Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
B+
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
Low
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
58%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 58 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta:
Founded in 1990, Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta (HFHSA) is the affiliate of Habitat for Humanity Canada that runs the Habitat Homeownership program in Southern Alberta. It provides affordable housing to low-income families in eight local communities: Airdrie, Brooks, Calgary, Drumheller, Foothills, Medicine Hat, Mountain View, and Pincher Creek. HFHSA states that over 4,000 people in Calgary are on waitlists for social housing, and 11% of households in Alberta are in a core housing need.
Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta spent $5.6 million on its Homeownership program directly in F2019. To be eligible for a Habitat home, families must meet certain financial and employment requirements, have children under 18, and contribute 500 hours of ‘sweat equity’ into building Habitat homes. Partner families buy Habitat homes at market value, with no down payment and an interest-free mortgage capped at 25% of total household income. Mortgage payments enter a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more homes in the community. 39 new families bought Habitat homes in F2019. This is up 8% year-over-year from 36 new families in F2018. Homes built by HFHSA typically have three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, and cost $265,000 to build. The charity partners with local businesses and volunteers to build these homes.
In F2016, HFHSA planned to build a duplex in Drumheller to help two families purchase starter homes through the affordable Homeownership program. It was gifted a piece of land for this project. By mid-2018, the economics of renting vs purchasing a home for families in the community changed and the project was cancelled. HFHSA donated the land to the municipal Drumheller government and funds raised for construction have been returned or re-allocated to other projects.
Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta spent $2.3m on buybacks in F2019. Buybacks take place when partner families have built up equity and are ready to move out of their Habitat home. HFHSA repurchases the home from the family, and the family can use this equity to buy a house on the market. The remaining $1.3m of program spending in F2019 was on support costs – family services and volunteers.
Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta also operates ReStores that sell new and lightly used building materials and home products at 40% - 60% off retail prices. These materials are donated from the public. HFHSA operates two Restores in Calgary and one in Medicine Hat. HFHSA reports that ReStores diverted 2,650 tons of waste in F2019.
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Results and Impact
In its 2019 annual report, Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta states that 79% of homeowners feel safer in their Habitat home than other places they have lived. On its website, HFHSA also reports that there is a 60% reduction in food bank usage by partner families, and 70% of partner families donate time and money to charity (undated).
Charity Intelligence has given Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta a Low impact rating for demonstrated impact per dollar.
Impact Rating: Low

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Finances
Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta is a medium-sized charity that received $2.7m in cash donations in F2019. Goods in kind of $198k represent donated materials to be used in building Habitat homes. Administrative costs are 18% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 24% of cash donations (excluding donations from Habitat for Humanity Canada). Per dollar donated to the charity, 58 cents go to the cause. This is not within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. When donated build materials are included, the fundraising ratio drops to 19%*.
HFHSA’s F2019 funding reserves are negative $2.8m owing to $4.8m in loans and lines of credit. Excluding these debts, the charity’s reserves can cover annual program costs at current levels for less than three months.
This report is an update that has been sent to Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on June 22, 2020 by Katie Khodawandi.
*Ci did not include donated build materials in its standard fundraising cost ratio calculation because it could not accurately determine what proportion of materials came from Habitat for Humanity Canada.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|
Administrative costs as % of revenues | 18.3% | 20.2% | 21.3% |
Fundraising costs as % of donations | 23.7% | 13.3% | 32.1% |
Total overhead spending | 41.9% | 33.5% | 53.4% |
Program cost coverage (%) | (30.2%) | 33.8% | (47.8%) |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|
Donations | 2,668 | 3,829 | 1,891 |
Goods in kind | 198 | 316 | 381 |
Government funding | 2,609 | 422 | 2,376 |
Fees for service | 1,703 | 1,448 | 1,105 |
Business activities (net) | 1,021 | 882 | 1,012 |
Investment income | 119 | 53 | 103 |
Total revenues | 8,318 | 6,951 | 6,868 |
Program costs | 9,172 | 4,974 | 5,214 |
Donated goods exp | 198 | 316 | 381 |
Administrative costs | 1,498 | 1,390 | 1,443 |
Fundraising costs | 557 | 479 | 518 |
Total spending | 11,424 | 7,159 | 7,556 |
Cash flow from operations | (3,107) | (208) | (689) |
Capital spending | 151 | 88 | 255 |
Funding reserves | (2,770) | 1,681 | (2,491) |
Note: Ci adjusted for deferred revenue related to donations, affecting donations (and total revenues) by ($716k) in F2019, $1.8m in F2018, and $0 in F2017. Ci included unrealized gains (losses) on investments in investment income, affecting total revenues by $59k in F2019, ($28k) in F2018, and $32k in F2017. Ci removed non-cash gain on sale of property and equipment from investment income, affecting total revenues by ($20k) in F2018 and ($6k) in F2017. Ci did not include non-cash sale of homes, decreasing total revenues by $4.7m in F2019, $2.9m in F2018, and $5.7 in F2017. Ci included repayments of mortgage receivable in fees for service, increasing total revenues by $1.7m in F2019, $1.4m in F2018, and $1.1m in F2017. Business activities includes ReStore revenues net of expenses and Partnership revenues net of expenses, decreasing total revenues and expenses by $3.1m in F2019, $2.9m in F2018, and $2.7m in F2017. Ci did not include cost of homes for sale, other build costs, or construction overhead and building operations, decreasing total expenses by $5.7m in F2019, $3.5m in F2018, and $6.2m in F2017. Instead, Ci reported project costs incurred during the year as well as project unit buybacks and repairs on buybacks in program costs, increasing total expenses by $8.0m in F2019, $4.3m in F2018, and $4.7m in F2017. F2018 compensation information was the most recent data available from the charity’s T3010 CRA filings at the time this profile was updated.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
1 |
$120k - $160k |
3 |
$80k - $120k |
7 |
$40k - $80k |
0 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2018
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Charity Contact
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