John George: Creating Ownership

Blight Busters is a great organization. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting John George a few years back and was actually invited to volunteer for the organization. I have talked to people who have actually worked for or with Blight Busters. The evidence is clear that the organization has made a tremendous difference within Detroit, particularly in the Brightmore and Grand River/Lahser neighborhoods. The group engages in a lot of residential home demolitions to help eradicate abandoned homes and blight. It takes a great deal of dedication and passion to walk away from a secure, financially stable job, and enter into a very demanding, risky startup venture. John George financed the effort for 5 years out of his own pocket. This effort would take an incredible amount of foresight and an entrepreneurial spirit. It also goes to show that occupational satisfaction and self-fulfillment is often more important than financial gain. Even if John George is making less money, he hosts arguably one of the most successful non-profit organizations in the United States. Coining the phrase “Angel’s Night” and amassing one of the largest national volunteer programs has given him wide recognition and credibility within the Detroit community and on a national scale. It seems since the mid 1990’s, Blight Busters has done a great job of networking its message through the community—to help stabilize and revitalize the city. He emphasizes ‘working together’. Whether it be on a business level, or on local citizen level, John stresses the importance of team work and how that will effect the revitalization efforts of the city, and the attraction of outside interests. This has been an effective measure to help rally volunteers from all over the country. As a non-profit organization, it is a critical move to team up with other groups, either for or not for profit. John George said it himself; that by partnering with other groups they have managed to gather the resources and extra help needed to implement projects effectively, and even to branch out and diversify the type of projects undertaken. A credible name means that investors and lenders are willing to put capital into the organization. As a non-profit organization, the group gets tax advantages and federal and state grants. These are crucial benefits that for-profit organizations will often not be able to benefit from. Blight Busters also has the ability to team up with other firms and create “wiggle-room” when it comes to implementing projects. For example, John talks about renovating a building. He agrees with the owner to enter into a master lease with an option where he’ll pay no rent for a year, but agrees to do all the repairs on the building. These types of agreements play a large role in being able to increase the amount and diversify the types of projects that one agrees to take on. - Evan Villeneuve