MEDIA RELEASE JANUARY 26, 2022
Habitat for Humanity Heartland Ontario uses
$12,400 OTF grant to support COVID-19 recovery
London, ON – In December 2020, Habitat for Humanity Heartland Ontario (Habitat Heartland) received a $12,400 Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to support pandemic recovery efforts. With this support, Habitat Heartland updated their technology and organizational procedures to better equip their team and serve the needs of the community.
"It’s wonderful to hear that Habitat for Humanity Heartland Ontario will be receiving support from the Resilient Communities Fund,” says Terence Kernaghan, MPP for London North Centre. “This support will allow them to continue their important work helping families achieve affordable and sustainable homeownership safely and effectively. I look forward to their continued work making it easier for families across the province to have a good home.
Habitat Heartland’s pandemic recovery process funded by the grant includes the following: purchase and implementation of training on Donor Engine, purchase and implementation of training on Foundation Search, and purchase of Zoom Professional to enable the entire affiliate to operate virtually. These technological updates were all the more necessary after Habitat Heartland amalgamated with Habitat Brant-Norfolk in 2021 and began operating a Chapter office in Brantford. Remote work will now be the norm for Habitat Heartland to operate two administrative offices and nine ReStore locations, resulting in the construction of more affordable housing for families and individuals in Brant, Elgin, Middlesex, Norfolk, Oxford and Perth counties.
“This pandemic highlighted the need for non-profit organizations like Habitat to have adequate technology in place to work remotely and increase our capacity to fundraise virtually,” says Brian Elliot, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Heartland Ontario. “The impact of this Ontario Trillium Foundation grant will be felt by our organization for years to come, empowering us to help more families and individuals in the communities we serve across southwestern Ontario.”
Habitat for Humanity Heartland Ontario is a non-profit, non-denominational housing organization. We welcome partners without discrimination to help us build simple, decent, affordable homes for lower-income families. 100% of the revenue from our nine ReStores supports the administrative costs of Habitat for Humanity Heartland Ontario. With the help of volunteers, donors, and community partners, we have built 113 homes and counting in 6 counties, creating strength, stability and independence for the people we serve. To learn more, visit habitat4home.ca.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non‐profit sector. In 2020/21, OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non‐profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID‐19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
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