We’re Moving…HELP!

Anyone who’s been in Home Resource recently knows we’ve outgrown our space. And the economic slowdown has only increased demand for our services, as more people are remodeling rather than building new, and stretching their remodeling dollars as far as possible. Now more than ever, the community needs our services – and we need the community’s support! We’ve identified an ideal new home, but we face $150,000 in up-front costs in order to make the move. We’re counting on you! You can support our expansion by volunteering, by offering your testimonial, or with a donation to our “Garden of Giving.”

Garden of Giving donor levels	Amount	Donate
Tree Trunk (carved reclaimed post)	$10,000
Branch (carved reclaimed timber)	$5,000
Flower (large etched or painted steel plate)	$2,500
Fruit (small etched or painted steel plate)	$1,000
Brass Leaf	$500
Copper Leaf	$250
Steel Leaf	$100
Grass (name listed on green tiles in wall mosaic)	$50
Roots (name listed on brown tiles in wall mosaic)	$25

A “Garden of Giving”
To commemorate your gifts and symbolize the “growing together” of our community in this effort, we will build a “Garden of Giving” along the front wall of our new home. This “garden” will be constructed out of reclaimed materials from the Home Resource yard – reclaimed timber tree trunks and branches, steel, copper and brass leaves, flowers and fruit made from painted circular saw blades and more. Each gift level will be recognized by an element in the garden, and you will have the opportunity to personalize it as you like – with your own signature, your child’s artwork, your company logo, a favorite quote, or the name of a loved one. If you want to draw or write directly on your piece of the garden, you can join the creative fun at one of our workshops in Spring of 2010 (dates to be announced.) Otherwise, we will contact you to get your logo or inscription. The precise design of the garden will evolve according to gifts received, but we can promise one thing: it’s bound to be amazing and beautiful.

So, please join us in growing both our “garden” and our community! We look forward to recognizing your support in 2009 – and thank you!

Where and when?
After several years of visioning and negotiating with other “green” businesses and like-minded investors, Home Resource has collaborated with Rocky Mountain Development Group to create The Montana Sustainability Center, a one-stop shopping center with a mission to “grow the businesses that will grow the green economy.” Located at the corner of Russell and Wyoming streets (the former 4G’s Plumbing building,) the center will eventually house multiple green businesses and help revitalize the neighborhood. (Space is still available! If you have a green business that would be a good fit, contact us!) In March 2010, with the vital support of the community, Home Resource will move into 9000 square feet of the existing building and an adjoining lumber yard – optimally designed to serve Western Montana well into the future.

A bounty of benefits for Missoula

Many features of the new location will help improve our effectiveness at reducing waste and helping folks fix up their homes for a fraction of the usual cost.

• Centrally located just a few blocks north of the Good Food Store, we will be much easier to find, and we’ll reach out to 35,000 vehicles driving by every day.
• Doubling our indoor square footage will enable us to keep more materials in better condition, and make them more organized and accessible.
• Purchasing will be streamlined with two cash registers and an upgraded computer system.
• Donating materials will be easier and faster at our rear entrance – so you won’t have to wait behind shoppers when you just want to drop something off.

What does all this mean in quantifiable terms?
Thanks to the massive influx of material from Deconstruction Services, Home Resource now diverts just over 1000 tons of material from the landfill annually. This effort annually offsets 200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from building materials manufacturing, and saves up to 95% of the embodied energy required to produce the same materials new. After one year in our new location, we aim to increase throughput by at least 50%. That’s 1500 tons diverted, and 300 tons of CO2 equivalent avoided each year. It also means thousands of Missoulians with warmer, drier, more comfortable or simply more beautiful homes. Cumulatively, such home improvements translate into neighborhoods with more pride, less crime, better schools and less vandalism – in short, healthier and wealthier communities.

Why do we need your support?
Unfortunately, there is a steep financial hill directly in front of us. Rent at the new location will be much higher (about $10,000/month plus utilities.) In order for revenues to cover expenses long term, we need to attract more donations and more customers (a good thing for the environment and the community!) and increase the speed with which materials flow through the store and back to the community. That requires equipment upgrades, more staff (local green jobs!) and more educational outreach. Moreover, the new space requires significant remodeling to meet code requirements and higher energy efficiency standards. These up front costs add up to $150,000. (The detailed budget is available upon request.) We hope to raise $50,000 in grants or low interest loans; we’re counting on you for the other $100,000.

We know: “the economy, stupid.” It’s exhilarating to embark on this campaign just as the “worst recession since the great depression” is upon us. But Missoula is somewhat isolated from these global events, thanks to our strong local economy and all the hard-working, can-do people of our community. As the national economy has taken a dive, you Missoulians have been re-using and recycling more than ever. Now is precisely the time when more of our community members need our services the most. And as the unsustainable global economy weakens, there is really no better time for us to come together and build up our local economy in a more sustainable way. We can make the most of our local resources, especially those in existing buildings. We can harvest timber in ways that restore local forests, rather than clear-cutting for a rapacious global market. We can help countless families (like Dave the Teacher’s – see below) make essential home improvements.

That’s why your support is so important at this time. Our goal of $100,000 in community support may seem ambitious, but as you can see from the plan below, we can reach that goal with 412 gifts. Of course we will probably receive more gifts at some levels and less at others than projected. The point is, we can do this! We’ve already raised just under $13,000 in donations and pledges. As always, your gift is 100% tax deductible. We’ll send you a receipt along with our thanks promptly. Which group will you be a part of? Every root, leaf and flower helps grow our Garden!

If you are unable to give at this time, you could help us tremendously in two other ways: volunteer to help with the move (call Josh at 541-8300,) or send your testimonial to matt@homeresource.org or abe@homeresource.org.

Please Tell Us Your Stories
Calling all customers!! We are seeking testimonials describing how Home Resource has improved your life, or how we have enabled you to accomplish a project you couldn’t otherwise afford – we want to know how we have met your needs. And why are we asking this of you? Not only because we love to hear about your projects and share great ideas, but because your personal stories will help strengthen our fundraising campaign, allowing us to demonstrate with hard evidence the benefit we bring to people’s lives. Even if you can’t donate monetarily to Home Resource this holiday season, your testimonials are a great way to help us out. (Let us know if we have your permission to share your full name along with your testimonial.) Thanks, and we hope to hear from you soon.

“I am a teacher and my wife works part time. We have three little girls and we have a hard time making ends meet. We finally finished our unfinished basement and would not have been able to do so without the help of Home Resource. With the prices for materials in regular stores so high, we would not have been able to afford this project. We purchased everything from insulation, electrical, sheetrock, two by fours, paint, plumbing and many more things from you. We estimate that we saved about $1500 on materials bought at Home Resource. This amount is huge when it comes to having extra funds to buy the necessary things need to raise our children.”

– Dave from Missoula