History
Our story
A chance meeting in 1988 between Karen Olson, a Marketing executive in New York City, and Millie, a women experiencing homelessness and living on the street, sparked a nationwide movement. On impulse, Karen bought her a sandwich. Millie accepted the sandwich but asked for something more – a chance to be heard.
Karen listened to what Millie had to say. What she heard convinced her that a simple, personal connection can make a profound difference. When Karen learned that homelessness was affecting families right in her own community in New Jersey, she left her marketing career to focus on the issue. The first interfaith hospitality network opened on October 27, 1986. In 1988, the National Interfaith Hospitality Network (NIHN) was formed.
Today, Family Promise comprises more than 200 Affiliates across 43 states, engaging 200,000 compassionate volunteers who want to make a difference in the lives of families in need. Through our innovative, holistic approach, we keep families together while empowering them towards a secure future. We have served over 1 million children and adults since our founding. We Offer many great ways for volunteers to get involved including in-personal volunteering, leadership roles, and virtual volunteering.
OUR NAME: FAMILY PROMISE
By 2003, we had become much more than an innovative shelter system. We changed our name to Family Promise to better reflect the broad range of programs being offered. The name refers to the promise communities make to the families we serve. But it also refers to the promise, the potential, inherent in every family.
We do not refer to ourselves as “The Family Promise,” or as “Family Promise Foundation.” Abbreviating with FP is acceptable once the full Family Promise name has been used and with appropriate and clear context.
Internally, we often refer to our national office as Family Promise National. Externally, we just refer to ourselves as Family Promise.
OUR VOICE
Family Promise is a compassionate community and our voice reflects our personal and empathetic approach to our mission. We speak clearly and concisely, using people-centric language, always attentive to our audience and mindful to communicate the impact of our efforts. We are Empowering. Aspirational. Innovative. Compassionate. Transformational.