BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bob Cudlin

PRESIDENT

Bill Kuhn

VICE PRESIDENT

Richard Berg

SECRETARY

Mike Shay

TREASURER

Bree Beal

Jo Carol Conover

Bruce Sullivan

Linda Dykwel

Mark Huffman

Ron Jollo

Chelsea Schneider

Beverly Pahlisch

Carole Nuckton

Duncan Brown

Gerald Hill

Sylvia Morrison

SECRETARY PRO-TEM

November 25, 2009

Dear Friends of Habitat,

Bend Area Habitat for Humanity works because individuals across our community give their time, talents, and financial support to help break the cycle of poverty in our community.  As more families are facing financial hardships, it becomes increasingly important that we continue to build on our successes and help hard working families achieve their goal of homeownership. With your help we can continue to meet this challenge.

It has turned out to be a very exciting 20^th Anniversary year for our organization.  We had six families move into homes recently completed on Blakely Road; completed a home in partnership with  Housing Works on McKinley Ave; and began construction of our new community, Parkway Village, with a very successful Blitz Build  early in  September.  The support we received from Simplicity by Hayden Homes and Adair Homes in this blitz effort is truly gratifying at a time when their industry has been most hard hit.

These are difficult times for everyone.  Habitat’s model of support provides “a hand up” to the families we serve but it is increasingly apparent that our approach is also an investment in the community.

Whenever Bend Area Habitat for Humanity builds a house and creates a home for a low-income family, we generate economic benefits not only for the family, but for the community as well. These economic contributions derive from the three principal activities in which we routinely engage – the purchase of land, the construction of homes, and the subsidized sale of these homes to low-income families that could not otherwise access the blessings of homeownership.

Each of these three activities has economic or fiscal impacts. Purchasing property helps our depressed housing market and generates tax-revenue. The construction of houses brings revenue to the City of Bend in the form of System Development Charges. Construction also requires the purchase of materials from local businesses and spending on certain trades (e.g., electricians and plumbers).  This new demand for goods and services, in turn, generates income taxes.  Finally, the families that purchase the houses generate property tax revenue and broader contributions to the economy through purchases of services and other activities. 

Generally, Habitat for Humanity is considered an entity that generates positive social outcomes for the families it ushers into homeownership.   While this is true, there is also an economic impact. Every time we invest $125,000 in the construction of a home, the economic impact to the local economy is $254,150!

A donation is a gift that helps us change lives. Through your donations, we are able to acquire land, buy materials to complete homes, and offer the opportunity of homeownership to a family.

Yes, Bend Area Habitat for Humanity is dependent on you. Together, we build a stronger Bend, We make a difference. We change lives.

Thank you so much you for your support and all you do for Habitat,

Bob Cudlin

Board President