![[image]](https://cdn.firespring.com/images/b65e90b7-a7a9-4d10-838c-a23eef4d3fb0.png)
Affiliate Award Nominations
Click each button below to access the nomination form. Limit one person per award category. Award nominations will close on August 29. Please email a picture of each nominee to: support@alabamahabitat.org
Conference Speaker Tom Gerdy
(Blue Collar Tom discusses world affairs with White Collar Tom.)
Building contractor, writer, speaker, and community activist.
First and foremost, Tom is a husband of 49 years, a father of 4, and a grandfather of 9. He has a degree in marketing but was worried that might mean wearing a shirt and tie. Tom had been swinging a hammer while in college and that didn’t require a tie so he stuck with it. That led to him starting Gerdy Construction Company, which he has been running for over 44 years. Tom does some writing and has contributed over 90 pieces to Huffington Post and Medium. He refers to his ramblings as Blue Collar Observations In A White Collar World. He has been volunteering with Habitat since 1989 and was HFH National Volunteer of the year in 2002. Tom speaks around the country about reaching out and making a difference. His mantra as well as the title of his presentation is “Aspire To Inspire Before You Expire.”
Tom will also lead a course during our conference: Stirring the Volunteer Pot & the ABCs of Blitz Building
"Are you in a groove or is it really just a rut? Sometimes when things seem to be going alright, we become complacent. It isn’t long before we are actually sliding backwards and losing enthusiasm. Then before we know what hit us, the proverbial volunteer pipeline is not filling up. Volunteer recruitment and retention seems to be a challenge at every affiliate. That being said, we have to take a good look at stirring the volunteer pot a bit. In this session we will discuss ways to find new, retain existing, and keep volunteers excited. We will talk in detail about “how to” as well as why blitz building makes sense."
Conference Sessions Preview
Habitat Affiliate Priority Content:
Discussions of Equitable Access to Affordable Housing at Habitat
Koinonia in the 21st Century
Description: How do our roots inform how we advance affordable housing in the U.S. today?
Government Grants:
- Navigating Federal Funding: Capacity Building Grant
Habitat Capital:
Using Debt Capital and the Secondary Market to Scale Production: Fool's Gold or Pay Dirt
Description: This session will provide affiliates with an understanding of how to use debt appropriately and what the appropriate sources of debt are. It will show affiliates how to evaluate opportunities, what the benefits to increasing annual production could be, and how to responsibly manage a financial plan with debt as a key component.
Learning objectives:
1. Benefits of using debt to support the mission and grow production.
2. Methods for appropriately managing debt.
3. Information on financial planning.
4. The different debt options available to your affiliate and how to access them.
Homeowner and Mortgage Services:
- Custom Course/Workshop
Housing and Community Strategy:
Construction Innovation Panel
Description: This is an affiliate peer-sharing session to discuss current implementation of and future opportunities for construction innovations intended to improve home quality and/or increase production rates. It includes a training and policy focus on off-site production (modular, manufactured and penalization) and compact homes/accessory dwelling units.
Management & Operations:
Rural Roundtable: Resources and Strategies for Habitat's Work in U.S. Rural Communities
Description: Join us for a review of existing resources available to support Habitat’s work in U.S. rural communities and recent affiliate successes and innovations, and engage in a conversation around strategy and continual improvement. We will kick off the session with an overview of current resources available to affiliates in rural areas, including funding opportunities, capacity building, advocacy and HFHI staff positions dedicated to rural support. Recent successes and innovations will bring these resources and opportunities to life and inspire attendees with tangible results. We will conclude with an interactive segment where all attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback and advice, identify additional opportunities and areas for improvement, and help co-create our collective path forward. Your insights and experiences are invaluable as we work together to build stronger, more resilient rural communities.
Learning objectives:
1. Walk away with a list of resources to use immediately and opportunities to prioritize within your affiliate strategy.
2. Apply lessons and promising practices from other affiliates’ successes.
3. Participate in imagining and co-creating next steps in HFHI’s strategy to support work in rural communities.- Leadership Strategies and Best Practices for New Affiliate Leaders
Resource Development:
Board Members and Fundraising
Description: Board members and affiliate leaders can come get a crash course on engaging their board in fundraising. This session will equip attendees with the tools necessary to lead board members in an affiliate’s fundraising efforts. It is a great fit for executive directors, development team managers, board members or anyone involved in supporting or leading board members’ fundraising efforts.
Learning objectives: Learn how board members can effectively use their time, talent and treasure to help you establish board fundraising expectations and strengthen your board’s ability to engage in fundraising activities. We will discuss how board members can participate in various stages of the fundraising cycle.
Habitat ReStore:
Managing the Habitat ReStore Donor Experience
Description: Store leadership may be hesitant to dedicate more resources to proactive procurement when they are struggling with operational capacity and managing their current donor volume. Take a deep dive into managing the donor experience at every point, including how a donor hears about the Habitat ReStore; calling or scheduling a donation online; how the store handles screening and tactfully declining donations; optimization of routing, zoning and scheduling trucks; managing frustrated donors; whether donors should submit pictures of items; online booking; managing drivers and accountability; and follow-up and effective thank-you practices.
Driving Habitat ReStore Business Decisions with Data
Description: Store and affiliate leadership involved in decision-making for their Habitat ReStores are invited to join this session for an overview of national Habitat ReStore performance and thrift industry trends to help in making data driven decisions. From the data and information presented, attendees will begin to develop a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, or SWOT, analysis specific to their Habitat ReStore and join in focused discussions with peer affiliates on leveraging emerging Habitat ReStore and thrift trends. This is a great opportunity for executive directors and store managers and directors to attend together to strengthen the budget development process.
