More than 500 Habitat affiliates have partnered with the Aluminum Association to use recycling programs as low-maintenance fund-raisers.

1. Speak Out to Advocate and Raise Funds
Telling the Story of Families in Need

By Milana McLead

Last summer, Dan Frachey, executive director of HFH Sangamon County (Ill.), sat in his office and thought: "We're in trouble here." His affiliate was soon to mount a 15th anniversary celebration, the highlight of which would be a drawing for prizes. The only problem was that tickets for the prizes weren't selling. He needed a radical idea.

Then it came to him. Drawing from fund-raising ideas such as telethons, relays and lock-ups, he planned not only to sell more tickets, but also to raise awareness and funds for Habitat by camping out at the work site from Saturday to Saturday. He'd set up an office complete with laptop and cell phone, and stick it out for eight days.

When his wife and affiliate board consented to the idea ("Just make sure you don't go to jail," they said), he headed to the city building and zoning department. They gave their dubious support, finding the request "not illegal."

That was all Frachey needed to get moving. With two houses under construction as a backdrop, he set up a campsite, just 15 feet from a busy highway. Ticket sales increased, a group of summer camp children stopped by, affiliate committees held meetings at the site and Frachey kept right on working.

"The profundity of Habitat's ultimate goal--to make poverty housing politically unacceptable--hit me when I was out there," he says. "A lot of people don't know what Habitat does, much less what the housing problems are. This created good public awareness and the key thing was doing it while the build was happening. It's very important to tie those things together."

Clearly, for all affiliates, raising both awareness and funds are fundamental to success. Through an effective committee framework, communications volunteers help lay the foundation on which fund-raisers can approach prospective donors and secure the means to continue building. Communications committees produce speakers' kits and write press releases; they coordinate donor recognition opportunities, produce newsletters or, perhaps, maintain an affiliate's Web site. To the development end, with greater awareness comes a heightened potential to "sell" Habitat's mission to the public. It is development and communications volunteers who so often make it possible for the hammers to swing on a construction site.

	Gwendolyn Scott, resouce development and public relations director at Valdosta/Lowndes County (Ga.) Habitat for Humanity, spent hours marshaling support and media coverage for the 2003 Jimmy Carter Work Project.

Frachey's challenge now is to take the affiliate to the next level. With 50 houses completed, the affiliate is building four houses a year. But future plans call for completing a subdivision, and increasing the number of houses being built. To get there, Frachey's first steps will be to improve participation in the communications and development committees.

His "sleep-out" brought both media and community attention. "Once you have people's interest, that leads to the next step," he says. "They think, 'Well, I've always wanted to help,' and so they do. That's gold. I need committee members."

A few states away, Habitat for Humanity-New York City has just the opposite challenge. With some 10,000 volunteers supporting the affiliate every year, but limited land and sites on which to build, HFH-NYC must work to keep people productively engaged.

"We have both the good fortune and incredible management challenge of having [huge numbers of] volunteers," says Kevin Sullivan, director of advocacy. "We had to look at how we can increase our impact. Even if we are building 70 houses a year, how do we really make an impact on New York City, which needs 250,000 housing units? ... It's all about money, resources and political will."

With 150 houses to its credit, and a current average annual building rate of 30-plus houses, HFH-NYC has identified several tactics to help achieve its goals of growth and impact. Among them: It joined forces with "Housing First!," a coalition of some 200 housing groups, in an effort to increase its voice and action in the city. Every Habitat building project is the focus of an extensive public relations campaign. Volunteers are encouraged to mount housing awareness days and join in letter-writing campaigns. HFH-NYC also has targeted faith groups and corporations to mobilize even more volunteers and increase its momentum.

"It's the three 'Ps'," says Sullivan. "People, persuasion and policy. You'll not get anyone's attention unless you have a large number of supporters. We're persuasive in reaching a large audience through a public awareness campaign. And on policy, we work with coalitions because you can make great gains in organizing people that way."

In conjunction with the other members of Housing First!, HFH-NYC asked its volunteers to join in a postcard drive to make housing a top priority during the city's mayoral campaigns. "Every volunteer filled out postcards, brought them home, had their families and friends send the cards ... we became a valued partner because we could get the numbers," says Sullivan.

Along the way, hearts and minds are touched. Caring people come forward and their efforts will make a difference.

"Our message is always that we need everybody to solve this problem," he says. "It's a great common ground, everyone is needed. Speak up, educate yourself, do something about this problem of substandard housing."

Anyone and everyone can take action. Take Dan Frachey. He camped out for a week, raised $35,000, saw two Habitat houses built and is ready for more.