Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta (HFHSA) was established in 1990 and consists of Chapters in Calgary, Medicine Hat, Airdrie & Crossfield, Brooks District, Drumheller, Foothills, Pincher Creek and Mountain View County. HFHSA offers help to families to break the poverty cycle by providing interest-free mortgages to families who would otherwise never be able to buy their own houses. Each Chapter plans and manages its Habitat build projects, including raising funds, organizing volunteers, selecting partner families and working with community partners. HFHSA notes that one in five Canadians are spending more than half of their income on housing and more than 4,000 people in Calgary are on the waitlist for social housing. The charity’s headquarters is in Calgary.

Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta partners with local businesses and volunteers to build affordable housing out of donated materials for low-income families. Homebuyers are selected on the basis of need and their willingness to partner. The charity notes that Habitat Home Ownership is designed for families who have young children, have at least one member working full-time, do not own real estate and are willing to volunteer 500 hours in the community. In 2017, HFH Southern Alberta reports 16 families purchased a Habitat Home. Additionally, 19 new homes were under construction and 5 homes were renovated to be sold to new Habitat homeowners.

Along with its Home Building program, HFHSA offers Habitat ReStores which sell new and slightly used donated building materials and home products at 40% to 60% off retail prices. The charity operates three ReStores in Southern Alberta; two in Calgary and one in Medicine Hat. In F2017, the ReStores collected $3.8m worth of donated goods for resale; $2.8m from businesses and $1.0m from residential donors. The ReStores sold $3.4m worth of products, the majority being furniture, and was able to contribute $872k to Habitat for Humanity.

Results and Impact: As a result of Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta’s ReStores in F2017, it was able to save 2,184 tonnes of building products from entering landfills and sell it to the public, up from 1,745 tonnes in F2016. This is 439 more tonnes diverted from local landfills than what the charity reported in F2016. In HFHSA’s 2016 annual report, it noted that children’s participation in extracurricular activities increased after their parents became Habitat homeowners according to a 2013 study. Involvement in sports increased by 11%, participation in music increased by 12% and volunteering increased by 16%. Due to the very high cost per family housed, Charity Intelligence gave HFH Southern Alberta an impact rating of Low for proven impact per dollar (see impact grid on the bottom right).

Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta is a medium-sized charity with total cash donations of $2.1m in F2017. The charity also received $2.4m in government funding, $1.1m of mortgage payments and $381k in donated goods in kind. Administrative costs are 22% of revenues and fundraising costs are 30% of donations. Per dollar donated to the charity, $0.48 goes towards its programs, which falls outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. Included in the charity’s program costs are $1.4m worth of housing unit buybacks which it incurred in F2017, $0.9m more than it purchased back in F2016. HFH Southern Alberta holds negative funding reserves of $2.5m due to owing $4.1m in lines of credit and loans. Its negative funding reserves are more than 5 months worth of program costs (excluding the cost of donated goods), indicating a need for donations.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Habitat for Humanity Canada for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 8, 2018 by Derek Houlberg.