REBUILDING TOGETHER
A Safe and Healthy Home for Every Person
2015–2017 Business Priorities
TOGETHER WE TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNERS BY IMPROVING
THE SAFETY AND HEALTH OF THEIR HOMES AND REVITALIZING THEIR COMMUNITIES.
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Our Business Priorities: A Letter from Our Leadership ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Our History ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Our Goal: To Become a Stronger Community Revitalization Partner ................................................................................................................................... 4
Strengthening the Services We Deliver .................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Replicating Best Practices and Services ................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Implementing More Common and Uniform Practices ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Safe and Healthy Homes: Tools and Training........................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Creating a Stonger Culture and Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Building Our Capacity to Better Support the Affiliate Network .................................................................................................................................................. 7
Increasing Our Revenue Streams.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Collaborative Fundraising .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Building Stronger Engagement with Our Brand ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9
The Role of Brand ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Appendix A: Historical Highlights and By the Numbers....................................................................................................................................................... 11
Appendix B: Affiliates as of December 31, 2014 .................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
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OUR BUSINESS PRIORITIES: A LETTER FROM OUR LEADERSHIP
Dear Rebuilding Together Colleagues and Supporters,
This is an important time for Rebuilding Together. We — as a network strong with 166 local affiliates — are
committed to fulfilling our mission of bringing volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and
lives of low-income homeowners.
At the heart of what we do is repair homes for low-income homeowners and revitalize the communities in which
they live. As a leading national nonprofit in safe and healthy housing, we are focused on becoming a stronger,
sustainable organization to support the increasing demand for our services.
As we reported in Meeting Tomorrow’s Housing Challenges, 5.2 million homeowners are living in deteriorating,
physically inadequate homes that threatened their well-being. More than 2.6 million of these are currently lowincome homeowners. These homeowners, faced with diminishing resources, must choose food and medicine
over critical home repairs. Over time, these choices lead to crumbling foundations, dangerously sagging roofs,
and windows and doors that cannot be safely secured.
We believe that becoming a stronger community revitalization partner will better position us to meet the everincreasing needs of America’s low-income homeowners and communities nationwide. Recognizing that neither
the national office nor any one affiliate can address this crisis alone, we are uniting our efforts like never before.
We value transparency, openness, and accountability, and want to provide you with an update on the national
office’s priorities. Based on discussions with the affiliate network, staff, and board, we are focused on:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Strengthening the Services We Deliver
Implementing More Common and Uniform Practices
Creating a Stronger Culture and Infrastructure
Increasing Our Revenue Streams
Building Stronger Engagement with Our Brand
We look forward to engaging with you this year to build a stronger Rebuilding Together. Thank you for
embracing our vision, mission, and work in service to low-income homeowners and communities.
Sincerely,
Sandra B. Henriquez
Interim President and CEO
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
Our story began in 1973 in Midland,
Texas with the simple act of neighbors
helping neighbors to rebuild their
homes. Realizing the growing need —
homes in disrepair and homeowners
not able to afford the critical repairs —
a small group of people volunteered
their time and skills to rehabilitate the
homes of their neighbors. This group
became the founders of Rebuilding
Together, which they called Christmas
in April to represent the spirit of giving
during their month of service each year
in April. Eventually, our mission spread
beyond the idea of providing service
one month per year to bringing
together partners from all walks of life
to help our neighbors year-round. In
1988, we opened our national
headquarters in the District of
Columbia.
Today, we continue to transform the
lives of low-income homeowners by
improving the safety and health of their
homes and revitalizing their
communities. With the help of nearly
100,000 volunteers each year,
Rebuilding Together’s local affiliates
provide free critical home repairs to
low-income homeowners.
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OUR GOAL: TO BECOME A STRONGER COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION PARTNER
As a leading national nonprofit in safe and healthy housing, we are focused on becoming a stronger, sustainable organization. We believe that becoming a
stronger community revitalization partner will better position us to meet the ever-increasing needs of America’s low-income homeowners and communities
nationwide.
Strengthening
the Services
We Deliver
Implementing
More Common
and Uniform
Practices
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
Creating a
Stronger
Culture and
Infrastructure
Increasing our
Revenue
Streams
Building
Stronger
Engagement
with Our
Brand
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STRENGTHENING THE SERVICES WE DELIVER
We are dedicated to strengthening the services we deliver to low-income
homeowners across the country. Our 166 local affiliates and nearly 100,000
volunteers complete about 10,000 rebuild projects each year.
With more than 2.6 million low-income homeowners living in deteriorating,
physically inadequate homes that threaten their well-being, the demand for
our services continues to grow. In 1992, the Rebuilding Together network
completed 2,400 projects with the help of 70,000 volunteers. Twenty years
later, our output had more than quadrupled: our network completed 10,400
projects in 2012. In 2013, we provided services with a market value of $86.
In strengthening the services we deliver, we will focus on both direct and
indirect services, including safe and healthy housing education awareness
materials and tools for homeowners and the interested public. Many of our
affiliates are already partnering with their community and other organizations
— such as skilled trades associations, faith-based organizations, and civic
groups — to provide additional services to low-income homeowners and the
communities in which they live. They are also working with local municipalities'
offices of Health and Human Services and local housing departments.
Building on this direction, we will be expanding partnership opportunities on a
local, regional, and national basis to strengthen our services.
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
Replicating Best Practices and Services
“.”
We are building on our rich history, which began in 1973 with
neighbors helping neighbors in Midland, Texas. Since then we have
grown into a leading national nonprofit in safe and healthy housing.
Today, 166 local affiliates — with the help of nearly 100,000
volunteers a year — transform the lives of low-income homeowners
by improving the safety and health of their homes and revitalizing
their communities.
We are strengthening our business model to deliver a unified,
nationally branded, and sustainable organization. With affiliates
across the country, we strive to identify and implement aspects of
our business that can be replicated quickly and cost effectively to
meet the rapidly growing needs of low-income homeowners living in
unsafe and unhealthy homes.
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IMPLEMENTING MORE COMMON AND UNIFORM PRACTICES
Guided by our vision of a safe and healthy home for every person,
affiliates across the country provide critical home repairs, accessibility
modifications, and energy-efficient upgrades to the homes of lowincome homeowners.
Safe and Healthy Homes:
Tools and Training
Our goal is to implement more common and uniform repair practices
across the country. More than 50 affiliates have completed the Healthy
Housing Rehab and Repair training on safe and healthy housing
principles and practices. Local affiliates continue to strengthen their
organization to make the needed changes to address low-income
homeowners in need. To ensure all affiliates have the capacity and
resources to make homes safer and healthier, we are focused on:





The principles of safe and healthy housing
Systematic home assessments that identify all significant safety
and health risks
Detailed statements of work that set clear expectations for
volunteers and contractors
Additional training for volunteers
Resources and capacity support to the affiliate network
We will create new safe and healthy housing training programs and
resources to help affiliates continue to implement consistent, highquality uniform practices (e.g. safe and healthy home assessments and
repairs, energy efficiency upgrades, handyman services and emergency
repairs, accessibility modifications, ramp design and installation, and fire
prevention and carbon monoxide detection services).
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
Since 2012, Rebuilding Together has collaborated with the National Center
for Healthy Housing (NCHH), a leading subject matter expert in healthy
homes. Working with NCHH, a “learning community” of nine affiliates
developed a new set of tools and training to help them improve the quality
and consistency of repairs, build affiliate capacity, and support the deeper
repairs needed to correct significant health and safety hazards. The Healthy
Housing Rehab and Repair training offers a cross-learning process among
affiliates, helps to identify low-cost solutions to common home hazards, and
provides information on identifying significant health and safety repairs. As
part of this training, affiliates learn to use the Challenge Healthy Homes
Manager, a tool that guides affiliates through home assessments, develops
statements of work, and helps manage repairs more effectively.
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CREATING A STRONGER CULTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Rebuilding Together is committed to building a stronger culture — one that
fosters open and effective cooperation across the network, recognizes the
uniqueness of each affiliate and staff member, and embraces a collaborative
environment. We strive to maintain the highest standards of ethics,
transparency, and accountability, and are committed to improving our culture.
We will engage staff and affiliates to establish best practices and create a
stronger culture.
We are also committed to creating a stronger, shared infrastructure across the
affiliate network. We are working with corporate sponsors and interested
affiliates on phase one of our infrastructure system: building a federated
platform across the network that integrates a strong content management
system (Drupal) and a robust constituent relations management system
(Salesforce). With this goal, we have identified three objectives:



Redesign the way affiliate leaders, volunteers, sponsors, the
interested public, and national staff interact with Rebuilding
Together
Ensure greater levels of uniformity across the Rebuilding Together
system
Improve the collection and management of data
Everything we do is interconnected; our systems and tools should be
interconnected. We are developing an interconnected set of tools with an
integrated website to help affiliates reduce time spent on administrative tasks,
manage data, facilitate the exchange of information, and to better connect
across the network. Phase one of the infrastructure project includes an
integrated website, new affiliate portal, and the creation of a network-wide
database.
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
BUILDING OUR CAPACITY TO BETTER SUPPORT
THE AFFILIATE NETWORK
In November 2014, Rebuilding Together and Charter Communications
announced its new philanthropic partnership and Charter’s new
corporate social responsibility program, Charter Our Community.
Charter Communications has a great interest in helping to build the
capacity of Rebuilding Together. One of two capacity-building
deliverables outlined in the agreement between Rebuilding Together
and Charter Communications is the online communications hub.
Charter Communications’ partnership will support our in-house
technology (e.g. website redesign, new affiliate portal, and creation of
a network-wide database) to meet the fundamental changes to our
business model and support our affiliate network and key
stakeholders.
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INCREASING OUR REVENUE STREAMS
Our name, Rebuilding Together, says it all. Rebuilding
Together helps homeowners by bringing together corporate
and individual donors, skilled trades people and
associations, and nearly 100,000 volunteers each year. To
realize our vision of a safe and healthy home for every
person, we have launched a comprehensive plan that will
diversify our revenue streams and deepen our relationships
with corporate partners, which have provided key funding to
guide our organization’s growth over the past 25 years.
We are piloting a program to test shared collaborative
strategies with our affiliate network and guiding a
resurgence in individual donor giving. In addition, we are
working to connect with mission-driven foundation funders to
strengthen our organizational capacity.
As the national office, we are dedicated to ensuring that our
166 local affiliates have the resources and tools needed to
bring volunteers and communities together to improve the
homes and lives of low-income homeowners.
COLLABORATIVE FUNDRAISING
We have created a more robust fundraising department at the national office with clear
goals and deliverables to provide better administrative support and tools for affiliates to
succeed in fundraising. We have a dedicated staff member serving as the point of contact
for all fundraising inquiries from affiliates. In partnership with the affiliate network, we are
piloting collaborative fundraising models in four affiliate markets and will be working
closely with all regions to leverage current and new partnerships. We have assessed the
shared prospects across the network, and will work with affiliates on collective
opportunities to strengthen our local operations, increase our fundraising, and diversify
our revenue streams.
.
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
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BUILDING STRONGER ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR BRAND
We are focused on building stronger engagement with the Rebuilding Together brand to
ensure that we have the resources to rebuild the homes of low-income families; and to
help affiliates across the country leverage the brand to deliver on Rebuilding Together’s
mission. Our approach is to create relationships that can move from awareness to
engagement to advocacy. We are developing a strategy to aid in brand development by:




THE ROLE OF BRAND
Redefining the brand purpose
Restoring brand relevance
Reinventing the brand experience
Creating measurable goals to evaluate performance
Our brand revitalization work will enhance our value to key stakeholders, including
homeowners, corporate partners, and volunteers. Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (MXM)
has been collaborating with us to define our brand promise and value propositions. We
are also creating a national marketing campaign to increase awareness and foster
stronger engagement with Rebuilding Together across the country.
In October 2014, following a communications audit that also examined staffing priorities,
the communications and marketing team was restructured to be better positioned to
support the affiliate network and achieve the goal of building a stronger Rebuilding
Together brand. The team’s areas of concentration are: communications, marketing,
community engagement, and knowledge management and research. The team will
conduct training webinars and create resources to support affiliates on the local level. In
addition, this fall we will unveil our new brand strategy to engage more people and
partners in transforming the lives of low-income homeowners by improving the safety and
health of their homes and revitalizing their communities.
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
“Although many nonprofits continue to take a narrow
approach to brand management, using it as a tool for
fundraising, a growing number [of nonprofits] are
moving beyond that approach to explore the wider,
strategic roles that brands can play: driving broad,
long-term social goals, while strengthening internal
identity, cohesion, and capacity.”
- “The Role of Brand in the Nonprofit Sector,”
Stanford Social Innovation Review, spring 2012
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CONCLUSION
Rebuilding Together is committed to building a stronger, sustainable organization. Our goal is to become an even stronger community revitalization
partner. We will be better positioned to help low-income homeowners as we focus on:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Strengthening the Services We Deliver
Implementing More Common and Uniform Practices
Creating a Stronger Culture and Infrastructure
Increasing Our Revenue Streams
Building Stronger Engagement with Our Brand
The heart and soul of what we do is provide critical repairs to the homes of low-income homeowners and revitalize the communities in which they live. It is
and will remain the core of our efforts as we make homes safer and healthier. We hear it in homeowners’ words of relief when they move off of our wait list
and onto our project calendar. We see it on homeowners’ faces when they see their rebuilt home for the first time. We feel it in the hugs we get at the end
of the day. It is the driving force that demands we press on and, together, rise to meet the challenge of reinventing ourselves to meet the ever-increasing
need for our help. Indeed, it is our commitment to service that compels us to change. Present and future low-income homeowners and communities
nationwide are depending on us to do so.
Affiliates across the country, through generous corporate, individual and community support, transform the lives of low-income homeowners by improving
the safety and health of their homes and revitalizing their communities. Visit rebuildingtogether.org/donate to offer your support now.
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
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APPENDIX A: HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
1973
Neighbors help neighbors to rebuild their homes in Midland, Texas
1988
Became a national organization (founded as Christmas in April USA)
1995
Moves into its first national headquarters in Washington, D.C.
2001
Officially becomes known as Rebuilding Together
2006
Celebrates the completion of work on its 100,000th home
2013
Celebrates 25th anniversary as a national organization serving low-income
homeowners
2014
Receives 10th consecutive Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating, a feat only 1
percent of nonprofits have achieved
2015
Releases 2015 – 2017 Business Priorities
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
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APPENDIX B: 166 AFFILIATES AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2014
Christmas in April Charles County
Christmas in April Hartsville
Rebuilding Together Acadiana
Rebuilding Together Albuquerque
Rebuilding Together Alexandria
Rebuilding Together Anne Arundel County
Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church
Rebuilding Together Atlanta
Rebuilding Together Aurora
Rebuilding Together Austin
Rebuilding Together Baltimore
Rebuilding Together Baton Rouge
Rebuilding Together Bergen County
Rebuilding Together Bisbee
Rebuilding Together Boston
Rebuilding Together Broward County
Rebuilding Together Calcasieu
Rebuilding Together Camden and Vicinity
Rebuilding Together Campbell County
Rebuilding Together Caroline County
Rebuilding Together Central Alabama
Rebuilding Together Central San Gabriel Valley
Rebuilding Together Charleston
Rebuilding Together Central Ohio
Rebuilding Together Clay County
Rebuilding Together Cleveland County
Rebuilding Together Colorado Springs
Rebuilding Together Dayton
Rebuilding Together Delaware County
Rebuilding Together Detroit
Rebuilding Together Duneland
Rebuilding Together Dutchess County
Rebuilding Together East Bay North
Rebuilding Together El Paso
Rebuilding Together Essex County
Rebuilding Together Fairfield County
Rebuilding Together Fargo/Moorhead Area
Rebuilding Together Fort Valley
Rebuilding Together Fox Valley
Rebuilding Together Frederick County
Rebuilding Together Fredericksburg
Rebuilding Together Glynn County
Rebuilding Together Grays Harbor
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
Rebuilding Together Greater Bismarck/Mandan Area
Rebuilding Together Greater Burlington
Rebuilding Together Greater Cuyahoga Valley
Rebuilding Together Greater Dallas
Rebuilding Together Greater Des Moines
Rebuilding Together Greater Fremont
Rebuilding Together Greater Harrisburg
Rebuilding Together Greater Los Angeles
Rebuilding Together Greater Milwaukee
Rebuilding Together Greater Newport
Rebuilding Together Gwinnett County
Rebuilding Together Harrisonburg/Rockingham
Rebuilding Together Hartford
Rebuilding Together Haverhill
Rebuilding Together Hebron
Rebuilding Together Henry County
Rebuilding Together Hobart/Lake Station
Rebuilding Together Houston
Rebuilding Together Howard County
Rebuilding Together Indianapolis
Rebuilding Together Ingham County
Rebuilding Together Jersey City
Rebuilding Together Kent County
Rebuilding Together Kern County
Rebuilding Together Kiamichi Country
Rebuilding Together Knoxville
Rebuilding Together La Porte
Rebuilding Together Lake County
Rebuilding Together Lee County
Rebuilding Together Lewiston/Auburn
Rebuilding Together Lincoln County
Rebuilding Together Litchfield County
Rebuilding Together Long Beach
Rebuilding Together Long Island
Rebuilding Together Loudoun County
Rebuilding Together Lowell
Rebuilding Together Manchester
Rebuilding Together Manitowoc County
Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago
Rebuilding Together Metro Denver
Rebuilding Together Metropolis
Rebuilding Together Miami/Dade
Rebuilding Together Mohawk Valley
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APPENDIX B: 166 AFFILIATES AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2014
Rebuilding Together Monterey/Salinas
Rebuilding Together Montgomery County
Rebuilding Together Morgan County
Rebuilding Together Mountain Communities
Rebuilding Together Muscatine
Rebuilding Together Nashville
Rebuilding Together New Britain
Rebuilding Together New Orleans
Rebuilding Together New York City
Rebuilding Together North Central Florida
Rebuilding Together North Suburban Chicago
Rebuilding Together Northwest Arkansas
Rebuilding Together Oakland
Rebuilding Together Oakland County
Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte
Rebuilding Together of Greater Green Bay
Rebuilding Together of the Palm Beaches
Rebuilding Together of the Triangle
Rebuilding Together Oklahoma City
Rebuilding Together Olean
Rebuilding Together Omaha
Rebuilding Together Orange/Louisa
Rebuilding Together Orlando
Rebuilding Together Pacific County
Rebuilding Together Peninsula
Rebuilding Together Peoria
Rebuilding Together Petaluma
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia
Rebuilding Together Pitt County
Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh
Rebuilding Together Portage
Rebuilding Together Portland
Rebuilding Together Providence
Rebuilding Together Quad Cities
Rebuilding Together Queen Anne’s County
Rebuilding Together Richmond
Rebuilding Together Roanoke
Rebuilding Together Rohnert Park-Cotati
Rebuilding Together Sacramento
Rebuilding Together San Antonio
Rebuilding Together San Diego
Rebuilding Together, Inc. | 2015–2017 Business Priorities | April 2015
Rebuilding Together San Francisco
Rebuilding Together San Gabriel Valley Foothills
Rebuilding Together Sandoval County
Rebuilding Together Santa Cruz County
Rebuilding Together Santa Rosa
Rebuilding Together Saratoga County
Rebuilding Together Savannah
Rebuilding Together Seattle
Rebuilding Together Sebastopol
Rebuilding Together Shawnee/Johnson County
Rebuilding Together Sheboygan County
Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley
Rebuilding Together Solano County
Rebuilding Together South Lake County
Rebuilding Together South Sound
Rebuilding Together Southern California Coordinating Council
Rebuilding Together Southern Nevada
Rebuilding Together Southwest Illinois
Rebuilding Together Spokane
Rebuilding Together Springfield
Rebuilding Together St. Joseph County
Rebuilding Together St. Landry
Rebuilding Together St. Louis
Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay
Rebuilding Together Thurston County
Rebuilding Together Tri-Cities
Rebuilding Together Tucson
Rebuilding Together Tulsa
Rebuilding Together Twin Cities
Rebuilding Together Valley of the Sun
Rebuilding Together Valparaiso
Rebuilding Together Warner Robins
Rebuilding Together Washington
Rebuilding Together Washington County (NE)
Rebuilding Together Washington County (OR)
Rebuilding Together Waycross
Rebuilding Together West San Gabriel Valley
Rebuilding Together with Christmas in October Kansas City
Rebuilding Together Worcester
Rebuilding Together Yellowstone County
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