Habitat for Humanity - Greater Plainfield & Middlesex Coun

Homeownership program: families in need of a decent place to live build safe and affordable homes in partnership with us. Homes are built to match the neighborhood they are located and are carried at appraised value, usually compatible to surrounding properties. Volunteers are utilized for construction and supervised by Habitat staff adhering to strict safety protocols. Future homeowners contribute sweat equity by volunteering on construction sites or in other Habitat activities. Homes are sold to families below appraised or market value using an affordable mortgage. Affordable means that no more than 30% of the household income would be spent for housing (mortgage payment, property tax, and property insurance). Owning an affordable home allows homeowners to lift up their entire family by saving for their futures and investing in educational opportunities, bolstering job opportunities, and career growth. During cy 2022 Morris Habitat served more than 9 people through its long term homeownership program.

Home preservation program: our home preservation program is an outreach initiative that seeks to provide a wide range of opportunities for low to moderate homeowner, including veterans and seniors, who are struggling to maintain their homes because of age, disability, or family circumstances. We partner with families to help them reclaim their homes with pride and dignity. The program allows families to stay in their home and avoid the uncertainty, trauma, and expense of moving. Projects consist of interior and/or exterior repairs intended to alleviate critical health, life and safety issues or code violations. Volunteer teams work along with subcontractors under the direction of Morris Habitat staff members to complete the repairs. Since the inception of the home preservation program, Morris Habitat has partnered with 435 local homeowners with 87 homeowners served in cy 2022.

Restore program: the Morris Habitat restore, a retail outlet selling donated new and gently used furniture, appliances and building supplies, benefits the community by providing lower-cost items for sale, and the environment by keeping items out of the landfills. We also collaborate with social service agencies, donating a portion of our goods to their clients. The restore has a positive environmental impact by encouraging "reduce, reuse, and recycling". Donations to the restore has kept over 18,000 tons of usable building materials, furniture, appliances, and household items, out of landfills; net proceeds derived from restore operations from may 2007 through 2022 were used to build 36 homes.

Aging in place program: we partner with families, communities, an local organizations to help older adults improve their homes and their quality of life so that they can flourish where they live. During cy 2022, Morris Habitat has improved approximately 14 homes to help older adults maneuver more efficiently.

Morris Habitat is committed to efficiency and transparency. We communicate with our supporters, donors, and prospective donors by email, postal mail, phone and other means, both to request contributions to our cause and to educate the public about Morris Habitat's year round programs, volunteer opportunities and other events in local communities and around the world. These efforts help advance our mission to put god's love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope. As a result, in accordance with financial accounting standards board guidelines and internal revenue guidance, Morris Habitat allows a portion of our fundraising costs to program services. As a non-profit that is exempt from federal taxation, we ensure our donors' money is spent as efficiently and effectively as possible. Additionally, we have certain expenses that cannot be billed separately for each functional area. Rent, utilities, information technology and other costs are grouped together. We allocate these costs in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles, or gaap, across the program (including Habitat restore), management and general, and fundraising categories. Finally, some staff members have responsibilities that cross over functional areas. To calculate the time allocation, Morris Habitat divides the number of hours spent on a project outside of staff member's designated expense category by the total hours worked during that period and allocates that percentage of costs to the appropriate expense category.