This is an article that I wrote after researching Habitat for Humanity and interviewing their Director of Communications Phil Prince. The article talks about the organization as a whole and the great work that they are doing for the Charlotte Area.
Habitat for Humanity’s Focus on Truth
By: Megan Mulrain
Habitat for Humanity in Charlotte, North Carolina marked their 30th birthday with something they have never done before, a 30-hour house build. Volunteers from all around the area worked for 30 straight hours one weekend in the summer to build a two story home for a family in need. Their website advertised this important event and volunteers from all over the Charlotte area came to participate and help this family be able to have a home to live.
The completion of this build not only marked a monumental event for the branch but also for the area, since it marked the 5,000 family they have helped.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that uses volunteers and donations to build homes for families that cannot afford them. This allows for families to have a stable home environment, which can lead to a more stable job and positive outlook. The organization, since it depends mostly on donations and volunteers, relies on its reputation and communication in order to continue to serve the community.
The organization cannot help these people without the help from others, whether it be time or donations. Phil Prince, director of communications at the Charlotte Habitat for Humanity, said that communication and reputation are both equally critical. He highlights the importance of positive reputation and the connection between continued success and a good reputation. He mentions the importance of authentic communication and the use of the truth in the communication of their message. A company like Habitat for Humanity cannot do well without a good reputation. A company’s reputation is only as good as its actions and whether the actions taken are able to support its reputation.
An important part of the company’s reputation is their environment. This environment relies on the staff, the people who the volunteers and those they help have direct contact. The employees at Habitat for Humanity have a direct connection to the organization and the work they do. Prince said that a large portion of the employees are people who have received houses from the organization. They are giving back and helping people who are in the same place they have been. Another important aspect to the employees is volunteering. Almost every Charlotte Habitat employee as or continues to volunteer with the organization on their free time, helping build houses or collect donations. Prince said that having employees who want to and do get involved is important and provides an optimistic and positive experience for others.
Most of their communication techniques Habitat uses are natural and come from those who experience the good the organization does. Prince mentions that the company relies mostly on word of mouth communication rather than formal advertising techniques. All of the good work that they do, along with the positive environment that volunteers work in, means that these people are more likely to invite their friends and continue to help out. This encouragement allows for more people to learn about the organization through an authentic and honest view.
The past volunteers can sometimes be the best technique to attract more volunteers and donations, according to the company. The experience they have while volunteering with the company not only drives the company’s reputation but also encourages others to share their experience and invite others to share in the same positive experience. Prince mentioned that the Charlotte branch has a high return rate with volunteers and that the past volunteers usually return for particular events year after year, most of the time with friends and family. The organization prides itself on being able to provide its volunteers with a quality experience. This environment and encouragement allows for the company to be able to encourage volunteers to return based on the feelings they felt while helping out others. It enables the company to continue to grow and spread their message by just showing people the good that they do.
Habitat, however, does utilize several other, more technological communication techniques to spread their message further. With the importance and accessibility of technology, the organization can increase their target audience. More technological communications techniques are useful to the organization since they reach people who may not even know about the organization, according to Prince. It can even be more cost efficient and more effective, and enables the company to be able to reinforce their message. Different age groups may not be aware and would want to help but need the information a more accessible way.
One of their more useful and technological techniques is social media and the internet, which is technology everyone uses and has access. The Charlotte branch is maintaining six different websites, along with several social media pages, each of which are targeting different audiences and are useful in conveying information about upcoming events. These websites range from the general Habitat for Humanity Charlotte webpage, to a website for a used book store and even websites for both twenty year old “young professionals” and high school teens interested in getting involved. The information is expansive and different for each audience, but encompass the same underlying message that anyone can do something and get involved.
Another one of their less common techniques involves advertising. Advertisements in both print and television is another technique used, but not quite as often. It enables the company to reach a wide target audience, but is more costly than the other techniques. Brochures and print ads are used more often at the branch for people who come in a branch. They tend to be able to reinforce or explain who they are by providing more in depth information and explanation than a website or word of mouth could provide.
Communication, especially authentic communication, is an important part of the success of Habitat for Humanity. Enabling those to spread the feelings from their experience and connecting to younger audiences allows for unfamiliar people to become involved and help out. Habitat symbolizes the importance of reputation and its connection to honest and continuous communication. More than just communication about the company itself, but communication about the experiences and opportunities to help out someone else. Their dependence on truthful and honest communication from actual people who have participated in builds contributes to not only the return rate for their volunteers but also the strength and positivity of their reputation. The company who depends on others to help support those in need of a stable environment highlights the value of truthful communication.
Megan Mulrain 