Careers End, Legacies Live On

A Brush with Kindness is reflecting on it's past as two of our most influential people retire professionally but their but their legacy and impact will live on in the program they helped start and grow. 

It all started in 1998, when Pat Lund was working for a non-profit in Minneapolis and both Gwen and Dick were mid-way through their careers at Valspar, a global leader in paint headquartered in Minneapolis."Valspar met with Stephen Seidel (Executive Director of TCHFH in 1998) and you kind of saw this light bulb go off," says Gwen. Gwen had been involved with Habitat through paint donations and was key in getting the partnership with Valspar launched.

Valspar and TCHFH started a pilot program to test the idea of doing home restoration work and offering paint and repair to help struggling low-income families. They hired Pat to create the program structure and business plan. "At the time, Habitat for Humanity was only building homes," says Pat. "But we saw a community need that wasn't being met."


Dick and Gwen were instrumental in making the program a success. "They set the standards for how we run a site right from the very beginning," says Pat. They were so organized that ABWK was able to paint and fix 64 homes that first year. After that, there was no turning back.

Good ideas are hard to keep secret and it wasn't long before the leaders at Habitat for Humanity International were closely watching the success of ABWK in the Twin Cities. In 2007, Pat, Gwen and Dick began helping other Habitat affiliates start their own programs and to date have helped over 200 affiliates keep families in a safe, healthy home.

Today over half of Habitat affiliates in the country perform repair work for existing low-income homeowners along with their traditional homebuilding programs. "In my wildest dreams I never would have imagined that it would have grown this large," says Gwen.

Dick and Gwen have personally volunteered on dozens of ABWK projects over the years. "I like to paint," says Dick. I liked using our product to help families and encourage the beautification of entire neighborhoods. Little things like this go a long way." Now both Gwen and Dick are easing their way into retirement from Valspar. Yet both will continue their involvement with Habitat and their legacy through A Brush with Kindness.

Why ABWK? Why Not!

I talked with a staff member at HFHI the other day.  He told me that over 400 affiliates have signed up to start A Brush with Kindness in their communities.  Yet, with most affiliates still on the sidelines the question begs to be asked...  Why wouldn't an affiliate start ABWK in their community?

Part of the current Habitat mission of building communities includes creating and preserving homeownership.  We are losing more affordable homes in most of our communities than are being built.  As the population in our country ages so does the housing stock. 

A Brush with Kindness will allow affiliates to serve more families and therefore have a bigger community impact. It will also create better health, safety and independent living for seniors and families.

The program is also extremely cost effective. With paint being donated by Valspar, and with the high visual impact a fresh coat of paint makes (after some prep and minor repairs no doubt) your affiliate should be able to ramp to an impact scale in a relatively short time. There is such an incredible upside to starting A Brush with Kindness. It will allow you to impact more families, utilize more volunteers, raise more money and raise your affiliates profile all on a shoestring budget ('til you get the program established). These $500 projects or less depending on the scope and current resources, will help you ramp to scale and get noticed quicker, which will help you gain the resources to do bigger projects.

A Brush with Kindness will help build more relationships with agencies, municipalities, churches and businesses in your community. It will raise the profile and value of Habitat in your community.  It will help initiate more conversations and influence more people around your mission that will eventually lead to building more homes.

And the downside to starting A Brush with Kindness is?

I would love to hear your feedback.  It helps us all when we can wrestle with the reasons why it can't or shouldn't be done at an affiliate.  Thanks and all the best as you consider the best ways to serve families and your community around affordable housing!

Partner Family Requirements

There are several philosophies being promoted to affiliates on how to effectively partner with families.  For us at TCHFH it comes down to answering 3 important questions.  First, how can we create a family partnership that best assists homeowners in their struggle to stay in an affordable home?  Second, how can we have a big enough impact to create the resources necessary to sustain such a program?  And finally, how can we be true to our hand up philosphy while recognizing the significant differences between homebuyer and homeowner families?  The answers for us has been to be flexible and adaptable as we develop a consistent model of service to homeowner families based on the unique circumstances that we have learned through serving the restoration needs of our homeowners.

The componants of our family partner model consist of our application process, homeowner interview and assessment, Memorandum of Understanding, sweat equity requirements, secured forgiveable loans, volunteer asisstance, project commemoration and pay it forward opportunities to volunteer and donate when families are able.

Families must be willing to participate throughout the partnership process to be eligible for service.  One concept we are always conscience of throughout the process with families is that their home is their responsibility and we are there at their invitation to only provide the necessary support (remembering that they have purchased their home without our assistance and for the most part have kept it up for years without our assistance) that enables them to stabilize their living situation and continue to maintain their own home.  abwk habitat for humanity

It's All About The Story

The families we serve and their stories are the heartbeat of the partnership we have with homeowners.
The history homeowners have in their home with family, friends, neighbors, vocation etc. is the foundation of understanding and communicating our partnership and service to them.
It is how these stories intersect and our woven into the lives of staff, volunteers, sponsors and community partners that creates the energy that inspires how your program functions, grows and is viewed by your community.
Getting those involved with your organization to experience a broader view of your homeowners will produce a deeper commitment to your program and organization that goes far beyond the volunteer experience.
Therefore, it is vital to understand how each family story can create important touch points with those who will interact with them and experience their environment at home.
So take every opportunity to share the struggles a senior has trying remain in their home or the single parent juggling bills, work and parenting responsibilities trying to maintain a safe home for her kids or a disabled veteran coming to grips with the physical and mental challenges of making the transition back to civilian life.
Your program will have a much greater impact if your volunteers and sponsors are given important context behind the work they are supporting.
The centrality of the family situation and how it is presented to your community will determine the extent of success and sustainability of A Brush with Kindness.  abwk habitat for humanity

ABWK and Affordability for Families

Habitat provides a 0% mortgage for home buyer families that are at or below 30% of a families income.   If an ABWK family spends more than 30 % for their housing expenses how do affiliates create an affordable payment mechanism?  Also, how do affiliate ABWK underwriting standards compare with your home building standards? 

Half the population we serve in the Twin Cities are seniors.  Most are on a very low fixed income.  They may not spend 30% for housing but have other serious expense issues that need to be considered.  Many seniors can continue to live in their home because their housing expenses are low (many have paid off mortgages).  Yet, many still struggle mightily because of rising expenses such as medical, utility and property taxes.

HFHI has said that we should use our home building underwriting standards with some minor tweaking for ABWK families.  However, our home building takes the best rated low-income families that have stable jobs and incomes.  ABWK families had stable jobs and incomes but now most do not.  They would never make it through our home building underwriting standards.  Even if we significanly adapted our qualifications, many would have difficulty making consistent monthly payments.  Also, how would we handle loan defaults?  Foreclosure???

At TCHFH, we provide a 0% forgivable 7-10 year mortgage that is payable upon sale or refinance.  It is a hand up (and much less than what we give home buyers) for the families in these circumstances. After interviewing many low-income (below 50% AMI) homeowner families we have come to the stark reality that low-income homeowners and future home buyers need a very different approach!!!

As an organization we wear many hats.  Traditionally, we have seen ourselves as a volunteer home building/ construction company/banker.  However, as a provider of services to homeowners, we should also see ourselves to some degree as a restoration and rehabilitative/project manager/social worker.  This may not be an easy transition, but it will give your ABWK program the best opportunity to grow and make a significant impact on your community. abwk habitat for humanity

Standing In The Gap For The Least of These

Someone once said: "You cannot do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do."
 
In most Habitat communities there is a huge need for home restoration.  A Brush with Kindness gives Habitat a special opportunity to connect their constituents in tangible ways that shows the love of Christ to their neighbors.

There are many worthy needs in our community and around the world that call out for justice.  Take a look at the slide show below and see if it resonates with you. 

The work of A Brush with Kindness invites volunteers and donors to stand in the gap between the haves and have nots in their community and shows them how they can have a life changing impact on the families they serve.

ABWK also provides a tremendous opportunity to call your community to be part of a movement that can restore both hearts and homes of the neighbors they serve.  abwk habitat for humanity

Integrating Two Services into One Habitat Message

Are ABWK families and their stories being woven into the mission and messaging of your affiliate?  Is preserving a home for a family valued the same as creating a home for a family?  Are you marketing the two services seperate or together?

How you answer these questions will impact the growth of your ABWK program.  Home creation and home renovation can complement and help each service grow or they can be a hinderence to growth - especially to your new ABWK program.

It is important to understand how a program like A Brush with Kindness will fit into an affiliate's home building tradition.  If an affiliate wants a strong, successful ABWK program it must learn how it will communicate and market the program both internally and externally.

Do your affiliate leaders talk about ABWK as a growing, integral part of your affilliates mission?  Is home renovation promoted on the front page of your web site along with home building?  Is ABWK and its service to existing homeowners integrated into your messaging at special events and in key media pieces?

Even though ABWK is a relatively new program at most affiliates, it is important to integrate the families, their stories and the services provided into the fabric of your affiliate.  Once you have woven the two services into one message it will enhance the value of both programs.  abwk habitat for humanity

ABWK - Long Term Success and Sustainability

I have spent the past 12 years developing a successful program that helps families preserve a safe, decent home.  A Brush with Kindness complements our home building and helps to increase the impact and elevate the visibility we have in our community.

I also spent 4 years working with HFHI to train affiliates through 7 highly interactive workshops that showed how ABWK was a relatively easy, transferable concept that could be used to help any affiliate be more successful at helping families live in a decent home.  Most affiliates could quickly serve at least 25 families a year with the proper training and without a lot of capital expenditure.

However, what once was a simple concept of putting together volunteer groups with families in need has become a more complicated set of programs and initiatives that require much more resources and seems driven by temporary funding and being able to offer "program products" rather than meeting family needs.

Offering families housing services that meet urgent needs and can serve a critical mass will create a program that is sustainable and will make a significant impact on your community.  A new program may struggle and be short lived without fully understanding a communities critical housing needs.

Whatever type of program(s) your affiliate offers, carefully consider the needs of your stakeholders.  Creating a successful program will grow out of listening, understanding and then providing renovation services that will grow into a valuable and sustainable resource for your community.  abwk habitat for humanity

Educating the mind

without educating the heart

is no education at all.

- Aristotle