Mining the Mission | Turning Lemons Into Lemonade — and Houses Into Homes

Nonprofits can’t afford to throw money at their problems. Creative thinking is an extraordinarily vital item for them to have in their toolkit in order to further their missions. One way to actualize such thinking is for them to be on the lookout for socioeconomic changes and to leverage those changes in support of their their organizations’ goals.

Reporting from Modesto, California, last week, National Public Radio’s Morning Edition observed that “Habitat for Humanity … is finding bargains on parcels [of land] the nonprofit couldn’t have afforded two years ago.” The collapse of the subprime mortgage market has hit Modesto especially hard, and the local Habitat chapter has been scooping up repossessed houses for half of what vacant lots would have gone for just a few years back. As chapter officials note, they’re not happy about the misfortunes of families forced out of their houses, but by buying and rehabbing the properties, Habitat mitigates the unpleasantries that come with abandonment — squatters, for one — and helps to get folks back into decent housing.

The NPR reporter on the story called the situation “a small upside to a terrible housing slump” and a “window of opportunity for nonprofits.” I call it a nice job by Habitat for Humanity to scoot through that window and help out those in need.

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