Our History
On July 29, 1982 a group of concerned citizens from the North Fulton area met with Mary Drake, a Director with Economic Opportunity Atlanta, Inc. (EOA). This organization was formed by President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. It was Mary’s charge to secure in-kind donations from the community to supplement funding from federal, state, and county governments. During this time, the growing need was recognized within the community north of the river. Mary knew that the public funding would be limited and invited representatives of local churches to discuss ways to assist the EOA. David Sonenberg, a member of Roswell Presbyterian Church, introduced the idea of a program and with Mary’s assistance outlined the need for a food pantry and a place that would assist with short term emergency assistance. A special account was opened, under the direction of Mary Drake and Frances McGhee, which was called North Fulton Community Charities. NFCC incorporated in 1983 and gained 501c3 recognition in 1988.
Working closely with local churches, synagogues, business and civic groups, NFCC developed into the primary source of emergency assistance in Roswell and Alpharetta. In 1990, the Board of Directors hired Barbara Duffy, an active leader within the community, as Executive Director and opened a small office in the North Fulton Human Service Center at 89 Grove Way, Roswell. As demand for service grew, NFCC expanded several times into additional space in the North Fulton Human Service Center. By 2004 the NFCC Center was stretched to the limit of available space and the Board voted to identify and relocate to a facility large enough for the current and future needs of NFCC. After an extensive search, NFCC purchased a 20,000 square foot free-standing building on Elkins Road in Roswell. Following renovations, NFCC opened in the new location in August 2005. A successful $3,000,000 Capital Campaign was closed in October 2006 to underwrite the new operating expenses and acquisition of the building.
The Thrift Shop, formerly known as The Community Clothes Closet (CCC), opened in 1971 through the support of six local churches: St. Jude The Apostle Catholic Church, Roswell Presbyterian Church, Roswell United Methodist Church, Roswell First Baptist Church, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, and St. David’s Episcopal Church. With volunteers and support from local churches, CCC called several Roswell locations home, until 1977 when it moved to the North Fulton Human Resource Center on Grove Way. In 1991, CCC became part of the NFCC family. Through its partnership with the CCC, NFCC was able to increase the number of services it provided to the community.
In 2010, NFCC established the Family Enrichment Program to meet the needs of our community and to help families move toward self-sufficiency and financial stability. The Family Enrichment Program , which is free and open to the public, offers workshops and life skills classes in the areas of job readiness, GED tutoring, financial and computer literacy and ESOL. In February of 2012 with the success of the program, the Education Center officially opened.
