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Loaves and Fishes
HFHC eNewsletter |
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Colorado Housing Investment Fund 2008 Petition Drive Postponed
As you know, HFHC and many Habitat affiliates have been actively involved in the effort to create a permanent and flexible fund for affordable housing. In many cases, we have, for the first time, stepped out of our comfort zones and become advocates for political change. Thank you for your support for the Colorado Housing Investment Fund Initiative!
This week the Colorado Housing Investment Fund Coalition made the difficult decision to halt our 2008 petition drive and to continue to work to garner resources and prepare for a future campaign. After facing many delays in getting approval on ballot title, the campaign was left with only a short window to complete a successful petition drive - a window that proved too small given limited resources. So many of you worked tirelessly gathering hundreds of signatures on construction sites and in the community, and you are to be applauded for efforts. However, as the campaign expects to fall short on the petition drive, we will all redirect our energy and resources toward building future success.
The need for resources in affordable housing continues to be great, and Habitat for Humanity of Colorado will continue to advocate for the creation of a Housing Investment Fund. With support from HFHI and our new staff member Kim Cooke, we look forward to working with affiliates to develop your capacity to advocate for your needs locally, and with your help will continue to rally support across the state for this important issue! | |
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| HFHI Corner
Habitat for Humanity ranked 14th on 2007 Builder's list. Click here to see the rankings. | |
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Dedicated Habitat Volunteers Walk Across Colorado!
 Jessica Vrettos and Shannon Farrell just finished walking over three hundred miles for Habitat for Humanity. The pair from Fort Collins signed up last winter for a full house sponsorship with the New Orleans Area Habitat, and then added an additional ten percent to their goal to donate Colorado affiliates. Shannon and Jessica trekked across Colorado from north to south in May, finishing May 31st, to raise money for their goal.
"We spent some time last year in New Orleans volunteering. We worked with a couple of groups but our time with Habitat was the most remarkable. All the volunteers and coordinators had such great enthusiasm. When we returned to Colorado and decided to take on a project of our own, Habitat was the easy choice," said Vrettos. They call their project One More Home.
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ReStore TV Commercials Launch Across the State
 Habitat for Humanity of Colorado and twelve affiliates in Northern Colorado, the Denver area, and the Western Slope all teamed together this summer to advertise ReStores, Home Supply Stores, and Home Improvement Outlets on cable television. Two commercials produced by Otsego Habitat in Michigan will be airing on several Comcast Cable networks throughout the summer.
Comcast Cable generously donated one time slot for every paid commercial spot, effectively doubling the volume of the substantial investment made by the twelve stores participating. The networks the commercial will air on are Discovery, Home and Garden TV, Oxygen, Animal Planet, Disney, and the Travel Channel.
Contact Ryan Economy at HFHC if you would like to learn more about the commercials. Click here to view the generic version of the commercials. |
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Free CHFA Homebuyer Education Courses
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority and numerous partner agencies offer free First Time Homebuyer Education courses across the state on a monthly basis. If your affiliate does not have its own course, and you wish to sell mortgages to CHFA through HFHC's asset recovery program, the quickest and easiest way to meet this requirement is to have your partner family attend a classroom course or take the online course.
Click here to view the schedule of in-class courses offered statewide, or click here for a link to the online course. Contact Ryan Economy at HFHC if you have any questions. |
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Nominate Your Affiliate's Designs for the Affordable Housing Gallery.
 Housing Colorado, ardent supporter of affordable housing through education and advocacy, is calling for submissions of award winning designs and innovative development in affordable housing to appear in an online gallery.
The gallery will be a resource for developers interested in new models and a public education tool for policymakers and citizens. Please visit the Housing Colorado Gallery site to learn more about the gallery and the nomination requirements. Nominations are due July 25, 2008.
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 July Building Block for Success
Section 2: Service Delivery- Habitat affiliate programs support and actively work to accomplish its mission.
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- Sweat Equity: Affiliate has a board approved sweat-equity policy, which requires no less than 200 hours of sweat equity per household, including 100 hours of construction.
Rationale:
This standard ensures that affiliates consistently and uniformly enforce sweat-equity. The sweat-equity requirement is a key objective indicator of a families' "willingness to partner" as well as a founding principle of Habitat for Humanity. Appropriate accommodations are necessary for individuals with physical limitations covered in the American's with Disabilities Act.
Supporting Resource(s):
a. Governing HFHI policy: Policy #11 - Homeowner Partner Selection - p. G.27
b. Family Service Policies & Procedures manual (p.7 - sweat equity policy)
Self-Evaluation: (if all answers are yes, you meet the standard)
1. Does your affiliate have a Board approved sweat equity policy?
2. Does the policy require a minimum of 200 hours of sweat equity per household?
3. Does the policy require partner families to spend at least 100 of the 200 total sweat equity hours on construction? 4. If a partner family is physically limited under American's with Disabilities Act, are appropriate accommodations made? |
Fun Fund and Friend Raising Ideas
HFH Metro Denver Involves Under 16 Youth
Although they may not be old enough to volunteer on the job site, youth under 16 are the Habitat volunteers and leaders of the future. Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver has a number of ways to involve children under the age of 16 in Habitat's misson, from collecting lightly used tools, to fundraising, and even advocacy. Visit their Youth Under 16 webpage for ideas of how to involve young volunteers in your area. | |
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Affiliates, Please Submit Your Coors and Johnson 07-08 Grants!
If you have not already done so, please submit your requests to draw down the Coors and Johnson Foundation grants for 07-08 as soon as possible.
If you are not sure if you have any money still available to your affiliate through these grants, or any other questions, please contact Irene at 303-454-8965 x2. | |
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Habitat Colorado Welcomes Kim Cooke, Advocacy Field Organizer
 Habitat Colorado welcomed Kim Cooke, Advocacy Field Organizer, to Habitat for Humanity in the beginning of June.
Kim has her Bachelors in Social Work at Calvin College and her Masters of Social Work in Indirect Practice at University of Denver. She brings experience in community organizing and issue advocacy around homelessness and housing issues to Habitat for Humanity of Colorado. Kim applied her emphasis in mediation and community organizing by working with the Colorado Housing Investment Fund Coalition. Previously, Kim was a Clinical Case Manager with a housing first program, fueling her knowledge of the homeless, housing and social service community as well as the constraints of the health and mental health care industries. |
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Training Calendar
 Looking for Grants Training?
Register now for the Grantsmanship Training Program
HFHC has scholarships available to help affiliates attend this training. Scholarships are on a first come basis. Please contact karen@habitatcolorado.org or stefka@habitatcolorado.org for more information.
July 28- August 1, 2008
Lakewood, CO
Hosted by Habitat for Humanity of Colorado and the City of Lakewood
http://www.tgci.com/index.shtml
Designed for both the novice and the experienced grantseeker, this intensive 5-day workshop combines expert instruction with practical exercises to take you step-by-step through all the stages of planning programs, locating funding sources, and writing grant proposals. Participants' current needs and programs are the basis of all class research and proposal writing exercises. Graduates of this workshop also receive a full year of membership services, which include access to online funding databases, discounts on publications, a proposal review by your trainer, and more.
 NEW!!! Board of Directors Training
September 6 Lakewood 10 am- 5 pm
September 13 Durango 10 am- 5 pm
Registration Coming Soonà Cost $25 per board member (scholarships available)
Habitat of Colorado is partnering with Rich Male & Associates to bring high quality training to Affiliates' Board of Directors. The training will not replace local affiliate orientation and training, but will supplement the training and will help to further emphasize the importance of the role of Board of Directors. This training is specifically geared towards boards.
Upcoming Networking Opportunities
Volunteer Coordinator Networking July 10 10 am- 12 pm
HFHC's Offices, Lakewood
Resource Development Networking July 11 11:30 am- 1:30 pm
Boulder
Family Services Networking July 16 10 am- 12 pm
HFHC's Offices, Lakewood
Interested in hosting a networking event in your local area? Contact Karen at karen@habitatcolorado.org. | |
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Volume 29
