The Benefits of Habitat ReStores
Habitat ReStore can transform a Habitat affiliate in many ways. From increasing the number of people being serving, to entering into the green/recycling arena, a ReStore can become the cornerstone of a Habitat for Humanity affiliate. The following will describe the impact a ReStore can have on an affiliate and on your community.
One of the great debates, particularly with some old school Habitat folks (of which I’m a part), is: are we in the business of building homes or resale? First, the mission of ReStores is synonymous with Habitat for Humanity, for the two entities are one in the same. If you read the mission statement, mission principles, and the official purposes (click here) of Habitat for Humanity International, you will see that ReStores fit right in with many of those principles. In my plain spoken way, sitting here on the front lines, I say that, as an affiliate, we raise money and spend that money building affordable homes for people in need. The principle mission of a ReStore is to raise money for the Habitat mission. While there are other benefits bestowed by ReStores on their respective communities, which I’ll get into, the bottom line is that these stores raise vast amounts of unrestricted income for Habitat for Humanity affiliates.
In addition to simply making money for affiliates, ReStores open the doors of our mission to far more people than an affiliate can do without a store. Before we opened the ReStore in 2004, I was working out of a very small office in the local United Way building, and while there, I might have interacted with a couple dozen people per week. The ReStore changed all of that by introducing hundreds of people to Habitat for Humanity every week. People were leaving with a smile on their face because either they were able to get rid of items they otherwise would’ve had to pay to rid of, or they were buying stuff at a great discount. The face of Habitat became the ReStore, and it happened virtually instantly.
ReStores have always been associated with recycling and, in the days of green thinking, this has made ReStores very popular. Simply put, most of the donated items, and even some new items from businesses, which ReStores accept are items which would otherwise find their way to landfills. This recycling effect is having a major impact on the environment. The more we can stretch our natural resources, the better. While I am not sure how (or when), the Canadians developed a formula designed to estimate the amount of waste being diverted from landfills by ReStores. The formula is to multiply a ReStore’s gross sales by 1.3lbs and then convert to tons. My little 4000sf store, serving a population of only 24,000 people, has diverted 357tons since we opened in July 2004.
The other major impact ReStores are having is the number of people who are benefiting from all the things these stores offer. First and foremost, ReStores provide an outlet for relatively inexpensive items to get into the hands of people who may not be able to buy those items new. ReStores also employ people to work in the stores, thus contributing to the workforce in a community. They offer an opportunity for volunteers to help Habitat who can’t jump up on the roof of a Habitat home. According Independent Sector research, a volunteer hour was worth $18.77 in 2006! ReStores give people the ability to donate to the mission visa vie used furniture, appliances, building materials, and other household items. Many of these people would not be supporting Habitat for Humanity if they couldn’t do so by donating to ReStores. Finally, ReStores are considered a program for a Habitat affiliate. Just like the housing program, all expenses associated with ReStores are considered “program expenses”. This is very important because, for nonprofits, expenses are divided into three categories: Program, general/administrative, and fundraising. Major donors and the IRS especially, want to see general/administrative expenses kept as low as possible (less than 25%). Accountants can get creative in allocating expenses when an affiliate has a ReStore to make an affiliate look a little better on paper. This isn’t a major point, but it rarely gets talked about in ReStore discussions.
When people call me about opening a ReStore I always bring up these points. Think about the number of people/families who would be left out of Habitat for Humanity if ReStores were suddenly gone. The number of families being served, and thus the community at large, by an affiliate with a ReStores is dramatically more so than an affiliate without a ReStore.
Mike Wood
Tags: Business, Environment, Habitat for Humanity, nonprofit, Recycling, ReStore
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