If you’ve just finished a home renovation or deconstruction project and have lots of leftover building materials, you may be wondering where you can donate your items. Similarly, if you work for a construction or building company, you may be looking to donate some building materials that your company would otherwise treat as waste to be recycled or thrown out. Habitat for Humanity locations across the GTA offer a simple solution for both individuals and corporations to donate building materials to a good cause.
Donate building materials to Habitat for Humanity
Habitat accepts material donations of brick/siding, shingles, drywall, flooring, windows, doors, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, bathroom fixtures, lighting fixtures and new paint from corporate donors through our Gift-In-Kind program.
Donated materials play a direct and important role in the process of building a Habitat home. With donated building equipment, we’re able to keep construction costs low. During the construction process, the partner family contributes 500 hours of sweat equity. When a home is completed, the family pays a mortgage tailored to no more than 30 per cent of their income. Their mortgage payments go back into Habitat’s revolving cycle, allowing the organization to continue building low-cost homes for local families.
When you donate building materials, you are helping to keep the costs of building a home low. At the same time, you are getting rid of overstock or unwanted items, potentially clearing out your company’s warehouse to make room for new merchandise. You’re also making an environmentally conscious decision since you are keeping items out of landfills and giving them a second life through Habitat.
Plus, you’ll get a charitable tax receipt for donations valued at over $100. When you’re donating labour, materials or services, let us know that you’d like a tax receipt for your donation and we’ll ensure you get it by mail or email.
You can also contribute to Habitat’s home building projects through donating services. We are always looking for skilled tradespeople and local businesses, including services in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, bricklaying, landscaping, drywalling, roofing and more. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with Habitat today to find out how your skill set and expertise can contribute to our efforts to build safe, decent and affordable housing for local families in need of a place to call home.
To make a Gift-In-Kind donation of building materials or services, simply fill out the convenient email form on Habitat’s website. You can also contact Habitat’s Gift-In-Kind Manager, Lindsay Tuttle, at ltuttle@habitathm.ca. She’ll set up a meeting to go over the details of your donation, and get you started on the right path to making a difference in the lives of local families.
If you’d like to make a Gift-In-Kind donation but you’re not located in Burlington, Mississauga, Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills or Georgetown, check out other local Habitat affiliates. Habitat for Humanity GTA serves Brampton, Caledon, Toronto, Scarborough and the region of York. Habitat Durham represents Ajax Oshawa and Uxbridge. Habitat Hamilton serves the region of Hamilton.
Need some Gift-In-Kind donation inspiration? Check out the video on Habitat Halton-Mississauga’s website to see how Home Depot and Milwaukee Tools worked together to donate over $100,000 in tools and supplies to Habitat HM. The donated tools were sent right to a Habitat construction site, which allowed 150 volunteers to get to work on building homes for local families.
Learn more about Habitat for Humanity
If your company is looking to donate building materials or construction services to Habitat’s home building efforts, you might be wondering how exactly Habitat operates. Contrary to what some people believe, Habitat does not give out homes for free. We give families a “hand up” — not a hand out. Our partner families are expected to volunteer 500 hours during the construction of their home and pay a mortgage after it is built.
We’ve also expanded our definition of what makes up a “family” to allow for broader homeownership opportunities for individuals in our community. Our innovative partnerships with local organizations have played a huge role in this.
We recently handed over the keys to a brand new home in Acton, which was built for four adult men with autism. The project was conceived in partnership with Community Living North Halton, and is a great example of Habitat partnering with organizations in the community to make a difference on a greater scale.
Corporate donations and sponsors played a big role in the construction of the home in Acton, and this is one of many Habitat success stories. You can learn more about Habitat’s build projects by visiting our website.
Other ways for your company to get involved
There are plenty of other ways for your company to get involved with Habitat beyond donating construction materials or services. If you’d like to donate items which are not classified as construction or building materials, you can also donate overstock, imperfect or returned items to a Habitat ReStore.
ReStores are social enterprises which sell new and gently used furniture, appliances and other home items for 30 per cent to 70 per cent of their initial value. We accept a wide variety of items — you can find a full list on our ReStore website. The proceeds from items sold in our ReStores cover Habitat’s administrative costs, meaning that 100 per cent of donations to the organization go towards home building projects.
We also offer unique team building experiences as a different way for your corporation to donate time and effort. Your team can come out to a Habitat build site on an Adopt-A-Day experience, or spend a half or full day in our new Mississauga ReVive Centre, where you’ll upcycle products to be sold in our ReStores. Your team can also work in a Habitat ReStore to help merchandise, price and organize donated items.
We also offer home sponsorship opportunities, where you can team build and gain brand recognition from sponsoring a Habitat home. Check out our blog post on Habitat home sponsorship to learn more.
However your team chooses to team build with Habitat locations across the GTA, you can be sure that you will gain new skills, make a difference and have a great day giving back to your community.
Get involved today, and help Habitat build more homes for local families!