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The Fuller Center for Housing (FCH) is an ecumenical Christian, 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Americus, Georgia, that builds and repairs homes for low-income families and individuals. It is active in 60 U.S. cities and 16 countries outside the U.S. [1]
The Fuller Center was started in 2005 by Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Millard Fuller and his wife Linda Caldwell Fuller, founders of Habitat for Humanity, at an intentional Christian community called Koinonia Farm in rural southwest Georgia. After spending 29 years of service in the Christian housing ministry at Habitat, and being fired for philosophical differences by the Habitat for Humanity executive committee, [2] the Fullers were motivated to continue expanding their vision of eliminating substandard housing worldwide. The inaugural meeting of The Fuller Center at Koinonia, also Habitat's birthplace, established this new mission: "The Fuller Center for Housing, faith- driven and Christ-centered, promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide." [3] [4] [5]
The Fuller Center accomplishes its work by creating partnerships that bring together churches, schools, businesses and civic organizations to build simple, decent, affordable homes for people who are unable to secure adequate housing by conventional means. Most fundamental to the organization's overall functioning are partnerships with covenant partners, local organizations that sign an agreement with The Fuller Center to build or renovate houses for families in need in a particular area.
Covenant partners are governed by local board members who are in charge of family selection and counseling, fundraising, training, managing mortgages, organizing volunteers, finding skilled labor and spreading the word. The Fuller Center for Housing headquarters in Americus, Georgia, provides publications, general support, promotional materials, training for board members and – whenever possible – fundraising assistance.
All homeowners work hand-in-hand with volunteers to build their own homes, which are then sold to them on terms they can afford, based on the Biblical idea of no-profit, no-interest loans. With some smaller renovation projects, an innovative payment program called The Greater Blessing Program is utilized, whereby recipients promise to repay the loan amount without signing an actual mortgage agreement. They decide the monthly amount they can afford to repay and the period of time that it will take to repay the cost of repairs. There is no legal obligation to repay these loans. Payments made by homeowners are put toward future Greater Blessing housing projects. [6]
All decisions about family selection are managed by the board of directors of each local covenant partner. Income requirements vary from community to community. However, there are three basic criteria that everyone uses: applicant need (cannot qualify for conventional loans); applicant willingness to partner ("sweat equity" volunteer hours required); and applicant ability to repay the loan. The Fuller Center does not accept government funds due to massive paperwork and [7] reporting requirements. Houses are sold to the homeowners with no interest and at no profit. [8]
Global Builders are teams of volunteers sent on one, two, or three week trips to an international Fuller Center covenant partner location, where they help build homes with local families in need of adequate housing. The Fuller Center sends Global Builders teams to Armenia, Bolivia, El Salvador, Ghana, Peru, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, Nepal, Thailand India, Papua New Guinea, and South Africa (as of January 2018). [9]
Faith Builders is a program designed to create partnerships with churches. Faith Builder Partners are individual churches or congregational committees who are seeking to add housing as part of their missions program. Faith in action can take on a variety of forms, including housing construction and repairs as well as domestic and international mission service trips. [10]
Student Builders is an outreach program for high schools, colleges and universities. The program consists of a network of youth partners who are a part of The Fuller Center's mission and ministry. [11] [12]
The U.S. Builders program helps teams of volunteers find rewarding mission trips within the United States. [13]
Save a House/Make a Home is an initiative that allows banks and other property owners to divest themselves of unwanted, vacant and/or foreclosed properties that are refurbished by Fuller Center volunteers and turned into decent homes for families in need. [14]
Inspired by the walks of 700, 1,000, and 1,200 miles led by Millard and Linda Fuller in the 1980s, the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure was created in 2008 by Notre Dame graduate Ryan Iafigliola. The ride is intended to raise money through grassroots fundraising for The Fuller Center's projects, and also to raise awareness about the need for affordable housing for low-income families. While traveling, the team also builds or renovates Fuller Center housing projects and speaks to the media, church groups and civic organizations. The ride passed the $1 million fundraising mark in 2014 and $2 million in 2017. In 2018, bicycle adventure trips will include two cross country rides, a spring ride along the Natchez Trace Parkway (Nashville, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi), a fall ride along the Silver Comet Trail near Atlanta, and a "Dirt to D.C." ride along the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (C&O) from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C.
Millard Fuller Legacy Build honors the vision, life and work of The Fuller Center's founder, Millard Fuller. Hosted each year by a different covenant partner, the event brings together hundreds of volunteers to build and renovate several houses in one location during one week. Fuller Center covenant partners across the U.S. and around the world are encouraged to build and repair homes during the week, as well. The 2015 Millard Fuller Legacy Build was held along the Georgia-Alabama border in West Point, Georgia, and Lanett, Alabama.
Americus is the county seat of Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,230. It is the principal city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Schley and Sumter counties and had a combined population of 36,966 at the 2000 census.
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization. The international operational headquarters are located in Americus, Georgia, United States, with the administrative headquarters located in Atlanta. As of 2020, Habitat for Humanity operates in more than 70 countries.
Koinonia Farm is a Christian farming intentional community in Sumter County, Georgia.
Clarence Jordan was an American farmer and New Testament Greek scholar, was the founder of Koinonia Farm, a small but influential religious community in southwest Georgia and the author of the Cotton Patch paraphrase of the New Testament. He was also instrumental in the founding of Habitat for Humanity. His (2nd) cousin, Hamilton Jordan, served as White House Chief of Staff during the Jimmy Carter administration.
Appalachia Service Project or ASP is a non-governmental organization which was founded in 1969. ASP addresses substandard housing using volunteer labor to perform repairs to make homes "warmer, safer, and drier." ASP operates in Central Appalachia, specifically in the states of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The mission statement of ASP is "Appalachia Service Project is a Christian ministry, open to all people, that inspires hope and service through volunteer home repair in Central Appalachia," and ASP's vision is that "substandard housing in Central Appalachia will be eradicated and that everyone who comes into contact with this ministry will be transformed." Repairs are made using volunteer labor and at no cost to the homeowner. Between 1969 and 2015, ASP hosted 377,412 volunteers and performed repairs on 17,373 homes.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is Canada's federal crown corporation responsible for administering the National Housing Act, with the mandate to improve housing by living conditions in the country.
Habitat for Humanity Canada is a non-governmental, and non-profit housing organization in Canada, being the Canadian arm of the global Habitat for Humanity.
Millard Dean Fuller was the co-founder and the former president of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit organization known globally for building houses for those in need. Fuller also was the founder and president of The Fuller Center for Housing. Fuller was widely regarded as the leader of the modern-day movement for affordable housing and had been honored for his work in the United States and abroad.
Rebuilding Together is an American non-profit organization with the goal of preserving affordable homeownership and revitalizing neighborhoods through free home repairs and modifications for neighbors in need.
SBP is a nonprofit, disaster relief organization. After temporarily volunteering in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg returned permanently in March 2006 and founded the project. The organization eventually expanded to include offices in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Joplin, Missouri, Columbia, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia. By August 2022, SBP's national impact included assistance to 5,500 families, including the rebuilding of over 1,200 homes, including 600 in New Orleans. They have collaborated extensively with Toyota and Americorps. As a result of its accomplishments, the organization and its founders have been recognized by Senator Mary Landrieu, CNN, and President Barack Obama.
HabiJax of Jacksonville, Florida, is one of the larger affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) in the United States. Habijax was named the 8th largest homebuilder in the United States by Builder Magazine for 2009. The program builds "simple, decent, and affordable" housing using volunteer labor and sells them at no profit, with no interest charged on the 25 year mortgage. HabiJax completed their 1,500th home in 2007, and 2008 marked 20 years of service to the Jacksonville community.
Pinnacle Financial Partners is an American bank headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee operating in Tennessee, as well as North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Alabama.
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago that mobilizes the Jewish community of the region to advance racial and economic justice. JCUA partners with diverse community groups across the city and state to combat racism, antisemitism, poverty and other forms of systemic oppression, through grassroots community organizing, youth education programs, and community development.
Habitat for Humanity GTA, established in 1988, is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian housing organization that builds simple, decent, affordable homes in partnership with low-income families. Habitat GTA is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity Canada.
RuralEdge, formerly known as Gilman Housing Trust. The corporation has served the Northeast Kingdom for over 30 years with their main focus being to strengthen homes and communities in and around the Northeast Kingdom, in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Vermont.
The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, doing business as NeighborWorks America, is a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization that supports community development in the United States and Puerto Rico. The organization provides grants and technical assistance to more than 240 community development organizations. NeighborWorks America provides training for housing and community development professionals through its national training institutes. Since 2007, NeighborWorks America has administered the Congressionally created National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program.
The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project - formerly the Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP) - is an annual home building blitz organized by Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates. It generally takes place in the United States one year, and an international location the next. President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter helped Habitat volunteers renovate the 19-unit building, and media coverage brought attention to Habitat, which had been founded in 1976 in Americus, Georgia, a short distance from Carter's hometown of Plains, Georgia. Even though President Carter has said repeatedly he never intended to start an annual project, the following year the Carters returned to the same site to finish the renovation work. On Oct. 10, 2013, as part of the 30th annual project, the Carters returned to the building and met with families living there.
Non-profit housing developers build affordable housing for individuals under-served by the private market. The non-profit housing sector is composed of community development corporations (CDC) and national and regional non-profit housing organizations whose mission is to provide for the needy, the elderly, working households, and others that the private housing market does not adequately serve. Of the total 4.6 million units in the social housing sector, non-profit developers have produced approximately 1.547 million units, or roughly one-third of the total stock. Since non-profit developers seldom have the financial resources or access to capital that for-profit entities do, they often use multiple layers of financing, usually from a variety of sources for both development and operation of these affordable housing units.
Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) is a charitable organization based in Ottawa, Canada. MHI's mission is to provide and promote affordable housing, to encourage harmonious relations amongst tenants of diverse backgrounds, and to mobilize the resources of faith communities and others for these purposes. This membership-based organization represents a working model of interfaith peace and collaboration at the local level in the effort to fight homelessness. MHI's goal is to provide secure and affordable housing because through this individuals as well as the community benefit from improved health outcomes, educational achievement, social inclusion, and economic opportunities.
A USDA Home Loan from the USDA loan program, also known as the USDA Rural Development Guaranteed Housing Loan Program, is a mortgage loan offered to rural property owners by the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.
