The Afternoon News with Kitty O'Neal

The Afternoon News with Kitty O'Neal

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Habitat for Humanity Gets Much-Needed Emergency Funds

Restore

Listen: Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento President and CEO Leah Miller. 

Following furloughs of 90% of staff, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento brings staff back to work with PPP funds 

Thanks River City Bank for tireless efforts as PPP banking lender

https://habitatgreatersac.org/

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento will be re-open the ReStore with new safety protocols and limited capacity and hours starting next Thursday, May 7th.

ReStore
Lisa Miller, CEO and President

This week, the team at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento hada joyous reunionthanks to the efforts of River City Bank and the Payroll Protection Plan opportunity through the CARES Act. 

Following COVID-19 orders, the 34-year old nonprofit organization had to temporarily close the ReStore (a retail outlet selling new and used donated building supplies, hardware, and home furnishings), temporarily close Habitat’s active construction sites, and furlough 90% of the nonprofit’s staff. All of this on the heels of a benchmark year for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento as in 2019 the nonprofit served more individuals than every other year in the organization’s history combined.

“It was gut-wrenching,” recalls Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento President and CEO Leah Miller. 

Over the past five weeks Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento has applied for a plethora of local, state, and federal grants and loans to help support resiliency through COVID-19 impact, bring back staff, and continue the 34-year legacy of building and repairing homes for those in need. When the opportunity arose for forgivable loan funding through the Payroll Protection Plan, Habitat Greater Sacramento immediately touched base with a variety of potential PPP banking partners and opted to work on the application with River City Bank – a longtime partner who Habitat Greater Sacramento has worked with on a variety of mortgage transactions and partnerships for Habitat self-help homeownership developments.   

After submitting all the paperwork to River City Bank, Habitat waited with baited breath to hear back. 

Said Miller, “When I received the late night call from River City Bank that our application had been accepted, I immediately contacted the remaining 2 members of our staff to share the news. We were all jumping up and down with tears literally streaming down our faces. Getting PPP funds meant we could bring our staff back to work and continue the legacy of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento that had been built by so many before us. It meant everything.”

Habitat’s PPP funding is not enough to also cover rent or even all of the current staff salaries (PPP loans are based off 2019 payroll), however it is enough to give Habitat some breathing room to adjust to a new reality which includes, for now, a lot less walk-in ReStore revenue and no volunteer support. Over the next week, staff will focus on getting the warehouse in order while implementing a plan for tackling construction and a ReStore re-opening under the new safety protocols and with limited capacity. 

“Imagining work at Habitat for Humanity without volunteers is hard,” says Miller. “Every year we engage 2,500 volunteers who put in tens of thousands of volunteer hours alongside our families and staff. But we know this is only temporary and though right now the lift will be a little harder –at least with staff we can start the process of building back.”

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento will be re-open the ReStore with new safety protocols and limited capacity and hours starting next Thursday, May 7th. 

Location

819 North 10thStreet

Sacramento, CA 95811


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