Introduction
Habitat for Humanity refers to a nonprofit organization that is devoted to building simple, decent, and affordable housing affordable for homeless individuals. Most of the homes are built by volunteers and are then sold at no profit, where no interest is charged on them.
This organization was founded in 1976. The vision of this organization expanded as the experiences raised and helped to serve and promote the activities of people. By the year 2004, the habitat had built about 50,000 houses, and it is working in over 100 countries. In 2005, the habitat managed to build the 200, 000th house where the number of people sheltered in these habitat houses is more than one million.
The families that are partnering with the habitat have to allow the affiliation of the right to the refusal were they should decide to sell their home during the period of the mortgage. These homes are only for families with children, and thus they exclude families without children.
The homeowner families are chosen according to their needs, and they should be ready to work in partnership with the habitat so that they can make the houses better places to live in. The houses are simple as they are built using the locally available materials, and this helps the volunteers to provide labor so that the houses are simple and affordable by the families that are concerned.
This helps the organization to have a partnership with the families that are willing and able to work together towards the betterment of the organization. Most of these volunteers are unskilled.
This is because they provide their service of labor without expecting any payment in return, and therefore they do not need to have the skills in construction, but there are professional tradesmen who also offer their services in the organization. Churches also offer sponsorship of these houses and provide a large amount of labor from the believers. ( Mary, 2005)
There are also corporations and businesses that provide financial assistance to the projects or also provide building materials, and through such assistance, the organization is able to continue well with its operations.
In a country like Kenya the habitat for humanity has full package of sponsorship which includes: the direct costs that are required for the construction of a house; there is need for a training of the community to administer their Partnership which is run by the local community member volunteers who are trained in the family selection, in financial management, construction, and the fundraising so that they can be able to run the organization by providing the best, and thus the houses will not be of poor shape as the volunteers have been trained; there is the expansion into new areas where they provide the opportunities for more communities and thus encourage the expansion of these organizations in its operations; and lastly they ensure that all the funds that are spent in the organization are not wasted, but it is of benefit to the improvement of this organization and the services provided by churches, and other institutions should be taken to work well in the organization where they provide the best services for the expansion of this work of construction.
Habitat for Humanity
In Kenya, there are four habitats for humanity, Tier sponsorship programs that ensure the people are provided with the best services, and they include: there is a group that deals with the provision of cement for construction.
Such group ensures that all the time there is plenty of cement that keeps the work in process; there is another group that ensures that the direct costs for the construction of simple, decent and affordable houses this is done in terms of making sure the purchases and the delivery of the construction materials is done at the right time and also ensures that there is a skilled laborer and the supervision is made to make sure work is done well.
A group that ensures there is a full package of the program and the group that deals with the costs that are involved in the construction of houses. (Mary, 2005)
The habitat has a special program that helps in the restoration of houses after they have been damaged by catastrophes like earthquakes. This is done to ensure that the organization does not collapse due to the lack of houses.
The families are required to show the ability to pay the required about so that they can be able to qualify for being in partnership with the habitat, and thus a family has to meet all the requirements that are required so that they can be provided with these houses.
The credit and the income requirements help to ensure the habitat applicants are able to maintain the purpose of the house. This means that to be provided with such a house, one should have met all the requirements so that the habitat will not have problems of dealing with the families in partnership with the organization. (Mary, 2005)
The non- profit organizations serve the people in public, and they develop from pioneers and founders where the labor is mostly from the volunteers who are ready to provide their labor to the organization.
There is a need for the boards that are believed to provide the basic rights to the individuals in terms of ensuring that people are not affected by the poor performance of such organizations in that they provide the needs to such people on the basis of their cultural and social services.
The nonprofit organizations have phenomena that are unique and empowering in that they fight for the rights of individuals such as the rights to be given your rights as a refugee.
Such organizations have to force the government to provide the law that covers even the non- citizens and thus such organizations are being discouraged, as the government claims such organizations change the laws of the country as they have to fight the way through for the unable so that they can feel and do their activities just like the rest in the country.
The habitat makes sure the volunteers are the most used to provide labor for the construction this is because if they get someone who is skilled then it will not be possible for the families that are homeless to work in partnership with the habitat as their will be a high cost that is required to be paid to these workers.
The non- profit organizations are legally constituted with the primary goal to support or actively engage in activities of public or the private interest without the monetary profit purposes whereby such an organization has to ensure that the people’s rights are catered for all the concerned people. They do not generally operate to generate profits, and they can legally and ethically trade at a profit.
Such organizations are restricted to the use of the funds that result from commercial enterprises. These organizations are constrained to the extent of generating their income. This is because the government views such organizations to be out of benefit to the country as they operate to assist the people.
They are funded by the donations from the private, public sectors, or both, and they attain the tax-exempt status that is not inherent to its formation. Such organizations offer charities or services to the people, and they can be called the foundations that have large stock funds.
The workers are mainly volunteers who are ready to provide their services to organizations. There is also the involvement of skilled people, but they are mainly the retired who offer their services and provide the organization with the best work for its further operation.
These organizations have members, and they are controlled by its members who elect the board of directors, the board of governors, or the board of trustees, and they have a delegate structure that allows for the representation of the groups. (Mary, 2005)
This board is responsible for ensuring that people get their services at the right time, and it is of the highest standard where the people value to have these organizations as they work in a better way than the government organizations.
Such organizations face problems like: the capacity-building whereby such organizations have to rely on external funding so that they can maintain their operations, and the changes in the sources of revenue have an influence in the reliability of these organizations whereby they are able to hire and retain staff and also create programs.
Such funding is not reliable and therefore most of the organizations collapse due to lack of funds to keep their operations been in the right standard this problem leads to failure of working effectively in providing the services to the people and thus such organization will have to depend on the government for assistance to be able to retain its operations.
The founders affect the organizations in such a way that even if the employees or the volunteers want to make expansion in the project scope and new things they are not able, and therefore the organization ends up in remaining at the same level of development whereby the services will not be available for all the people, and things like new technology will not be applied. Founders should give allowance for the workers so that they can invent new things that will lead to the expansion of the organization, and therefore people know what is taking place in the modern world. If an organization is not able to expand in terms of technology and other modern things, then such an organization will not be able to provide the best services based on modern changes. Such organizations are always with the aim of ensuring that the best services are provided to the people through making it clear to the people that they offer the services that will benefit them in cases where the government is not ready to provide due to problems affecting the nation. (Mary, 2005)
They operate; having the basic needs of people been the first item that is to be achieved so that everyone is able to live. Due to the pressure from these organizations, the government will find ways of fighting the operations of these organizations, but they are not able because they act as links to the aids of the country.
This is because such organizations have links with the world outside and therefore assist the government in providing the basic needs of these people. The non- profit organizations are of benefit to these people were by people are given homes that are of lower cost, and also they are willing to provide the service without the requirement of the need of interest in return for the assistance that they get from such organization.
In order to attain the purpose of the organization, one should have the consideration on the starting basis. In starting any organization one should have a mission statement that involves the guidelines like the need to have the organization; the statement should be based on the development of the organization; there should be the description of the organization basing the statement on the primary benefits and the services to the people; the groups of people who will benefit from these services; the values that will guide on how the organization will operate; and how you would like others to view the organization.
Before starting an organization you need to think about it first so that you are able to know whether the organization will benefit the society or the nation and then have a consideration on the fiscal sponsorship that will be able to jump-start your organization in terms of considering the sufficiency of the resources, the skills that are required and the needs that the community requires.
This will ensure that the organization will benefit the community with the needs they do not have. The purpose of an organization could be based on the needs of the society, whereby one has to base the organization’s operations on making the needs of the society readily available. (Jason, 2004)
This can be achieved by making sure that before starting an organization then there is need to have legal guidance where one is able to do much in ensuring that incorporation of the things that are required in the organizations like the tax exemptions are met and thus be able to run the organization without facing many problems.
One should be able to share the available resources in providing the needs to the concerned this will ensure that low costs are incurred and thus the organization will not collapse due to lack of funds but if one does not consider the resource availability it means that they start the organization regardless of the costs of getting the resources and thus the working of this organization will be affected because they will find out that they spent more in providing the needs to the society that could be cheaper when the available resources were incorporated for the production.
The organization should be able to change its operations based on the current changes in the world this is to make sure that the organization is not left behind providing the services that are outdated due to the fact that it is being fixed to its operation the only thing that is required is to make the organization in such a way that it allows new invents to be imposed as soon as they are recognized.
The volunteers will not be in a fix to change the working standards of such an organization if it is not based on the founder’s syndrome, where no changes are allowed due to the fact that the founder had a certain mission that he or she does not want to be changed. This makes the workers have a negative implication for the organization. This is because they are not given time to make changes to the organization, and thus their working is affected.
To know the purpose of the organization, a program that acts as a guide in building of that board, training about the basic skills in the management and the leadership, the conduction of the strategic planning, the development of a program and the marketing plan helps one in understanding the basic financial and tax management practices this makes the planner aware of the proper functioning of the organization in the tax structure status that will benefit that organization to be able to function well without fears of having problems in lack of funds.
The staff and the volunteers should provide the best services to the organization with little supervision so that the management will have time for that organization’s further development in improving its working areas. (Jason, 2004)
The organization should be able to identify complex issues and solve them successfully. This is to make sure that the problems that affect the organization are dealt with at the right time so that it does not affect the functioning of the organization. There is a need for strategic planning so that one is able to know how the organization will work in time to come.
To develop a strategic plan, it depends on the nature of the organizational leadership, the culture, complexity, size, and the expertise of that organization.
A goal-based planning is the most common and it starts with the vision of the organization, the goals to work towards the mission of the organization and the strategies that are applied in achieving these goals this helps the planner to be sure of what is expected of him in such an organization so that running of the organization is effective.
The issue-based strategic planning starts with the examination of the issues facing the organization, followed by the strategies that are used to address the issues and then the action plans. Strategic planning is of great importance to the organization in that it gives a clear definition of the purpose of the organization through the establishment of the realistic and the objectives of that particular organization. (Jason, 2004)
It also helps in the communication of the goals and the objectives. It develops a sense of ownership of the plan whereby one is able to know the changes to make in the organization so that it meets the targeted goals. It ensures that there is an effective use of the resources in the organization so that the workers know how to use these resources in the right way for the organization not to face losses due to the misuse of these resources.
There is the provision of the base from the progress that is measured and established so that in case of a change, then one is able to switch to such changes that are experienced in the organization. One is able to bring his or her efforts in the organization so that they ensure the proper performance of such an organization, and this means that one will be able to offer the best services to the organization.
A clearer focus of the organization is created whereby the worker is sure of the workings of the organization and the benefits that it offers to the concerned this helps the society in knowing what the organization provides and the operation of such organization in terms of ensuring the services are provided to that group of people.
The vision of any organization depends on the people’s needs that are required to be fulfilled, and thus the planner will provide satisfaction to the organization management were by the vision of the organization is met. The productivity of the organization is increased.
This is due to the fact that there will be no wastage of time from the operations of this organization as there is a plan that is followed by the workers. Using the plan, the organization is able to solve the major problems that it faces in its operation, and through this, then it is able to provide the best services for the community and in the fulfillment of the basic needs of such people. (Jason, 2004)
In the scheduling of the plan, then it should be based on the nature and the needs of the organization that are based on the group of people they relate with and the external environment. This is done so that they ensure the rapid changes that are to be faced are worked on well.
The purpose of any organization is achieved if the workers of the organization are ready to provide the services to the concerned group and the planning of such an organization is based on the needs of these people this ensures that the organization work towards achieving its vision that is clearly set in the plan so that the organization is able to operate without delays.
Any organization works with the view of ensuring that people achieve the needs that they require at the right time and at the lowest cost that is affordable and mostly based on the resources where they should be the simple and the top of the most available resource provide that particular service to the people.
Therefore the planning should be done regularly due to the fact that there are changes in every field, and thus a plan for last year can not be applied this year due to these changes, and this ensures the organization achieves the best as it is kept updated all the time.
There should be the implementation of the plan that ensures that the visions of the organization are followed and change is made where it is applicable. The organization is able to have financial resources from several areas depending on its operation. The nonprofit organization has to be funded from external sources were by for better functioning; it requires like one million that will fund its operation.
The working of these organizations to properly meet the needs of the people requires that they have to get assistance in terms of aids from the developed countries, and this creates a proper relation with these countries. The organizations can attain the tax-exempt status whereby it can exempt itself from the income tax and other taxes so that the financial donors may have a claim back of the income tax paid on the donations that have been made.
There is a recognized legal entity where the organizations seek the tax-exempt status with respect to its income tax obligations. This means that such organizations have to meet the conditions that enable them to achieve this tax exemption status.
There are federal taxes that have to be paid by these organizations, and there is no assurance for the payment of these federal taxes.
The habitat has to ensure that its members are able to attain the houses at the minimum mortgage costs were by the main organization’s concern is to make sure the homeownership of such families is not interfered with by the high costs, and thus they use the simple and available materials.
The mortgage payments are deposited in the locally available fund for humanity so that they are able to make further constructions using this fund.
The organization should ensure that it has the best resources, whereby it will not require moiré funds as they have to get the funds for the proper operations. In the case of an organization like the habitat, the amount that is paid is used to allow the operation of this organization without the need to get more funds as assistance.
In order to work effectively, then it requires about $ 80 so that it can provide the materials that are available and construct these houses at a lower cost where they provide many houses at the same time, and this helps in keeping the organization going. (Jason, 2004)
Conclusion
Habitat is an organization that is of great help to the society because it makes sure that the homeless are provided with houses at an affordable cost, and also the resources in these areas are used in the right way.
This also ensures that the society is able to cater to the people in terms of ensuring that they get the services at the right time, and those mainly who are not able to build their own houses are catered for in making sure that they get the houses at the lowest cost.
Organizations mainly the non- profit cater to the needs of the people in that they ensure that the basic needs are provided. Such an organization provides needs like the right to stay in a country and carry out your activities and also other things like houses at a lower cost. The organizations are based on the needs of the local people who have no access to the needs due to their state of being unable.
Reference List
Habitat for Humanity ReStores – A good deal for you, your community and the Environment. (n. d.). Habitat for Humanity.
How a Habitat for Humanity Home is Built. (n. d.). Habitat for Humanity.
Volunteer with Habitat. (n. d.). Habitat for Humanity.