Habitat MidOhio Monthly Musing
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CEO Corner
Fall is definitely here and is blessing us with crisp temperatures and vibrant colors. It’s difficult not to be upbeat in such natural beauty, and I trust it blesses you as well.
As we continue work on what will be our new ReStore to be located on North 21st in Newark, fall comes into sharp focus during the road trip out and back. I’m reminded that as Mother Nature winds down for the winter signaling to us with splashes of orange and red, our affiliate is spooling up for increased activity in Licking County.
The new facility will house both our retail operation and our Habitat Family & Program Center. This synergistic combination will allow us to serve more families, primarily in Newark proper. And that’s a goal we have been pursuing for several years now during the time we were seeking out a suitable location. Now that we own the building – actually the entire strip center – the only piece of the Grand Opening puzzle yet to be completed is the remodeling for store operations to include the area at the front that will accommodate the Family & Program Center. Stay tuned for what we’re anticipating to be, “New Year, New ReStore”!
As mentioned in a previous Musings, we have created what will be an affiliate subsidiary financing arm to be known as the Habitat Capital Resources Corporation (HCRC). This entity falls under the generic heading of being a Community Development Finance Institution or “CDFI,” which is under the U.S. Treasury. Certification is a lengthy process, and we’re about 30% there. Earlier this year we applied for what is a competitive CDFI Technical Assistance grant of $125k that is designed to help us get all the “I’s” dotted and “T’s” crossed. Having originally been told we wouldn’t hear anything until year’s end, we were delighted to learn recently that we have been awarded this grant. Ok, so what does it mean to be a CDFI? Essentially the entity can act as a repository for capital offered by banks and other financial institutions at greatly discounted rates for the purpose of investment in affordable housing. Funds can also be used to provide mortgages for those above our normal limit of 80% Area Median Income who are having difficulty securing a loan in the market.
Efforts to finance any of our construction projects is for naught without dedicated volunteers to assist us with their talents in building. Allow me to highlight one of those outstanding individuals, one whom God recently called home. Dave Seifert volunteered with us throughout most of the affiliate’s existence, and even worked on the very first house we built some 35 years ago! He served as a crew lead, a member of our Construction and Safety Committees, and co-led as a house lead. His pastor said it best, “Dave as an admirable individual….he uses his talent for the benefit of those around him. At church, no sooner has someone expressed a need…than Dave is at work in his workshop, lovingly creating things of great beauty and usefulness.” For our partner families and this affiliate, Dave donated more than 5,000 hours that benefited so many partner families over the years.
I would be remiss to not share our appreciation for Dave’s wife, Sheila. While Dave was swinging that hammer, Sheila was instrumental in helping us keep the books straight during the early years of affiliate operations. Throughout our 35 years, she has volunteered in a variety of roles in Homeowner Services and Administration. Our heart goes out to Sheila and her family, and we thank her for lending Dave to us for so many years.
Finally, if you’re reading my thoughts here, you are supportive of our mission and aware of the need for more affordable housing. One avenue for increased funding is via Congressional action, as members need to invest more directly in expanding housing supply for low-income households. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your member of Congress and urge them to enact bipartisan housing solutions like the Cost of Home campaign’s policy priorities. Affordable housing is the bedrock of a strong economic foundation, and we cannot meaningfully bring down the cost of housing without legislative measures to help increase supply.
Enjoy the beautiful fall season and celebrate the increasing impact of your Habitat MidOhio!
Anniversary Milestones
In 1991, we hosted President Jimmy Carter and Habitat founder Millard Fuller for Habitat International’s 15th anniversary celebration. We were thrilled to have the privilege of hosting such an important event at our affiliate!
Former President Jimmy Carter
Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller
The "Quilt Club" at Overbook Presbyterian Church has handmade a quilt for every Habitat MidOhio homeowner since our first house was built in 1988! That is over 400 quilts!
A quilt made by Overbrook Presbyterian "Quilt Club" for one of our first families.
A more recent quilt made by the Overbrook Presbyterian "Quilt Club"
Homeowner Services
Dedication of Barnett Home Thursday, September 15
We joined 12-time house sponsor, Alan & Bobbie Weiler, to dedicate this new home in Linden to Donzjay and her daughters. Special shoutout to City of Columbus for their continued support and Westlake Royal Building Products for now partnering with us on 300 homes!
Homeowner Donzjay with her daughters and house sponsors Alan & Bobbie Weiler.
Dedication of Kidd Home Tuesday, September 27
Hannah and her son were joined by sponsors and volunteers as she received the keys and officially became a Habitat MidOhio homeowner! Thank you to Park National Bank, Licking Memorial Health Systems, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, City of Newark, Licking County Foundation, The Energy Cooperative and each of the dedicated volunteers in Newark.
ReStore
RESTORE MANAGER NEWS
ReStore Westerville Road is thrilled to announce Zoe Hanes as the new store Manager! She applied for this position in hopes that it would help better her abilities as a manager while building up those around her that already work here. She is also very excited to help the families and communities that we serve not just with the ReStore Manager position, but with Habitat and its mission, by being active in the events and programs we have here. Her goals as manager are simple, encourage and uplift current employees so they can better help serve the customers and families within the community.
She has many hobbies from swimming and camping to anything crafty (woodwork, painting, photography and sculpting). She is very involved with her community outside of Habitat especially when it comes to helping animals. For fun she finds herself watching movies especially those of the horror or comedy genre.
Westerville Road ReStore Manager, Zoe
Construction
A+R=MORE FAMILIES HELPED
The HFHMO “A Team” is a faithful group of volunteers and donors who, for many years, have always served our families with quality work. Additionally, they utilize their skills and experience to help us as crew leads when working with day sponsors and other volunteer groups. Recently, as our Adopt-a-House groups have been diligently building on several new homes throughout our service area, we had a gap in additional new home projects for the “A Team” to volunteer on. In comes the ‘R’ in the ‘A+R’ equation…’A’ (A Team) working on ‘R’ (Repair Projects)=Many families served!
A Team member Ben Freudenreich at a recent repair on Linwood Ave where windows were replaced, trim painted, porch railings and soffit were repaired along with other things
Our Repair Program continues to grow and thrive. Because of the varying nature and scope of many of our repair projects, it is often challenging to get appropriately sized groups and skilled people to be able to handle the tasks. The members of the “A Team” have jumped in the past couple of months to serve multiple families on repair projects here in Franklin County. Their work is always top notch. Additionally, because of their help on several of these projects, they were completed much quicker and far under projected budgets! Thanks to the help from these dedicated volunteers, we are significantly ahead on our monthly goals in the Repair Program and look forward to serving many families throughout this year.
The A Team: Bill Darlage, Mike Bloomfield, Jim Siebert, Doyle Hartman, Tim Kolodziej, Ben Freudenreich, Jim Meeth, & Craig Vette.
Volunteer Services
Welcome, Rayvon Ivery to the Habitat team! Rayvon is one of our newest AmeriCorps Construction Crew Leads.
Rayon chose to serve with Habitat to learn more about construction. He’s excited to learn how to build a house. He loves football, especially the Dallas Cowboys, and also enjoys track, modeling, singing, and dancing. When asked how he would describe himself, Rayvon said he was "smart, handsome, quick, athletic, and strong." One important life skill he things everyone should have is good communication.
AmeriCorps Construction Crew Lead, Rayvon
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Because Habitat for Humanity works all over the world, we thought it’d be appropriate to celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month and pay tribute to the diverse minds and beliefs held by all cultures around the world. We live in a multicultural society and embracing the values of various cultures only strengthens our understanding and appreciation of the world.
After the Second World War, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at the Palais de Chaillot, in Paris. The Declaration represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. It is essentially an acknowledgment that we should remember and understand the value of each human being, regardless of their nationality, color, race, sex, gender, country of origin, language, or otherwise.
As the world becomes more and more connected and globalized, it’s important to remember that a ‘global monoculture’, or a homogenization of cultures, kills off traditional cultures and unique traits of people. Embracing cultural diversity – in all aspects of life – is the answer to avoiding a global monoculture. The phrase ‘cultural diversity’ can also refer to having different cultures respect each other’s differences.
Although its origins are difficult to trace, Global Diversity Awareness Month represents the perfect opportunity for you to learn more about new cultures, and explore some of the diversity that makes the world such a wonderful place. (shared from NationalToday.com)
Resource Development
Where does my donation go?
The past two years has made us all pay extra close attention to how we spend our money. From reducing items from the grocery list, to driving less, to cancelling one of the many streaming services. Charitable giving is no different. You work hard for your money and you want to make sure that you are investing it wisely.
One of the best and most common ways to evaluate if a non-profit is using your donation prudently is to look at its Fundraising and Administrative (FRA) expenses, also known as overhead, as a percent of total revenue. This percentage is computed from information on the IRS Form 990. The FRA is calculated by adding the amount spent on “management and general” to “fundraising” and then dividing the sum by “total revenue”.
We all know that overhead costs are an unavoidable part of running a non-profit. These expenses are necessary to operate a non-profit. However, how much a non-profit spends on overhead is a measure of how well they are using donor dollars to serve the mission.
According to The More Than Giving Co., the commonly accepted rule of thumb is that a non-profit is doing well if overhead, or the combination of administrative and fundraising expenses, remains at 25% or less. The Better Business Bureau says that no more than 35% of a non-profit’s budget should be spent on operating expenses.
I am happy to report that according to our most current Form 990 (FY21), our FRA is at 14%, well below industry standards and recommendations! This means you can be assured that when you donate to Habitat for Humanity-MidOhio, $.86 on the dollar is being used to empower families to achieve or save the dream of homeownership!
