Fostering Shared Success at FCCS Through Minority Vendor Partnerships

Heralding the value of community, Franklin County Children Services has a renewed focus on re-investing tax dollars into businesses based in Franklin County and services provided by those organizations whose leaders are more reflective of the children and families we serve.

All THAT (Teens Hopeful About Tomorrow) is one such enterprise with which FCCS has actively collaborated… and with impressive results. 

Started by U.S. Army veteran Danella Hicks in 2009, All THAT provides academic assistance, career exposure, and life skills training to teens ages 13-19. This bustling nonprofit on Columbus’s far east side has a staff of 20 employees, 14 of whom are trained mentors and certified tutors. 

All THAT’s daily mission is breaking down barriers - letting teens who might be disadvantaged or disengaged know that they have ample promise, potential, and opportunity, Ms. Hicks says. 

Located at the corner of E. Livingston Avenue and Elaine Road, this flourishing neighborhood organization is as deeply invested in the local community as it is in the lives of the young people it serves. 

“The fact that FCCS supports us is huge,” Ms. Hicks says. “It allows us to put money where the need is. It allows us to thrive.”

Since 2019 FCCS has partnered with approximately 111 new vendors such as All THAT, with 65% of these being small, minority, women, disadvantaged, and veteran business enterprises either certified or non-certified (i.e. minority owned/managed, woman owned/managed, or minority woman owned/managed). 

Fostering a business environment that better reflects the rich diversity of the children and families we serve is critically important in our role as a culturally competent child welfare agency, according to Tanya McClanahan, FCCS’s Director of Inclusion and Analysis. 

Partnering with minority vendors such as Black-, Women-, LGBTQ+ and veteran-run owned and operated businesses is also beneficial for our overall community. “Recognizing the important local role of small and minority-owned businesses, we are dedicated to supporting their growth and sustainability,” Ms. McClanahan adds.

“By championing these businesses, we not only bolster economic prosperity but also contribute to the overall wellbeing of our community and our county’s taxpayers.”

Ms. Hicks could not agree more, pointing out that her organization not only uplifts and empowers the teens its serves but also the local staff it hires and invests in, which she says is setting everyone up for success and “breaking the cycle of poverty” on multiple levels.  

When FCCS collaborates with local minority entrepreneurs, it helps ensure equity and representation at the community level, according to FCCS Contracts Department Supervisor Charlita Diggs, one of the key agency staff instrumental in actively growing FCCS’s minority vendor relationships. 

“Partnering with small, minority businesses is important at FCCS as we want our partnerships to reflect the communities and the families that we serve,” says Ms. Diggs.  

This is precisely the case at All THAT where teens are mentored by those with similar lived experience and a shared cultural lens, Ms. Hicks notes. “Young people need to see people who look like them. They need to see those who overcame in order to build hope.”

To learn more about All THAT and the transformative work this minority-owned and operated nonprofit is doing, visit www.all-that.org.

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