Organizational Profile

Family Values Resource Institute, Inc. (FVRI) is located in an urban community known as Scotlandville and has a population of about 40,000 predominantly African-American residents. Situated in the northern sector of the East Baton Rouge Parish, FVRI is located at 7515 Scenic Highway. The agency is a short walking distance from Southern University, which is part of the only historically African-American land-grant university system in the United States. FVRI is surrounded by and serves communities like Brownsfields, Baker, and Zachary to North; Port Allen, Plaquemine, and Brusly to the Southwest; and New Roads, Levonia, and Maringuoin to the West.

Family Values Resource Institute, Inc. has worked with more than 40,000 men, women and children since incorporating 1992. The East Baton Rouge Parish has 31 census tracts identified by the Foundation for the Mid South as “severely distressed” and 13 “distressed” neighborhoods. Scotlandville is one of the most “distressed” of these neighborhoods. The rating is based upon five social indicators including (1) the number of persons in poverty; (2) the number of persons on public assistance or working only part-time; (3) the number of adults not in the workforce or working only part-time; (4) the number of single women with children with no husband present, and (5) the number of high school dropouts ages 16-19. These distressed areas have also suffered depopulation (Consolidated Plan, 2000-2004). Vacant blighted land and buildings, small lots (15’-20’), substandard housing, and serious crime problems characterize the area.

Family Values Resource Institute’s volunteer Board of Directors effectively manages a budget of over $400,000, a staff of 14, and 5 volunteers.

For the past 16 and a-half years, FVRI has taught Character Education and Development (Abstinence Education) to over 4,000 thousand at-risk students in East Baton Rouge Parish public and private schools and oversees several highly affective after-school programs. We have contracted with the Governor’s Program on Abstinence in 1998 – 2001 and the Louisiana Department of Social Services and the Louisiana Department of Education from 2003 to present to offer research-based abstinence programming and academic enrichment in Math, English and Reading. FVRI provides management oversight of four pregnancy resource centers in the region, providing them with practical day-to-day assistance.

FVRI successfully completed and has proudly received their Certification as a non-profit organization through the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organization (LANO).

The Louisiana Standards for Excellence taught us how the most well-managed and responsibly governed nonprofit organizations should, and do, operate.

Based on fundamental values - honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility and accountability - the Louisiana Standards for Excellence taught us how we should act to be ethical and accountable in our daily operations, governance, human resources, financial management and fundraising.

There are eight Guiding Principles, detailed in 57 Standards, which emphasize the best practices in nonprofit management, while providing benchmarks that help determine how well we are fulfilling our obligations to beneficiaries, contributors and the public. Family Values Resource Institute, Inc. is very proud of this accomplishment.

FVRI monitors changes in legal and regulatory requirements by comparing the legal, regulatory, and financial requirements of FVRI to the Requirements of the Federal, state and local laws.

FVRI has collaborated with many community and faith-based organizations during the past 16 years who have provided both financial and spiritual support. Some of these agencies include other pregnancy resource centers both locally and nationwide, churches like Bethany World Prayer Center and Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge who both provide financial assistance to help offset operational expenses; Metro Health who provides on-site HIV Testing for women participating in our prenatal classes; Family Roads, Better Beginnings, and Baby’s Fresh Start are part of a very effective referral system. National organizations such as Heartbeat International, Care Net, Inc. and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates provides on-going in service training and development for our staff, volunteers, and board.