Programs

The Coalition is committed to investing in home repair programs. We provide funding for sustainability and expansion of high-quality services in the field, increasing program effectiveness and impact. Coalition Members receive grants totaling 5x their membership dues, on average.

• Funding for Tools & Building Materials - We're distributing in Lowe's gift cards to Coalition Members who submit an Impact Report. Learn more.
• Disaster Recovery - We distributed $15,500 in Fall 2021 to organizations repairing homes impacted by disasters. Funding for tornado disaster recovery will be available soon.
• Best Practices Awards - We awarded $10,000 in prizes at the 2021 ReFrame Conference. The goal is to share good ideas and encourage innovation. Thanks to Lowe's for making this possible!
• Cooperative Grants - We work closely with Coalition Members to apply for grants that can benefit multiple organizations.
  • We funded anti-racism consultations for members, thanks to the East Tennessee Foundation.
  • We are also funding half of the staff time for Coalition Members participating in one of our cohorts, thanks to the Appalachian Regional Commission.
  • New! We're providing resources for Coalition Members who are collecting data on falls from older adults and people living with disabilities. Learn more.  

The Coalition helps home repair programs innovate and evolve business models by providing a variety of educational opportunities year-round. When we know better, we can do better. 

• Annual Conference - Approximately 150 people gather each November in Kingsport, Tennessee (and now also online) to learn from expert speakers – both from within our membership and from their respective fields – about best practices in fundraising, volunteer management, construction, etc. It's our most popular program, and most Coalition Members participate.
• Spring Virtual Summits - We're hosting 7 90-minute online roundtables to connect and educate home repair staff with similar job functions. It's free for members!
• Affinity Groups - Like-minded members gather virtually on a regular basis to share best practices. There's no cost for Coalition Members to participate in these groups:
  • Anti-Racism Community of Practice
  • Faith-Based Affinity Group
  • Healthy Homes Affinity Group
  • Camp Model Roundtable
  • Local Model Roundtable
• Cohorts - More intense than affinity groups, cohorts participate in a time-limited program that typically involves a training series and a fee for participation. 
  • The Construction Workforce Development Cohort is funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission and is exploring how to start workforce development programs in Appalachia. 
  • Our Aging in Place Cohort is funded by the RRF Foundation for Aging and includes 42 Coalition Members becoming Certified Aging in Place Specialists.
  • We recently launched a new Falls Prevention Cohort that is tracking and sharing data related to home modifications for older adults and people living with disabilities.
  • Future cohorts may include fundraising and weatherization. Previous groups included the Anti-Racism Community of Practice and Local Model Cohort; both converted to affinity groups at the end of the initial training series.
• Webinars - A free monthly webinar is available to members on topics related to repair methods and materials, volunteer management, fundraising, program development, board governance, self-care, and more. 

We provide resources that Coalition Members can be access online such as: 

• Best Practices Guide & Self-Assessment - 60-page guide created by Coalition Members about stewarding volunteers, partnering with volunteers, home repair practices, temporary staff, community partnership, and assessment and evaluation.
• Compensation Report - every three years, we survey home repair programs about their salaries and benefits and share a summary of the results. 
• Document Library - hundreds of forms, templates, notes from our educational programs, etc.
• Video Library - recordings of past webinars and conference sessions as well as construction and safety videos for volunteers and staff.
• Consulting Network - professionals offer free consultations to Coalition Members on topics such as board governance, fundraising, marketing, risk management, accounting, etc.
• Job Board - members can post career opportunities for free; non-members can post for a small fee. We love to see home repair programs hire from within the Coalition!
• Support - we host a Facebook group for all Coalition Members, and another for senior staff of home repair programs. Coalition staff are also available to provide feedback on program models, evaluation methods, and more. 

We advocate and obtain recognition for funding and policy revisions that aid Coalition Members in completing their home repair mission. 

• ReFrame Washington - an advocacy event held each March in Washington, DC (or online). We meet with other affordable housing nonprofits that have advocacy programs, federal agencies like HUD and UDSA, and elected officials and their staff. 
• Advocacy Task Force - a group of more than a dozen Coalition Members and Nonprofit Partners gathers approximately every  other month to share updates on policies that impact home repair progams, and to plan and execute our advocacy campaigns.
• Campaigns - in addition to sharing information about our advocacy partners' campaigns, the Coalition has organized two campaigns so far:  
  • Carol M. Peterson Housing Fund at the Cincinnati Federal Home Loan Bank. Learn more. 
  • USDA 504 - grants for very-low-income rural households with older adults, and loans for other low-income rural households. Learn more. 

Members have access to many discounted services and products, as well as some free things:

• Project Management Software - free access to Procore ($667/month value).
• Volunteer & Donor Management Software - discounts for Charityproud & Golden Volunteer.
• Building Materials and more - discounts at Lowe’s, Sherwin-Williams, Office Depot, Staples, Sysco, US Foods, and more through Trinity/HPSI.
• Background Checks - discounted checks for volunteers & employees through Sterling Volunteers.
• Other - insurance quotes, and discounts on Avis & Budget vehicle rentals, UPS shipping, and Lenovo computers.