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Habitat for
Humanity St. Louis
Building Homes and Hope
By Pam Droog
Habitat for Humanity ... that’s the organization that builds homes
for partner families. But it’s also a land development company,
construction company, property manager, mortgage banker, social
service agency, and retailer.
“Because of that diversity within Habitat for Humanity, our board
of directors is equally diverse,” says Executive Director Kimberly
McKinney. Its hardworking, 24-member board consists of attorneys,
real estate professionals, social service providers, special event
planners, even a Habitat homeowner.
 Habitat
for Humanity St. Louis, Board of Directors
(Seated left to right): Sue Derdeyen*, Community
Volunteer; John Langa, CB Richard Ellis; Robert T.
West P.C., Pastor, West & Kramer; Deborah Carter-Dearing,
Dearing & Hartzog, L.C.; Kathleeen Sorkin*, St.
Louis Equity Fund; Edward Maglasang*, Merican Pacific;
Kimberly McKinney, Executive Director (Middle Row):
Jacob Johnson*, Cornerstone Partnership; Pete Weitzel*,
Weitzel Construction; Rosalyn Fulton, People’s
Health Center; Jane Boudreaux, Secretary, Community
Volunteer; Pam Kell*, St. Louis University; Ken Green,
Union Planter’s Bank; Mary Mason, Habitat Homeowner
(Top Row): Dave Lowman, CitiMortgage; John
Parres*, retired, Dulin, King Parres & McDowell;
Ric Hoerz, Rubicon Foundation; Mike Sullivan, DESCO;
Lance Cage, ARCO Construction; Howard Smith, President,
Centerco Properties, LLC (Members not present):
Debbie Windus*, Center of Contemporary Arts; Steven
A. Brown, Balke-Brown Associates; John D. Castango,
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.; Doris Wilson, Community
Volunteer
*Executive Committee |
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“A lot of our board members have advanced with the organization,”
McKinney says. “Also, it’s a group that’s interested in consensus-building.
Everyone talks things through in detail to reach a consensus about
the organization.”
Board President Howard Smith, an attorney and chief financial officer
at Centerco Properties, agrees. “I’ve never sat on a board where
everyone is so dedicated to the mission and works so hard,” he says.
“We seem to always reach consensus.”
This year, the Habitat for Humanity board reached consensus about
scaling back, Smith says. “We’re retrenching. Last year we built
more houses than we ever built”—26 in all, including the “Blitz
Build,” 15 houses in 15 days, to honor the affiliate’s 15th anniversary
in St. Louis. To date, Habitat for Humanity has built 120 homes
in the metro area, more than half in just the last three years.
The houses are built through volunteer labor, including the homeowners’
sweat equity, plus tax-deductible donations of money, materials
and expertise. Typically, a home is sponsored by a religious group,
corporation, civic organization or individuals. Then they’re sold
at no profit to the partner families who pay zero-interest mortgages
over 20 to 30 years.
All the activity of the past year “really stretched the board and
staff and took a lot of resources,” Smith says. As a result, Habitat
will build just 12 houses this year, and focus on other aspects
of the organization.
For example, the board is developing a strategic plan for the next
three years. “We’re looking at how we can be more efficient, and
we’re doing some long-range growth planning,” McKinney says, “Basically
we’re determining what we need to do to get where we want to go.”
Among the major goals is another “Blitz Build,” to put up 40 homes
and boost Habitat’s home total to “204 by 2004.” Another initiative
is based on Smith’s vision of an affordable-housing subdivision
in West County. “We’d combine Habitat houses with those of other
agencies and develop our own community with full services,” he says.
“That’s something I really want to concentrate on.”
The Habitat board also recently launched a capital campaign to raise
$1.5 million to purchase the building the organization moved into
last spring on “NonProfit Row,” Forest Park Boulevard. Besides new
offices and meeting rooms, the building also houses the group’s
ReStore, which sells donated overstocked, seconds, used, discontinued,
and salvageable building materials to the public.
“Just a handful of affiliates have a ReStore,” McKinney says. Increased
profits from the store, due to better visibility and increased marketing,
will help Habitat improve its costs ratio. Now 87 cents of every
dollar raised by the ReStore or general donations goes toward maintaining
houses the organization owns or building new ones.
Two annual fundraisers bring in up to $200,000: the golf tournament
in the spring, and the Harvest Homecoming in the fall.
“That’s where we step outside ourselves and recognize others in
the community who are not necessarily connected to Habitat,” McKinney
says. The popular event, which will be held at the Starlight Roof
at the Chase Hotel on Nov. 8, features a silent auction.
According to its bylaws, Habitat for Humanity board members can
serve two three-year terms. Terms are staggered to bring in fresh
faces. “We always look forward to weaving in new members,” Smith
says. “That forces us to look through other people’s eyes and review
what we’re doing.”
When an opening occurs, board members may be recruited by other
board members, or tapped from the group’s nine active committees,
which range from finance and law to family selection and support,
construction and volunteers to interfaith outreach, ReStore and
special events.
“We look for people who feel strongly about the need for affordable
housing and desire to make a difference,” McKinney says. “Board
members must feel passionate about Habitat, but that’s easy to feel
passionate about.”
Pam Droog is a frequent contributor to St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
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