PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Benefit Homes Benefit
Charities... and the GHBA A symbiotic relationship
By GHBA President WILL HOLDER, Trendmaker Homes
" Te reality is that the designated charities and the GHBA have a symbiotic relationship with the Benefit
Homes Project. Tey are good for each other; they need each
other....Trough good years and bad years alike, the GHBA and its member companies have come together to build homes
from donated land, materials and labor to the betterment of all.
It is important, and it works for everybody."
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n 1979, nearly 33 years ago, the Greater Houston Builders Association board of directors envisioned a charitable project that would bring the generosity of GHBA
builders, developers, subcontractors and vendors together to give back to our great city. Toward that end the GHBA formed the Benefit Homes Project.
The project’s mission is: To ensure a bright- er future for the community’s less fortu- nate, through the heart and hands of the homebuilding industry.
Over these 32+ years, this program has re- sulted in approximately $7 million dollars being donated to local charities. Currently the Benefit Homes Project distributes proceeds to four great organizations—the Alzheimer’s Association, Texas Children’s Cancer Center, HomeAid Houston and your own Greater Houston Builders Association.
That’s right, the GHBA itself is one of the benefit- ting non-profit organizations!
How does the program work you ask? Well, each year two or three homes are built on home sites generously donated by member developers, and constructed using materials and labor which are all, or in part, donated by the associate vendors and subcontractors under the donated supervision of a member builder. The combined generosity of the developer, builder, material vendors and subcontractors results is a home built with a very low cost basis. The home is then sold at a market price to a happy new family and the proceeds above low
cost are then donated equally, with each of the three designated charities receiving 25% of the proceeds and the GHBA receiving 25% as well.
It is often said, but rarely heard, that the GHBA itself is also a benefiting organization of the Benefit Homes charity project. This has, from time to time, been a controversial fact. It has been asked, “Doesn’t 100% of the money go to the designated charities?” The answer is no, the GHBA receives 25% of the proceeds which goes into the association’s operating budget.
Why? The reason is simple. If the GHBA were not also a beneficiary, the association would not have the resources to administer and make the Benefit Homes Project a reality for each of the last 32 years. The reality is that the desig- nated charities and the GHBA have a symbiotic relationship with the Benefit Homes Project. They are good for each other; they need each other. Remember, the GHBA is a not-for-profit organization that operates on a near break-even budget—some years below break-even—and is able to do a world of good for these important and local charities and for our industry.
Through good years and bad years alike, the GHBA and its member companies have come together to build homes from donated land, materials and labor to the betterment of all. This is an important endeavor in which we all participate.
I hope that every year we can all look to find our way to participate in the GHBA Benefit Homes Project. It is important, and it works for everybody.
SEPTEMBER 2012 | HOUSTON BUILDER | GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION – BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE
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