Case Study: Southwest Center

For more than 40 years, Southwest Center (SWC) has provided meaningful programs and services for individuals with developmental disabilities in Louisville, Kentucky. To continue its mission, SWC knew it had to chart a more sustainable financial future.

Partnering with Open Eye, SWC embarked on an ongoing project that has helped uncover viable, actionable funding strategies for financial sustainability and growth. What has also emerged is a solution that could help bridge a gap in services for SWC clients and also has the potential to expand their impact further. 

Pictured: Dana Slucher, President & CEO of Southwest Center receiving a $2 million check to begin work on their housing initiative from Kentucky State Representative Jared Bauman of Louisville.

Pictured: Dana Slucher, President & CEO of Southwest Center receiving a $2 million check to begin work on their housing initiative from Kentucky State Representative Jared Bauman of Louisville.

The Challenge 

SWC needed to identify solutions that would help diversify its funding sources, leading to a more stable financial future. Driven to create a more sustainable plan to continue its mission, while also facing the challenges of an increasingly unpredictable economy and nonprofit landscape, and continuing to operate daily, SWC embraced the opportunity to partner with Open Eye. 

The Key Insight 

Individuals with developmental disabilities have continually faced barriers in finding appropriate, accessible housing to allow them to live independently. This ongoing challenge for SWC clients presented itself in early project discussions with the Open Eye team. 

Viewed through the lens of Open Eye’s expertise, this housing gap led to a key insight. SWC realized that, as a passionate, experienced organization that knew its clientele deeply, it already had the knowledge, tools, and community connections needed to not only help solve a core problem for its clients but also impact individuals beyond SWC’s community. 

The Opportunity: Southwest Center Housing LLC.

The idea that emerged became not only an earned revenue opportunity that could help sustain and scale SWC’s impact, but also a way for SWC to change the lives of its clients and countless others. Southwest Center Housing LLC (SWC Housing)—a separate business entity from the nonprofit organization—would serve as a housing solution for developmentally disabled individuals. 

Proposed to be run by the SWC team and situated on the existing SWC campus, SWC Housing was designed to deliver six residential buildings, including five four-plexes and one duplex, creating 22 one-bedroom apartments. All units would be built to ADA accessibility standards and incorporate Universal Design principles, providing residents with accessible, affordable, technology-enabled homes that would allow them to live safely, independently, and with dignity. 

Accessible, affordable housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities is in critically short supply across Kentucky. By launching this housing initiative, SWC could forge a path toward a new gold standard for employing Universal Design for accessible housing for developmentally disabled individuals.

Scope of Work

Open Eye’s work with Southwest Center began in September 2024 and continues today. 

• Starting with an organizational assessment, Open Eye experts began by listening to SWC and providing opportunities for stakeholders from all levels to participate in discussions and strategy exercises. 
• The next step was to create a strategic plan to create more diverse, sustainable funding to sustain the organization.
• With a strategic plan in place, strategic coaching and advisory work began and is ongoing. 
• When the housing opportunity emerged as a potential earned revenue source, Open Eye experts led a housing development feasibility study, assessing risks and developing contingency plans and an operations model.
• As work continues, Open Eye remains active with SWC, providing strategic coaching and advisory expertise, while also acting as a strategic partner for construction readiness and fundraising. SWC’s goal is to begin construction on SWC Housing later this year.