You will have to vet the market, and the neighborhood, to see if it fits your strategy should you choose to go turnkey.

Mark Unglab is the agent that I deal with. 

Additionally I want to maintain more control over the real estate aspect of our program (aside from helping to generate revenue, this real estate 'initiative' will also serve as an educational tool) than what I may currently have over the non profit org.I'm looking for general ideals on entity setup (LLC, For profit corporation,  etc.).

The devil is always in the details....In short, Portfolio Lenders can be a useful tool for long term investors where the Community Banks/Institutional banks are not the best "fit" for your long term Portfolio.  

Most new people getting into real estate try to find step-by-step methods where the numbers fit at some percentage rule of thumb.

There are many different situations that a TIC agreement may fit well.

I'd rather not borrow a large sum of money from my parents on a first deal, but at the same time I recognize that money from them would be cheaper than money from just about anywhere else.So ideally, I'd like to use a portfolio lender for the bulk of the loan, and my father for a much smaller chunk.

Obviously not setting the world on fire, but with $0 money coming out of my personal funds and growing my portfolio with nice, easy to rent properties, it fits my niche.

But the numbers may or may not fit their criteria.

I suggest listening to the BP podcasts and get a feel for what area would best fit your goals.