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CEO Letter: Financial Resiliency Amid Unknowns

A few weeks ago, we celebrated our 2024 impact and elevated community partners who made our work possible.

As we look at our operations for 2025, I can’t talk about our goals without acknowledging some pretty substantial challenges and unknowns facing our programs. As 2,600 federal programs face cuts, Rebuild Upstate is already experiencing the effects of those directly.

Specifically, a reimbursement grant offered by the Local Initiatives Support Coalition, or LISC, at the $25,000 level was cut, and our organization received only partial reimbursement. This grant contributed to our staffing and professional development budget. In addition, we have experienced grant programs we were in review for being suspended, halting our ability to pursue certain new funding opportunities.

While this isn’t good news, our leadership knew it was a matter of time before we were affected directly. To be clear, we are pressing forward with our mission, and we are confident in our ability to navigate the current changes that have affected us.  At the same time, we are paying attention to other potential changes at the federal level and also raising awareness surrounding these challenges so community members can remain educated on issues affecting their neighbors and our organization.

Approximately 30% of our annual budget comes from Federal dollars. We manage federal funding both directly and as a sub-recipient through a municipal, state, and/or private contractor. We also have private donations from individuals, churches, businesses, philanthropic foundations, and events, filling the other 70% of our revenue. 

Agencies that we receive funding from or plan to pursue funding from include: Housing and Urban Development, the National Corporation of Community Service, and the US Department of Agriculture. 

Specific programs or policies we’re watching include:

  • the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG)
  • the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) volunteer program
  • Home Preservation Grants and Loans
  • The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) 
  • HOME funds
  • the Whole Home Repairs Act 

 

To have these defunded or removed would be catastrophic for low-income families here in the Upstate. 

If these funds get cut, it will affect our ability to repair homes at the current scale. Being able to navigate a funding change is important for any nonprofit. We’ve navigated it before. We’re not strangers to it. The scale of what we’re facing right now would be unlike anything we’ve known. We are going to continue to pursue private and public opportunities that become available to increase all chances of funding for our program participants.

 

Data: Growing Demand for Our Programs as Cost-Burdens Increase

 

On the heels of navigating these funding changes, we also got some new data just last month about homeowners and being cost-burdened. 

The recent report Rising Costs of Homeownership Are a Growing Burden, published by Harvard’s Center for Joint Housing Studies, showcases the demand for housing services, particularly for the lowest-income and older adults.

Some notable highlights from the report include:

  • Low-income households’ cost burdens are at an all-time high.
  • Greenville/Anderson Metro has 22% cost-burdened homeowners, with 7.9% as severe – noting they spend more than 50% of their income on housing costs. This is almost a full-point increase from the 2019-2023 survey. (American Housing Survey)
  • There has been a 3.6 million increase in the number of cost-burdened households since 2019.
  • Homeowners with a mortgage are most affected, as well as older adults.
  • The lowest-income homeowners (incomes under $30,000) saw the highest increase in expenses, such as taxes, insurance, and home maintenance costs. 
  • A disproportionate share of the recent growth in homeowner cost burdens was from older adults.

 

What does this mean for Rebuild Upstate?

 

Low-income homeowners and older adults are more cost-burdened than ever, making it nearly impossible to afford repairs. We anticipate a growing demand for our services alongside a reduction or cut to our federal funding. Proactively pursuing private funding is our primary goal as we look to 2025. Everything we’re going after is to continue to operate our programs at scale and to grow.

As our team heads into 2025, one of our major goals is to ensure financial resilience. In addition to increasing private grants, events, and build day sponsorships, we welcome you to join our community of Porch Partners. 

A Porch Partner donation is one of the most impactful ways you can help us ensure financial resiliency in the current climate. 

Porch Partners are donors who give on a regular monthly basis. A Porch Partner donation is powerful because we know we can count on it. We can make promises to homeowners we know we can keep. 

I invite you to join the Porch Partner community today. Your donation comes at a time when someone needs it the most. A recurring donation is more than just a transaction, it’s a commitment to making sure neighbors in your community can access safer homes for years to come. 

Start your Porch Parnter donation to make your commitment.

Our Porch Partner community isn’t just for individuals. Businesses and faith communities can choose to give monthly, joining peers who are already choosing a commitment to safer housing. 

Will you help us ensure financial resilience by starting a recurring donation today?

 

Thank you for your continued support and prayer as we navigate unknowns.