CONSTRUCTION FOR CHANGE
Annual Report 2009
It’s not just bricks and mortar... We build buildings that change lives, inspire hope, and create opportunity. We are the Construction and here is the Change... Welcome to
CONSTRUCTION for CHANGE
Letter from the president , Dear Supporters
on that Constructi g o ag ng lo t no brin It was ely as a vision to hard work er m d te is ex ge . The for Chan se most in need o th to ty ni u rt ose involved has oppo th f o y it s ro ne g ge ar and overwhelmin ion a reality. Our first full ye s vi t withou now made this 9 and it was not inty not 0 20 as w ns o ti uncerta of opera with economic ed ng ac F . es ng le chal s of constructi ie it al re e th d an , seen for decades ng countries, we had much to pi lo ve buildings in de ere are challenges th e er h w , ly te na consider. Fortu ortunities. pp o there are also manager of our project t en pm lo ve de e th , the completion n s ee m s te as ys h s t ar en ye t em manag The pas t of our budget anning and execution of a highly ct en pm lo ve de e th program, current proje Zambia, the pl r u in o s f o ng n di o il ec bu pr l o ign and cts of two scho banquet, the des profit organizations with proje s es en ar aw l fu success return of four six other non d h an it t w en s ip ym h o rs pl ne de a e safe in Kenya, part ing years, and th orld. We have also grown from m o pc u e th r fo the w s over planned am that include half way across te s ng er ti ag ra an pe m o l for t c an je pro of financial peri nteer staff to ar lu ye vo a ix n s I f . o rs p u be mem 0,000 core gro d five new board , we managed to raise over $14 an rs ee nt lu vo ty ns thir atio . panies, and found individuals, com d our projections for the year de ee c which far ex ccess exists in s u s al re e th t om ve, bu f all of the abo ty School now has the classro We are proud o ni u omm en. bia where the C en hundred childr de genuine ev s r ve o r Limulunga, Zam fo n free educatio lives and provi eak needed to provide Change was created to change it difficult to br nd fi r o h fo w n o es ti ti c ni alk to ommu Constru individuals and c has to witness a single child w ce of r fo es ti ni u rt o opp rtan only erstand the impo rty cycle. One out of the pove gle life lost in sickness to und n Buffet says, “we are re in class or see a s s and resources well. As War e to make. ft gi we have a choic d stewarding our an ” y, er tt lo ovarian uction winners of the down for Constr g in w lo s no is e sy year but ther , an economic It has been a bu to build another two schools y, but so are are man h plans for Change. Wit r, and a hospital, the challenges pporters and cannot te r su development cen grateful for ou 10 as we continue setting er ev e ar e W . the opportunities your help. Please join us in 20 t succeed withou the future. r cornerstones fo Thanks, Nick Tosti
Brief History & Highlights While attending school at the University of Washington, three construction management students were inspired by time spent abroad in developing countries around the world. Seemingly destitute communities that have a desire for a better life and all it offers presented an overwhelming need. Whether it was a young child wiping the sweat off of a brow, a packed classroom with no light and little materials, a boy living in the town garbage dump longing for a glass of clean water, or the funeral of a young girl who contracted AIDS by no fault of her own, these experiences had a lasting affect on eventual Construction for Change founders Nick Tosti, Mike McEvoy, and Elijah Grindstaff. Many late nights together brainstorming paid off and after graduating spring of 2006 the process of starting an organization began. In November of 2007 CfC was formed and due to a generous donor and a school in need of CfC’s expertise, our first project began in August of 2008. A year and a half later the Limulunga Community School has two brand new buildings with 14 classrooms. CfC has started the 2010 campaign having been involved with projects in Zambia, Brazil, and Kenya and has plans for future projects in Cambodia, India, Liberia and the Dominican Republic. The need continues to grow with over twenty project inquiries in twenty different countries in the past sixteen months.
2009 AT A GLIMPSE: - Raised over $140,000 in first full year of operations - Managed over $100,000 of construction - Completed design and preconstruction for first phase of project in Kenya - Completed first and second phases of project in Zambia - Added 5 new board members and are actively talking to others who are interested - Worked with over 30 volunteers in many different capacities
ZAMBIA
Limulunga Community School
Budget: $200,000
Type:
Community school
D E T E L
P M CO
Specs:
2 buildings, approx 7,000 sq. ft
Status:
Completed
Located just outside of Mongu, a small village in Western Zambia, Limulunga Community School has been providing free education for the community since 2002. The Zambian government’s educational curriculum is the basis for academics at the community school. This includes Social Studies, Community Studies, Creative and Technology Studies, English, Numeracy, Silozi (local language), and Literacy. The school is run by headmistress Mbuywana Mbukusita-Lewanika. There are around 560 students currently enrolled, ranging in age from 5 to 18. There are 16 full-time teachers that cover grades K-7. The school that was completed this past February by CfC replaced the old structure and will allow the school to meet the growing needs for education in the community. The new school has 14 new classrooms and will allow for over 700 kids to attend. It will also give them the ability to eventually expand education to grades K-12. Outside of education, the facility can now make use of a new well that provides clean drinking water.
“It’s exciting to work with such a unique organization that has provided a much needed service to a well deserving organization in Zambia.” -Dan Wachtler Project Manager Dan & Kyle with the work crew in front of completed school building.
KENYA
Budget: ONE ACRE FUND
$175,000
Type:
Economic Development Center
S S RE
G O PR
Status:
One Acre Fund currently has a clientele of around 12,000 Kenyans, mostly women, and plans to increase that number to around 33,000 in the next two years. One Acre Fund has already procured $100,000 for the project, enough to cover the first phase. Construction for Change has partnered with One Acre Fund to provide the remaining fundraising, project design, and construction management.
One Acre fund Executive Director
Project Rendering
CAMBODIA
School
Status:
Under construction fundraising
STEP
Type:
Specs:
Located in Bungoma, Kenya, One Acre Fund was created to empower East African families so that they can overcome poverty and hunger. One Acre Fund has successfully tripled their clients agricultural yield through agricultural education, providing material capital, creating harvest markets, and insuring crops. The One Acre Fund office complex (now under construction) will provide additional office and educational space as well as allow One Acre Fund to centrally locate their in-country operations.
“Without CfC, we would be living and working in concrete boxes. And now, after CfC, we have a permanent, productive, and pleasant place for our organization to grow.” -Andrew Youn
$60,000
Specs:
6 buildings
IN
Budget:
approx. 3,500 sq. ft.
fundraising precon
Located in Kampong Cham, Cambodia, STEP works with the public school system to improve infrastructure and supply supplemental income for school teachers so they do not have to take on a second job. STEP also provides upgraded teaching materials, teacher training, and improved school infrastructure. Construction for Change has partnered with STEP to raise funds and provide the construction management for a kindergarten building to be added to the Lveatay school campus. The Meanchey District currently has no other kindergarten options besides the two temporary classrooms on the Lveatay campus that provide cramped space and a very poor learning enviroment for around 100 children. With the completion of the new school building the school will be able to add a third kindergarten teacher and increase the number of kindergarten students to between 150 and 200.
THE PROCESS 1. Initial Contact CfC is approached by an organization for potential partnership. The organization is asked to fill out a project application and provide any additional information important to the project. 2. Review Application CfC carefully reviews the application in order to determine if their work aligns with CfC’s mission and goals. The starting point for this step is the UN Millennium Development Goals (MGDs). As an organization we measure our impact based on the globally recognized MDG’s, and do so with each applying organization as well. 3. Research OrganIzation Once it has been determined that the applying organization sufficiently aligns with the mission and goals, CfC further researches the organization to gather important information regarding their long term commitment to the cause, their financial responsibility, and their plan for the future. 4. Begin Partnership CfC and the organization discuss partnership and begin collaboration to start the fundraising, design, and construction of the project.
Details of Partnership Partial Funding ❑ Since smaller organizations have difficulty raising the one time large sum of money necessary for each project, Construction for Change will provide anywhere from 0% to 100% of the construction costs. ❑ Each project is it’s own case and must be looked at separately from other projects. Partial funding is dependent on the project size and the organization’s ability to raise funds.
Construction Management
Design
❑ Partnering organizations will often require a full design created for each respective project, CfC partners with architects and engineers to provide this service if it is needed. ❑ Projects designed by CfC take into account local resources, topography, and climate to create a structure that is efficient while meeting the local organization’s needs. ❑ Designs also include simple layout changes and aesthetics that add design interest and create an inviting environment. This can generally be done by adding little or no cost to the structure.
❑ CfC hires all local labor and uses all local methods ❑ CfC provides all the and materials. We do our management necessary to best to invest in the local complete the project. This economy at all times to includes 1-2 project managers provide secondary benefits to that volunteer and live in the the community. community for the duration of the project as well as all ❑ CfC also aims at scheduling, budgeting, providing training to local procurement, quality control, laborers whenever possible. and value engineering.
Year of 2009
Letter from the CFO Construction for Change’s first full year of operations was 2009 and as such we had to overcome many challenges. The stock market had declined 35% over the prior twelve months, endowments shriveled in size, and corporations found it easy to cut charitable contributions. A start-up non-profit will always struggle to raise funds and we faced this challenge with immense headwinds. Even in such an environment, Construction for Change realized great growth during our first full year of operations. A few of the financial accomplishments we are most proud of include: -Year over year donations increased 600% and totaled nearly $150,000 in calendar year 2009. -87% of expenditures went directly to construction projects in impoverished communities. -Number of monthly recurring donors more than doubled. -Overhead costs were cut to below 2% of total expenditures and is expected to decline even further as we take on more projects and remain an entirely volunteer-driven organization. -Zero compensation was paid to staff or Board Members. -Every $1 spent on fundraising (11% of total expenditures) returned over $14.
Moving forward, we have many reasons to expect that 2010 will be another year of great growth. New additions to our Board and volunteer staff, as well as successfully completed projects, add credibility and attract new donors. We also operate with a model that emphasizes efficient and purposeful allocation of funds. Project Managers are always at the job site to oversee all operations and cash flows, protecting us against corruption and ensuring that construction is of the highest quality. More importantly, the CfC team takes pride in identifying organizations that are committed to their communities for the long term. We want to build schools that are full of students and hospitals that care for many. We feel the best approach to ensure this will happen is to build relationships with local leaders. Last summer when I visited the Limulunga Community School our team ate dinner with Headmistress Mbyuwana and learned first hand the importance of a strong relationship with local leaders.
Financial Statement Overview
$142,630.00
YTD Funds Raised Total Assets
$53,416.00
Net Equity
$52,337.00
Unrestricted Funds
$1,027.00
Allocation Cash Outflows % Cash Outflows Projects $ (98,634.00) 87.1% Allocation of Funds (USD) Fundraising/Marketing $ (12,209.00) 10.8% Overhead $ (2,344.00) 2.1% Grand Total $ Cash Outflows (113,187.00) 100.0% Allocation % Cash Outflows Projects Fundraising/Marketing Overhead Grand Total
$ $ $ $
(98,634.00) (12,209.00) (2,344.00) (113,187.00)
87.1% 10.8% 2.1% 100.0%
Projects 87.7%
Fundraising/Marketing Projects
87.7%
Overhead
This fiscal year we feel that we can raise $200,000 to fund a list of shovel-ready projects in places like Cambodia (school), Kenya (offices), India (hospital) and Liberia (schools). Please join us for the ride. Thanks, James Stoner
Overhead
Fundraising/Marketing
10.8% 2.1%
2.1%
10.8%
2009 Management Board of Directors Nick Tosti Elijah Grindstaff Mike McEvoy Tom Johnston Behrooz Emam
Bill Stauffacher Angela Chapman Victoria Bergsagel Sarah Olin
Volunteer Staff
Nick Tosti - President & Co-founder Mike McEvoy - Co-founder Elijah Grindstaff - Co-founder James Stoner - CFO Matt Lambert - Communications Mary Hiemstra - Design Tyler Nelsen - Project Manager Eric Hardie - Project Manager Dan Wachtler - Project Manager Kyle Parrish - Project Manager Dave Betts - Project Manager Connor Dinnison - Project Manager
Special Thanks Her Excellency Dr. Inonge Mbukisita-Lewanika Alex Tosti Kit & Sam Kollmeyer (Alavekios Photographic Essays) Marisa Cusack Allen and Marcia Craig Mary Herche Bill Wachtler Matt Williams Bill & Jennifer Stauffacher Mike & Kathleen Lambert Britini Port Mike McCauseland Bruce Gryniewski Nick Kot Dan Glanville Paul Hageman Fred & Janet Stephens Rich & Linda MacIntosh Gary Lin Ryan & Brooke Anderson Geneva Sipes (RW Anderson Custom Homes) (Geneva Diane Designs) Sarah Olin HILTI North America Shelby Port Jason & Jenny Koenig Ted & Fran Hiemstra (Jkoe Photography) Tim & Marcia McEvoy Jeff & Marilyn Vancil Tom & Beth Johnston Jennifer Pekol Tom Betts Jim and Patty Tosti Fiji house (University of Washington chapter) John Messner Ken Edgar Ken & Marcia Tank
Thank you to everyone who contributed time, finances, and talents to the Construction for Change organization to ensure a sucessful 2009. We are ever grateful for your sacrifice and could not have accomplished our many goals without your aid.
Graphic Design by: Alex Tosti