Show me the money!
On Tuesday, August 8 North Platte Area Habitat for Humanity was the grateful recipient of a $5,000 grant courtesy of Great Western Bank's Making Life Great grant program. We had applied for this grant earlier in 2017 to put towards the purchase of a piece of property we'd hoped to acquire that is large enough to allow us to build nine homes on.
The good folks from Great Western Bank, Kathleen Matthews, Judy Leitner, and Leland Poppe met us at the site to present the "big check." Receiving that check, from Habitat (left to right) Galvin Parker, Board of Directors President, Dalene Skates, Executive Director, Mary Higgins, Board of Directors Secretary and Lawrence Ostendorf, Board of Directors Treasurer.
We are often asked how exactly is Habitat for Humanity funded. The answer is, easily, our friends and family.
Our first funding source is our Partner Families. Each and every Habitat homeowner makes a mortgage payment for their Habitat house. A portion of that mortgage payment goes back into our coffers to build more homes.
Our second source of funding is our friends from the Carpenter Club. The Carpenter Club was created shortly after NPAHFH was established. The Carpenter Club is a group of individuals who contribute a set amount for each home Habitat builds. It might be as low as $10 or as high as $1,000 but each dollar of those donations are set aside to purchase building materials to build Habitat houses. It is very easy to join our Carpenter Club. Simply click here for more information.
Our third source of funding are the foundation grants from our supporters such as Great Western Bank, Wells Fargo, Nebraskaland National Bank and First National Bank. These are typically community redevelopment grants targeting such functions as hunger, education and affordable housing. Some are annual grants, others are one time offerings but each and every one are opportunities to put deserving families into safe, decent affordable homes. Many times the grantor takes advantage of the opportunity to get their staff involved in the projects as well. Wells Fargo employees regularly come together to paint the exteriors of the homes they grant dollars towards. Other grantors get involved in the building process as well and we eagerly accept the helping hand.
New to NPAHFH this year, fund-raising events like our Mr. Habitat Competition, Our No-Show Gala (more information to come on this), our Milestone 5K Run/Walk and our November 30 Days of Gratitude Calendar. Each one of these opportunities allows friends, family and other Habitat supporters to get involved in our Mission.
We couldn't provide the services we do without all of these funding sources. They offer very different and unique levels of involvement and support to our program. For more information on any of these opportunties to get involved, please call our office at (308) 534-6251 or email us at northplattehabitat@gmail.com. You are always welcome to come by our office at 420 N Cottonwood to visit with us about the ways you might get involved in contributing to the cause. We look forward to hearing from you!
