Foundation for Immigrant Resources and Education (FIRE) was born.
How it Began
Once the word of FIRE's inception spread, the three co-founders were quickly joined by other adult literacy advocates and colleagues including Enrique Palma, Marya Abraham, Julie Felt, and Kenneth Tivey. These seven would eventually form the core co-founding team that would influence and form the next year of the nascent organization's growth.
For the co-founders, it was important that FIRE’s approach reflect that which was central to their emerging mission: ask the community what it needs. To honor this commitment, a multilingual survey was distributed in five languages. Over 10 percent of the surveys were returned, indicating a critical need for computer, ESL, and GED classes.
Renovation Begins
Como Place Apartments offered FIRE two old sauna rooms which were in need of heavy renovation, painting, and cleaning. Como Place would provide some of the heavier renovation assistance but the majority of the work and costs of renovation would come from the seven co-founders. The group, along with the help of interested learners, began the process of sanding, painting, and collecting furniture and supplies for the tiny school. Over a period of weeks, the sauna rooms were converted into two small classrooms, a tutoring area, and a computer lab.
On July 1, 2004, FIRE officially opened its doors as a community-based response to the need for literacy services in the Frogtown area. It served over 50 learners and remained in operation for ten months until April 30, 2005 when the building was sold to new owners who asked FIRE to relocate. Faced with the daunting task of finding free space, in the metro area, FIRE co-founders contacted many people and organizations in their social and professional networks. With one month to spare, a church in downtown St. Paul finally answered their appeal for help.
A New Home: Central Presbyterian Church
Central Presybterian Church, led by Pastor Dave Colby, offered FIRE a space in which FIRE could conduct its classes and programming. With similar commitments and with the understanding that FIRE was looking to become an independent non-profit organization, Central Presbyterian Church and FIRE quickly became partners. A probationary period of three months was agreed upon to see if the partnership would work. In August 2005, the church Session and FIRE Co-director Kenneth Tivey met again and signed an official year-long agreement.
At the church, three classrooms, an office, a volunteer resource area, and two nurseries were provided. Together, FIRE and Central Presbyterian Church partnered to renovate the main teaching areas. In June of 2005, FIRE opened the doors of its new school.
The First Board of Directors
Within months of settling into Central, FIRE Co-Founders welcomed their new board members, Amos Fatorma, Yang Thao and Ahamadou Alassani. Their skills and insights proved invaluable in the next stage of FIRE’evolution: reviewing the bylaws and articles of incorporation.
Incorporation
On August 7th, 2005, after months of debate, research and multiple drafts, FIRE's bylaws and articles of incorporation were approved. With the flourish of eight signatures, the articles of incorporation were sent to the Minnesota Attorney General's office and approved within weeks. In the spirit of continuing with a collaborative and balanced model of organizational stewardship, the board decided that a co-director model would be implemented. The FIRE Board elected co-founding members Kenneth Tivey and Heather Cox as FIRE's first Co-Directors.
Articles of Incorporation (PDF 88kb)
Non-Profit Status
In the summer of 2006, FIRE submitted its request for non-profit status. Although FIRE was a fully-functioning English school at the time of its request, the Board of Directors felt that applying was an important step in adding legal and public legitimacy to the organization. In addition, by having non-profit status, FIRE would be exempt from federal taxes and able to apply for grants and alternative sources of funding so that it could improve and expand its programming.
In July 2008, FIRE applied for Minnesota Charity status, a status in which FIRE would be required to file a public financial statement annually. Through attaining this status, FIRE hoped to create more financial transparency to the local donor community.
The Next Step
FIRE is currently in the process of researching different grants and funding sources. While continuing to be a 100% volunteer run organization run on donations from the community, it is important to begin establish stable funding streams so the mission can be broadened and stabilized.