The FAMA Model
The FAMA Garden Model
FAMA treats a neighborhood like a garden. We don't begin by asking what program we can bring — we begin by asking what this neighborhood needs to become stronger, and who already has the resources, talents, and relationships to help. That is what distinguishes FAMA from a conventional charity.
Field Selection
We don't attempt to solve every problem everywhere. We identify a neighborhood where sustained engagement can create measurable change.
Identify & Remove Barriers
FAMA listens to residents, identifies the barriers holding families back, and mobilizes the relationships, institutions, and resources needed to address them.
Cultivate
Education. Social services. Environmental care. Events. Relationships. Leadership. We cultivate the strengths already present in the neighborhood.
Harvest
Stronger families. Stronger institutions. Stronger resident leadership. Stronger neighborhoods — the fruit of coordinated, relational work.
Replicate
Lessons from one neighborhood inform the work in the next. What grows in one garden can take root in another.
Growing Stronger Neighborhoods — One Family at a Time.
The Garden Model is the intellectual centerpiece of FAMA's work. It's why a partnership with FAMA is different from funding a single program — you're investing in a coordinated strategy that grows a neighborhood, not just a service.
See the Model in Action
Explore the work that grows out of the Garden Model — across education, housing, resilience, environment, workforce, and community life.