Q&A: Habitat boss: We are ‘building thriving communities’

Kristi Crafton, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities, compares her daily schedule to putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It takes time, patience and skill to take the many jobs and requests she gets on a daily basis and put them into a logical, working order. “You have to make sure all the pieces fit together,” she said. For nearly 20 years, Ms. Crafton has been putting together the pieces to help build and repair homes through Habitat for Humanity. In fact, during her tenure she has overseen more than 100 of Habitat’s 134 home builds in the Quad Cities. She also expanded the Quad Cities chapter’s programs to include neighborhood revitalization, home repair, wheelchair ramp construction, and disaster recovery. But times are changing for Ms. Crafton and Habitat for Humanity. It was announced in August that Thomas Fisher-King would become Habitat’s next executive director. He began his new role effective Saturday, Sept. 17. Ms. Crafton will work with him on the transition for the next three months before she retires in January. Ms. Crafton recently reflected on her career at Habitat for Humanity, the challenging times for the organization, and her life after retirement. Her are some of her thoughts she shared with the QCBJ:

How many housing projects/renovation projects does Habitat Quad Cities do each year?

“This varies from year to year depending on funding. This year, we plan to build five new homes, renovate four and complete 40 to 50 repairs and wheelchair ramps.”

What are the biggest economic/business challenges facing Habitat?

“The rising cost of materials and subcontracting services is by far our greatest challenge. The price of constructing a home has risen well over 25% since COVID-19. It was already difficult to raise the funds needed to operate our programs – this makes it more challenging. The other major challenge is the rising need for our services. In the business world, more clients/customers is a good thing. But in the nonprofit housing world, finding ways to increase our capacity is difficult.”

Describe the process in which people/families apply for home or repair services with Habitat.

“Once or twice a year, we hold an application workshop for families wishing to apply for a Habitat home. At the workshops, we review the program requirements; ability to pay a no-interest mortgage; need; and willingness to complete 250 hours of sweat equity including attending classes on home ownership. Our home building program serves people who make 30-70% of the area median income. Assistance filling out the application is provided to those who qualify. The repair application process is very similar. Once or twice a year, we accept applications, review program requirements and assess need. Ramp applications are accepted year round. The repair and wheelchair ramp building programs use a sliding fee scale based on a family’s income.”

How do you generate great ideas from people you work with?

“We are always open to new ideas whether they come from staff, volunteers or stakeholders. Internally, we regularly discuss trends, needs, obstacles and benchmarks and together we brainstorm on how we can do things more efficiently or effectively. We continually look at what other Habitat affiliates or home building organizations are doing. My favorite question is, ‘Can/should we do this differently?’”

What do you, personally, spend most of your time on?

“This is difficult to answer, as every day I seem to be doing something different. As a nonprofit, we have very limited paid staff and therefore on any given day we all have to fill in wherever needed. That can mean on one day I am preparing and delivering lunch to a work site and on another I can be making a presentation to a civic organization or meeting with a prospective donor. Overall, I would say the majority of my time is spent planning, organizing and fundraising.”

How has Habitat grown or changed over time?

“When I started here 18 years ago, we were operating out of a house in downtown Bettendorf, and there was one other paid staff and one AmeriCorps volunteer. Our ReStore was still in its infancy but blossoming, and we were building approximately two to three houses a year. We had no company trucks or vehicles, we were operating with a budget of about $500,000 and we had a volunteer pool of around 500. Today, we have a Habitat campus that houses our administrative office, our ReStore, Health and Home and a warehouse. Our budget is approximately $2.4 million, we have a volunteer pool of over 3,000 people annually and we own a small fleet of trucks. In addition to our expanded homebuilding program, we now operate a repair and ramp building program and a Neighborhood Revitalization program. Most importantly, we are serving more people and truly building thriving communities.”

What memorable lessons did you learn from your mentors?

“I have been blessed to have some amazing mentors in my life and I have learned so much from them all. The most meaningful lesson I was ever taught was to embrace change. That has been key to my longevity and success in the nonprofit world. The world changes so quickly and we need to be ready to change with it. Trying new ideas, new ways of doing things, new ways of looking at issues – that is key to meeting new challenges and creating new solutions.”

What is the hardest decision you have ever had to make in your career?

“The hardest decision I ever had to make was deciding to go back to school and earn my master’s degree while working full time and raising two children. I knew it would be a challenge financially and mentally, and it was, but I am so glad I did it. I attended a wonderful program at the University of Illinois and earned my master’s in social work degree.”

Do you have a hobby outside work?

“I love to cook, bake, garden and read. A perfect evening to me is having friends over for dinner and trying out new recipes.”

What are your plans after you retire in a few months?

“The first thing I plan to do is to complete the long list of home chores, repairs and projects I have been putting off for years. Then I will let myself settle into a new routine. I am sure part of that new routine will consist of volunteering for Habitat!”

At A Glance: Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities

Year chapter founded: 1993 Homes built: 125 homes completed; five are underway. It takes about one year to build a Habitat home. Home repair projects: This program helps low-income families remain safely in their homes by having volunteers complete repair projects and build wheelchair ramps for residents. The program completed 40 repair projects, including 22 wheelchair ramps in 2021. The home repair project usually completes 30-40 projects every year. “These projects focus on critical home repairs and modifications to make homes safer and healthier places to live,” according to Habitat’s 2021 annual report. Habitat ReStore: Launched in 2002, this program accepts donations of new and gently used building materials, home furnishings, appliances, and in 2012, it began accepting medical equipment donations. These items all are sold at a discounted price and profits are used to support local Habitat programs. Since 2002, ReStore estimates that 7,500 tons of material has been diverted from local landfills, and that it has recycled about 25 tons of metal and 99 tons of cardboard. Volunteers: In 2021, volunteers donated 22,495 hours to Habitat that had a monetary value to the community of more than $642,000. The group worked with 3,160 volunteers in 2021, and employers in the region sponsored more than 41 work groups. In 2021, Habitat saw a 160% jump in volunteer numbers compared to the pandemic lows of 2020. 2021 financials: Total revenues were $2.9 million and total expenses were $2.217 million. For more information: visit habitatqc.org.