Community Housing Network Seeks Your Help This Holiday Season Amid a Growing Need

Nonprofits are feeling the pinch of inflation as donations have dropped and demand for services in the community increase

During the holiday season, the work of Community Housing Network supporting families in need is more relevant than ever. CHN provides its program participants with clothing, toys, cleaning and household supplies, personal care items, and gift cards through its annual Adopt A Family program so individuals and families can enjoy the holiday season the way they should.

Demand is through the roof this year as homelessness has shot up by more than 12 percent, reaching 653,104 people, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Urban Planning and Development this month.

This number is calculated each year based on counts from nonprofit organizations like CHN during the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count that takes place on a single night each year in January. Last year, federal data showed 582,462 people experienced homelessness.

The rise this year represents the sharpest increase and largest unhoused population since the federal government began tallying totals in 2007.

Yet charitable giving has fallen by 3.4 percent last year to $499.3 billion – a 10.5 percent decrease when adjusted for inflation. Americans last year gave to charities the lowest percentage of their disposable incomes since 1995, a decrease that came during record-high inflation and uncertainty following the pandemic.

This data is overwhelming and has the potential to impact our future goals as the organization adapts to current trends – technological advancements, transitioning offline to online, resonant storytelling, integrating AI and safeguards, building strategic partnerships, and enhancing donor engagement, to name a few – all of which bring both challenges and opportunities.

Despite this, CHN will continue working hard to provide housing and support services to individuals and families who are experiencing crisis, homelessness, or are facing obstacles because of a disability, income, or hardship across Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties. In the last 20 years, the organization has added nearly 900 units of affordable, accessible housing to the landscape in Michigan.

But continued support from the community is needed to help CHN achieve its goals.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this work without the support and generosity of many of our donors, and we are welcoming all new donors this holiday season to help us continue to meet the mission and have an impact in our community,” said CHN President Kirsten Elliott.

“I can’t tell you how much support it takes to be able to do this work. While we get a lot of funding from the federal government and from different foundations and corporations, it’s really the individual donors that make an impact by filling in the gaps where federal funds cannot be applied to help us accomplish many things.”

These things include basic operating expenses like rent, utilities, and employee salaries. All of which are provided by “core support” or funds that are not earmarked for discrete items, programs or projects. Without core support, CHN would be forced to spend a significant amount of time and resources on fundraising, which would take away from the organization’s ability to tend to the most pressing needs of vulnerable community members.

Individual donations are the reason for many of CHN’s successes that aren’t celebrated often enough with the people who have contributed to that success.

• During this program year, CHN’s Rapid Rehousing team served 361 people coming from homelessness of which 211 were moved into housing with a rental subsidy for up to 12 months. The average length of time from intake to housing is 62 days.

• CHN remains the largest Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) provider in Oakland and Macomb counties, as well as providing PSH in Wayne County. During this program year, CHN served 559 people in Leasing Assistance Programs and Shelter Plus Care.

• CHN distributed 63 Welcome Home Baskets this program year to families that moved into their new homes. These laundry baskets are filled with cleaning supplies, personal care items, and much-needed household items like paper products and laundry detergent.

There is a demand for tangible impact that CHN is prepared to respond to by proving results and the effective use of its resources moving forward to help CHN build trust and retain the continued support of its stakeholders.

Nonprofit Impact in Communities

Did you know that nonprofits employ about 10 percent of the workforce in the U.S.? This makes nonprofits the third largest workforce in the country, tied with manufacturing.

CHN is part of an economic engine that plays a vital role in building a healthy community by providing critical services that contribute to economic stability and mobility. CHN has a strong relationship with the community and intimate local knowledge, a combination that helps the organization understand better than anyone else the communities’ needs and the best ways to meet them.

But the needs are growing, and resources are shrinking. CHN is being asked to do more with less, placing additional strain on the organization’s already limited resources.

“I want you to understand that while we are able to receive government grants and foundation grants that help us to provide a substantial part of the services and the funding that we get to be able to house the thousands of families that we house and provide the thousands, and quite honestly, the millions of dollars of rental assistance that we’ve been able to provide over the last three years during the pandemic, it is really the individual donors that make a difference,” said Kirsten, pointing to the need for investment in CHN’s core infrastructure, organizational growth and leadership development. Not just building and expanding programs.

Like many nonprofits, CHN is starving for the kind of support that can strengthen its operations, enable us to deliver our services more effectively and ultimately help create a strong economy that is good for all sectors.

CHN looks forward to being included in more policy-making discussions next year so economic growth is inclusive of all communities. CHN is working towards strengthening its networks with peer institutions, civic leaders, elected officials and other stakeholders who help shape the policies that directly impact the communities we serve.

The organization looks to the business sector as well to use its convening power and networks to help ensure CHN can participate in conversations about addressing community challenges that can be overcome with help and support.

The holiday season is about sharing, caring, and spreading joy. As families and friends gather to celebrate, it’s a great time to start the discussion of philanthropy. No matter how much anyone has to give to support CHN as the nonprofit does critical work in the community, feel great knowing that individual donations will support CHN’s whole mission.