Habitat for Humanity: Cultural Assessment of Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester ReStores

Project Sponsor: Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/ Greater Worcester

Numerous organizations, focusing on the amelioration of poverty, have sprung into existence around the world. Habitat for Humanity is a global Christian nonprofit housing organization founded in 1976, Americus, Georgia. The founders, Millard and Linda Fuller, developed the concept of “partnership housing.” They operate in approximately 70 countries and in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. Their vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live with the intention of creating stability and self-reliance. The organization at a national level works to help families in need of housing, who cannot necessarily afford the cost of a house. They build houses from the ground up as well as renovate existing houses.

ReStore

Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester (MW/GW) has a service area of 42 cities and towns, mainly located in central Massachusetts. In order to service this area, the organization utilizes several assets including ReStores. These are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers that sell new and gently used furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances to the public at a fraction of the price. All revenue from these centers assists in fulfilling the organization’s mission. As a result, the stores rely heavily on volunteers to run and manage them. 

Currently, there are two ReStores under Habitat for Humanity MW/GW, one located on Lincoln Street in Worcester.  and the other on Pond Street in Ashland. 

Our project

For our project, we conducted a corporate cultural assessment of the Habitat for Humanity MW/GW ReStores. Breakdowns in corporate culture can cause failure of a process. We observed this at the Habitat for Humanity MW/GW ReStores. We conducted interviews and surveys, that yielded results. These results identified the breakdowns in the organization’s corporate culture. We then deduced conclusions and provided a set of recommendations on how to manage the breakdowns.

Student Researchers

Objectives and Methods

Objective 1: Assessed the current donations process at the ReStores

Objective 2: Assessed the ReStore’s culture environment relative to the donations process

Objective 3: Offered a set of recommendations on how to repair the breakdowns found in the cultural assessment

Final Report