Remember When?
Do you remember when, just six months ago, I started asking, “What if?”
Six months ago, I sent an email to a group of people I had been working with—people who shared a vision for creating a resource center in western Williamson County. The message was simple but bold: HCCM had been pre-approved to purchase a $5 million property, which would give us 14,000 to 15,000 square feet for our food pantry. But… what if?
What if we thought even bigger? What if, instead of just a food pantry, we purchased a 30,000-square-foot building and created a nonprofit hub—a space where multiple organizations could come together to provide essential services that our families so desperately need?
The response? Immediate. Overwhelming. And truly inspiring to see.
After touring the 30,000 s.f. building back in October I told the listing Broker, “I am going to write you a ridiculous Letter of Intent (LOI). Please hear me out and please do not reject us. Please be open to a conversation.” I shared the mission of HCCM, the vision and the dream of creating a non-profit mall. The owners loved it. They accepted our LOI. Remind you, HCCM alone can purchase a $5 Million dollar property. However, the property was listed for a little more than that… LOL! And I was tasked with raising $3 Million in 90 days. This was in addition to still being qualified for the $5 Million we were pre-approved for and securing leases of those that were going to be a part of this project.
The contract was executed at the end of January and the clock started ticking. We had a 60-day check-in with the owners, having to report and meet specific requirements. Sadly, we did not meet the criteria to move forward. HCCM was not able to reach the financial goal. Nor were we able to secure any leases. All along, we knew we could not do this alone.
At our board meeting on March 20th, HCCM board of directors approved to terminate the contract. This was such a bummer!!! I had to take a couple of days to mourn this loss. Please, do not get me wrong, I am very much aware and have complete FAITH that God has bigger and better plans for HCCM. We have had projects and plans fall through before. Yet, for some reason, I was emotional about this one. This brought me to tears.
Yet, after spending a lot of time alone, in prayer and meditating, I reset, regrouped and refocused. I came into the office 2 days later READY! Ready for the next chapter. Ready for the next project. I am refilled and refueled. And I am CELEBRATING the WINS that HCCM received during this time. The BIGGEST blessing and the BIGGEST WIN are that HCCM received nearly $1 Million in CASH and over $400,000 in pledged and match contributions in LESS than 60 days. That is sooooo AMAZINGLY AWESOME!!! Why???? Because the cash received was from PEOPLE… people who CARE, who LOVE and who TRUST HCCM and the work we are doing.
This is a BIG WIN that I am ever so grateful for. So THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!!
What’s next??? Well, that is up to the board of directors. We meet at the end of April to decide what’s next. Another beautiful gift, HCCM has options. During the last 6 months, we never stopped working on options B & C. We have options.
So while the BIG DREAM of creating a 30,000 s.f. non-profit mall is no longer, at least with that one specific building, I promise you I will never stop dreaming BIG for HCCM!!!
If you have any questions whatsoever or just want to know more about the future of HCCM, I am always available. Please reach out.
ALWAYS Happy to Serve,
Tiesa
