Background

• Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 in Americus, Georgia by Milliard and Linda Fuller. The organization was hinged on the concept of partnership housing. Through volunteers, Habitat for Humanity sought to help the needy by helping them build safe, decent, and affordable houses.
• The houses were constructed at no profit, and the loans were interest-free. Construction of the houses was financed through a revolving fund called “Funds for Humanity.” The funds were obtained from new homeowners’ house payments, supporters' loans, and funds sourced through fundraising.
• The organization used the funds in The Fund for Humanity to build more houses. Beau and Emma owned the first home constructed by the organization. In 1973, the founders moved to Zaire to replicate the Fund for Humanity concept.
• After three years of actualizing the concept in the country, the founders returned to the United States where Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1976 with the help of a group of supporters.
• Today, Habitat for Humanity has operations in all 50 states in the US and in over 70 nations across the globe. It has also helped over 29 million people to attain sturdiness, solidity, and independence through safe, adequate, and affordable shelter. Its headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia.
• The organization’s mission is ‘seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.’ Habitat has received $124.6 million in funds from the MicroBuild Fund. It has over 2 million volunteers every year.
• Habitat focuses on providing shelter, advocating for affordable housing, and supporting sustainable development.
• In 2019, Habitat's revenue was $300 million. Habitat sells donated goods in over 900 ReStores.
• Habitat for Humanity's LinkedIn page indicates that it has 501-1000 employees, but has 2,625 people claiming they work for the company on LinkedIn.

Notable Partnerships

•  Thrivent is one of the notable partners of Habitat for Humanity. The two organizations have been collaborating for more than a decade to build safe and affordable homes in the US and around the globe. Since 2005, Thrivent has committed over $252 million to help construct, repair, or rehabilitate homes.
• Another notable partner is Valspar. The company has partnered with Habitat for Humanity since 1996. Since then, it has committed over $93 million in paints and financial support.
• Habitat for Humanity has also partnered with IKEA Foundation since 2016. The partnership seeks to help 15,000 families in Kenya and India improve their housing, thus ensuring that 45,000 children have a safer and healthy home to play, acquire knowledge, and grown up in.

Employee Engagement

• Habitat for Humanity conducts Habitat Team Build Days aimed and fostering employee engagement. The program gives companies a chance to give back to the community by allowing their employees to join Habitat’s staff and professionals at a build site. The employees have a chance to connect outside the office environment as they work together to help construct Habitat homes alongside families in need of affordable accommodation.
• Companies can choose to engage their employees in the building activity for a day, three days, or a week. The employee engagement initiatives are a great way of giving back and building a company’s profile as a dedicated corporate citizen. They also energize and unite the workforce.
• Habitat provides all the tools, building materials, and training for the involved employees. Construction experience is also not needed to take part in the activity.

Community Investment

• Habitat for Humanity’s community investment comes in many forms, including designing interventions aimed at improving the water supply and hygiene of human habitations. The organization invests in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs by educating people on good hygiene habits and building an actual facility or improving existing infrastructure such as piping.
• Habitat also engages young people to come up with social enterprise opportunity. In such community investment initiatives, Habitat collaborates with partners in both the public and private sectors.
• Through the Build Solid Ground project funded by the European Union, Habitat offers specialized non-formal learning to interested groups on issues such as gender equality, land, and poverty reduction. The project targets seven European nations, namely Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, Ireland, Romania, and the United Kingdom.
• Habitat for Humanity’s community investment has also extended to planning, supporting, and facilitating access to renewable energy solutions. In partnership with the IKEA Foundation, the organization is investing to improve access to affordable renewable energy solutions in the East Africa region.

Event Sponsorship

• Habitat for Humanity also draws significant support from event sponsorship. People and organizations volunteer to sponsor an event aimed at furthering Habitat’s mission. For instance, the Home Depot has sponsored the 2020 Habitat on the Hill event through financial support and volunteers.
•  Kohler, Du Pont, Ply Gem, Tarkett, and Masco Corporation, among other organizations sponsored the Habitat for Humanity’s 2019 Home Builders Blitz event.

Housing Microfinance

•  Housing microfinance is one of Habitat for Humanity’s main area of focus as stated in its mission statement. Housing microfinance was identified as a main based on the many projects the organization has undertaken in this area as well as the numerous partnerships it has with different organizations across the globe in this area.
• Habitat works with both corporate and foundation partners. Collaborating with Habitat offers foundations and corporations an admirable and noticeable social responsibility project.
• Through the partnerships, corporations and foundations gain prominent public exposure alongside successful team building with a positive influence on the employees’ morale.
• One of the Habitat’s partners in the housing microfinance is Proman, a global leader in natural gas-derived products and services. The partnership started in 2012 in Trinidad and Tobago. The partnership aims to assist over 1,200 people and families while engaging Proman employees’ expertise.
• Specifically, Habitat and Proman have home building projects in Trinidad and Tobago, Europe, and the United States. In 2019, the company donated $1.2 million to Habitat to help in delivering access to safe, decent, and affordable housing through various building projects across the globe.
• Another Habitat’s partner in the housing microfinance area is Wienerberger AG. The company has been a reliable partner since 2012. It has been providing bricks, roofing materials, monetary support, and volunteers.
• The two organizations have also partnered in raising awareness and calling for improvements in the national legal framework of affordable housing and improved participation of national governments in social and affordable housing.
• Between 2015 and 2018, Habitat and Wienerberger AG helped 1,134 vulnerable people in Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, and the US to obtain affordable houses. The current partnership running from 2018 to 2021 will help needy families in Great Britain, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. The objective is to serve 1,000 people in need of decent houses.

Emergency Response

• Emergency response is another of Habitat’s main areas of focus. It was identified as a main area based on the many disaster response efforts the organization has undertaken in various parts of the globe. These include George and Mitch hurricanes in 1998, Hurricane Floyd in 1999, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Chile earthquake in 2010, and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria on 2017, among others.
• Habitat has an extensive disaster response work that covers many areas such as disaster risk reduction and mitigation, community preparedness, and climate change adaptation, among others. The organization is also an active member of the Shelter Cluster: Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC).
• One of the Habitat’s partners in disaster response is the JTI Foundation. The Switzerland-based charitable organization is a specialist in disaster relief support and risk reduction programs globally. Its collaboration with Habitat dates back to 2013 during the Romanian floods and super-typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
• Since then, the organizations have worked together in various disasters including the Nepal earthquake (2015) and droughts in Ethiopia (2016-2017).
• The two companies implement disaster response and mitigation projects aimed at assisting the most affected populations with speedy relief and early recovery programs. The JTI Foundation is also assisting Habitat to advance its global capacity in disaster response and risk reduction. For instance, the partnership is actively involved in Malawi as the country recovers from the devastating heavy rains following Tropical Cyclone Idai in March 2019.
• In 2018, the two companies successfully partnered in disaster response after the earthquakes in Mexico.
• Another partner in disaster response is National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In 2018, the two companies announced a five-year partnership aimed at helping Habitat build and repair homes for families affected by natural disasters.
• The organization believes that natural disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires, or hurricanes affect schools, students, and families of the NCAA. Thus, their long-term relationship will enable NCAA to assist the affected communities recover in a meaningful way.
• NCAA provided a $2.5 million donation aimed at supporting Habitat’s response and recovery to disasters. Specifically, the partnership will help in disaster recovery efforts and help rebuild homes and communities affected by disasters.
• Considering that 2018 was an active wildfire and hurricane season, the partnership between Habitat and NCAA was instrumental in helping the affected communities.