Nonprofit Innovation

This nonprofit project in Richmond, Virginia, reported by the Richmond Times Dispatch, is founded on a very creative idea, exactly the kind of help a certain downtown street in Sacramento needs.

An excerpt.

“Adam Lovelady found a place to get help with a modest overhaul of his front yard on Richmond's North Side.

“With little money to spend, he became the first client of the nonprofit Storefront for Community Design, which opened in February as an affordable resource for design and building projects throughout the city.

“Lovelady was paired with a volunteer trained in landscape architecture and ended up with a sketched plan for his yard. Following the suggestions of Juliellen Sarver, Lovelady got to work, digging up and replanting about 15 shrubs, spreading mulch and clearing a path to recognize his 2½-year-old son Carter's route to the side yard.

"The sod will have to wait for another year and another budget," Lovelady said.

“The Storefront, which is being funded by the city along with individuals, companies and organizations, operates on the notion that the quality of a neighborhood is determined in part by its design.

“The center tries to help by matching prospective projects with professionals who can help navigate the city's bureaucracy and shed light on possibilities.

"The average person is not exposed to design professionals. This provides a forum for that," said Andrew Moore, a member of the Storefront's advisory committee and a senior associate with Glavé & Holmes Architecture.

"It's about quality and inclusion," added board member Mary Harding Sadler, a historical architect with Sadler & Whitehead Architects and chairwoman of the city's Commission of Architectural Review. "It's about the whole city, raising the bar and making high-quality design possible."

“The Storefront's first hour of service is free. After that, rates are charged on a sliding schedule.”