Friday 1st November 2024
Founded in 1942 in Georgia, Habitat for Humanity now works in all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries worldwide. It has helped "more than 59 million people achieve strength, stability and independence through safe, decent and affordable shelter".
Austin Habitat is "committed to providing affordable homeownership opportunities and is the largest builder of homes affordable to own for hardworking, low-income families in Central Texas. For more than 35 years, Austin Habitat for Humanity, along with over 11,000 volunteers a year, has successfully provided decent, affordable homes and the resources our homeowners need to keep their homes". They have:
provided more than 830 homes.
repaired more than 350 existing homes for low-income homeowners including seniors, people with disabilities and veterans.
empowered more than 16,000 community members through housing counselling and education.
provided foreclosure counselling and foreclosure mitigation.
recycled more than 38 million pounds of construction materials through ReStore locations.
I met their Director of Community Affairs, Greg Anderson, at one of their Restores - a
41000 sq ft warehouse selling everything household including construction, DIY, furniture, garden and textiles.
Arial photograph of their Austin office which includes their 41000 sq ft Restore. The entire building is powered by solar roof panals which also brings them revenue from selling back to the grid.
Although Dallas has a store twice the size and San Antonio almost 3 x the size, this restore is the highest grossingHabitat in the U.S.
Rent is cheaper in Dallas and San Antonio so they can afford a bigger space, however despite the size, these stores do not make as much money as the Austin one as incomes are lower there so people by less, at a lower price point.
They receive donations directly to the store from householders and sometimes of new goods from retailers such as Lowes (the U.S. B&Q). They also buy in products in bulk at low cost in order to keep stocked of items that are in demand and those items that will attract people in (I hear rope is in high demand in Austin and they need to buy it in to keep up with demand!).
The store manager tells me that they are currently sitting at 80% donations vs 20% bought product which is a huge improvement on the 50/50 split they had recently. He tells me that it is common for both donations and sales to be down in an election year and this is not the first time I heard this on this trip. People are worried apparently, and hold on to their items and their money until the uncertainty has passed.
The store is predominantly full of building type materials but they have a steady stream of furniture and clothing too. Both furniture and clothing fly out the door apparently and the turnover is high.
Habitat for Humanity Austin has good partner links which bring in a steady stream of new items, often in bulk. I asked what he thought the motivation was for the donation – purely to avoid landfill costs, to do the right thing environmentally, or to support the cause? The answer is a mixture, but being clear and visual with their mission and impacts as an organisation really help for people to connect the dots. Companies are keen to donate knowing that the items will find good homes and the income generated goes to a great cause, locally. The impact and benefits of Habitat for Humanity are well known and people want to support the work that they do to provide affordable housing.
140 people work at Habitat for Humanity Austin across the stores, and all their housing support work.
For the numbers geeks amongst you here are some interesting and very specific stats that their store manager rhymed off from memory with great accuracy – the sign of an A1 retail manager!
50-61 donations per day – again they don’t record the weight or number of items coming in. Every so often they will audit to gain a snapshot of donations. Items are put into large plastic boxes, with the average box value calculated to have a retail value of $310.
$120-149 value per donation
Average $59 per transaction, rising to $75 on their busiest days which are Saturdays and Tuesdays.
Sales of $10,000-$23000 per day
Around 75% of staff are full time and 25% are part time. However right now that manifests as 19/4. Staffing fluctuates with gross profit and they cut staff accordingly depending on income. The target is to make 19% profit from gross income.
The reasons that people shop there are varied – to buy items cheaper than new, to refurbish or kit out a home using salvaged materials for environmental or architectural reasons (Austin has a lot of old houses). The store manager also mentioned the instant access type market – contractors often have to order materials for a project from a DIY store whereas they often have the item in stock.
Many more pictures and videos in this album on my flickr page
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