The Columbia Association’s identity crisis is almost as old as the organization itself.
Misperceptions about CA, what it does, how its funded, and who it serves abound, and in the absence of a strong, compelling, and cohesive identity for CA, these misperceptions often manifest in the community as confusion and indifference.
Here’s my most basic definition: The Columbia Association is a community services organization funded by a combination of a tax-like “Annual Charge” assessed on each property and earned income, and it is governed by a Board of Directors elected by members of affiliated associations. It manages community facilities, programs, and thousands of acres of open space for benefit of people who live and work in Columbia.
Unfortunately, this is a technical answer to a question that demands more, a question that shapes and defines the organization itself.
On some level, this question of uncertain identity is inherent to an entity like CA, which resembles a lot of things but doesn’t fit into any one bucket.
On the surface, it seems to most closely resemble a homeowner’s association and is, in fact, considered one in state law, but that’s a bad description for a few reasons. Notably, CA (and the affiliated village associations) explicitly serves all residents, owners and renters alike, as well as those who own or are employed by businesses located in “Columbia.”
Also, CA doesn’t give a hoot what color you paint your door. That’s the villages (and some of them really care).
So if it’s not exactly an HOA, what is it? From the IRS’s perspective, it is a 501(c)4 social welfare organization, which is a broadly defined category of tax-exempt, “not-for-profit” corporations that operate exclusively to promote public welfare but that don’t quite fit the traditional, 501(c)3 charity mold. A notable drawback of this status for CA is that it is unable to accept tax-deductible donations and is excluded from many grant funding opportunities.
But identity is more than legal distinctions. It is perception, reputation, and also the secret, often unknowable, and increasingly important sauce of emotional bonds between an organization or an institution and those it serves.
In its almost 55 years of existence, CA has been many things to many people—an arm of a developer; a bully pulpit for neighborhood busybodies, an impenetrable and sometimes shadowy bureaucracy, a community leader, a major local employer, a convener, a fitness business, an event planner and community programmer, a grant-maker, an HOA, and many other labels, concepts, perceptions, and misperceptions.
Got all that. Anyway, here’s what CA says about itself in a letter from its President on its website:
Despite the breadth and variety of our services, what makes Columbia truly special is an ongoing commitment to the vision espoused by James Rouse, our founding father. As he stated, “By creating the image of the rational potential of a city, we generate the power to carry it forward. Without vision, there is no power.” At Columbia Association, we consider ourselves keepers of Columbia’s vision.
In support of this vision, Columbia Association offers a vast array of recreational, cultural and community services.
In addition, CA maintains nearly 3,600 acres of open space as a permanent asset for residents. Neighborhood amenities include lakes, parks, tot lots, basketball and tennis courts and 95 miles of walking, jogging and biking pathways.
We will talk more about the idea that the Columbia Association consider itself keeper of “Columbia’s vision.”
But first, we still need to get some definitions right. “Community services corporation” raises an important question: What is a community service?
Clearly, managing Columbia’s open spaces is a community service. Is providing tot lots and outdoor play spaces? Probably. Running community programs like a Teen Center, Lakefront events, and Art Center? Sure. Outdoor pools? We’re starting to get into a gray area of private/public use, but I’ll go with it. Fitness clubs? Golf Courses? A “wellness retreat”?
Yeah, see, you start the pull the thread and there’s no telling where it stops.
Why does it matter? It matters because you need a solid sense of what you are and what you stand for when faced with complex questions and problems that challenge your values and conception of who you are.
For instance, when faced with a pandemic and economic upheaval that will close facilities and end programs, what do you choose to save and what do you shutter? Or, less severe: what do you prioritize and protect first? CA has made those priorities clear over the last few months as fitness clubs and golf courses have opened while community services and programs have been abandoned.
Perhaps, then, the question of CA’s identity comes down to priorities. In that sense the pandemic has boiled the identity question down to this: Is it a community services organization hoping to salvage its struggling fitness business, or a struggling fitness business trying to preserve itself by scuttling community programs and services?
We have lots of questions, a few answers, and still a lot of uncertainty about CA. So, maybe the real answer lies in the question: What was it supposed to be?
Stay tuned.
