MH Marketing Sales Management

by Amy Bliss, CAE

Hosting a golf outing is a common fundraising technique for charities but members and benefactors sometimes miss the other factors that surround such events. An annual golf outing is one small portion of the fundraising for the Tomorrow's Home Foundation (the charitable entity started by the Wisconsin Housing Alliance). This event is really a three legged stool of goodwill.

Leg #1 – Social Responsibility
First and foremost, this event raises funding for the charitable works that the factory-built housing industry provides. The Tomorrow's Home Foundation provides grants to factory-built homeowners for critical home repairs such as furnaces, roofs, water heaters, plumbing repairs and anything critical to the function of living in the home. The people assisted by the Foundation have an average income of $12,000 per year. It is truly homelessness prevention. In addition to home repairs, the Foundation previously provided home purchase down-payment assistance to families affected by a disability. These missions truly fulfill the industry's social responsibility to individuals who purchase industry products and live in manufactured home communities.

Winning Foursome – (left to right) Jim Reitzner, Asset Development Group and Home Source One; Ed Hussy, Liberty Homes; Ryan Mantey, Asset Development Group and Jim Voigt, Hometown Mortgage and Finance

Leg #2 – Industry cohesiveness
Whenever there is a combination of doing good works with having fun, everyone wins. Not everyone golfs; however, everybody enjoys a warm sunny day out on a golf course. The non-golfers volunteer to witness the hole-in-one contest, serve on the beverage cart and supervise other fun events. This provides a phenomenal opportunity for service and supply members to showcase their products and focus on good will with the membership of the Wisconsin Housing Alliance. They also pick up some business along the way (another bonus).

(Left to right) Darrell Kolstad, Tom Palecek, Jeff Wick, Wick Building Systems

Leg #3 – Public Image and Awareness
Since starting the Tomorrow's Home Foundation in 2000, the factory-built housing industry in Wisconsin has attracted the POSITIVE attention of state and federal legislators, administrative agencies, grant agencies such as the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and more. Appreciation for the work that the foundation does is certainly getting noticed. In fact, a new state grant program has been made available specifically for manufactured housing needs. This new grant will be funded by title fees and is targeted to non-profit organizations that have expertise in manufactured housing. The only non-profit that fits that bill is, you guessed it, Tomorrow's Home Foundation.

Now that the stool has all three legs, anyone can see the strength that this small event provides for the industry in Wisconsin. Therefore, if anyone has an opportunity to participate in the Wisconsin event or events such as this in other states, do so knowing that you are not just golfing; you are strengthening the industry in your neighborhood.

Socially responsible industry events such as this breed additional donations as well. For example, Jim Reitzner, President, Asset Development Group and Home Source One has always been a strong supporter of the Tomorrow's Home Foundation. He has now become a lifetime supporter with a gift that will keep on giving for years to come. When Jim's mother and father passed away recently, he established a donor directed fund to honor his parents and to help fund a select few charities that have a special meaning to him and his family. Fortunately, the Tomorrow's Home Foundation is one of those charities that will benefit from the established fund into perpetuity.

When asked about his donation Jim stated, "My mother lived her final years in a cute little sectional home in the woods in the Lakewood, WI, area. She loved that place and she was always a very giving person. It seemed only fitting that I somehow tie the two together. As this memorial fund grows, so will the contributions. This industry and its customers have been rewarding to me and this is a small way to give back."

So, the moral of the story is get involved in your state association and any charitable events that they host. It benefits everyone.##

Amy Bliss, CAE, is the Deputy Director Wisconsin Housing Alliance / Executive Director, Tomorrow's Home Foundation. WI Housing Alliance/Tomorrow's Home Foundation. 301 N Broom St., Suite 100, Madison, WI 53527, (608) 255-3131 Phone, (608) 255-5595 Fax, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it