Early in the year, the Board of Directors announced Beacon’s new five-year strategic plan, Changing the Landscape of Home. The plan affirms our organizational identity as a collaborative of congregations, speaks to the need to shore up our infrastructure to better serve Beacon residents, boldly advocate for transformational policy, and tackle cutting-edge supportive developments to meet community needs others aren’t addressing.
One outcome of the strategic planning process was the decision to transition away from direct service to families through the Families Moving Forward (FMF) program to channel more organizational resources into our areas of expertise – building and sustaining homes and transforming public policy and investments to ensure that all people have a home. The decision to step away from FMF was made with a great deal of intention and we are so grateful that HHF Abundance took the program on to provide continuity of services for the families being served.
This year was also one of extraordinary challenges that Beacon has not faced before. We strive to have every Beacon home be safe, stable, well-maintained, and well-integrated into their broader neighborhoods. Challenges that have arisen for property owners, both for-profit entities and nonprofits such as Beacon, have been unprecedented in the last few years. The acuity of community need has risen sharply in the face of the opioid crisis, public safety concerns, economic stressors, staffing shortages, and implications of the eviction moratorium.
Despite all of these challenges, Beacon has directly addressed concerns and established a new division of supportive housing under the talented leadership of Babette Jamison-Varner who joined our senior leadership team to develop the infrastructure and staffing to appropriately resource the needs of Beacon’s growing portfolio of homes (660 and counting!). We have spent months diving into organizational learning that can help us effectively respond to challenges and deploy a more rapid response in the future.
We also celebrated alongside you as we opened 40 new homes at Lydia, renovated the homes at American House, and welcomed 180 Degrees as our service provider at Great River Landing. We amplified the powerful voices of Theresa Dolata and Amanda Woods as we channeled the energy of thousands of supporters to secure a HUGE win for housing at the legislature and the creation of Bring it Home, Minnesota which provides 5,000 new rent vouchers for families. We expanded our collaborative of congregations, made significant progress on the homes at Bimosedaa, laid the groundwork to defend land use at Prairie Pointe, and broke ground at Vista 44.
As Beacon’s board chair, I am proud to serve an organization that is so committed to improving its own practices to meet community need. While it’s our dream, I know that in my lifetime, it’s unlikely that Beacon will ever work itself out of a job. A vision statement is aspirational – to effectively deliver on Beacon’s vision that ALL people have a home, we will need even more supporters, advocates, and partners like you. Thank you for your support in the last year. I hope we can count on you to sustain and invite others into this work until every single community member has a roof over their head and a place to call home.
Gratefully,
Charlie Flynn
Our Results
20 Years of Home
20 years after first opening its doors to 40 people with low incomes, Beacon’s Lydia Apartments celebrated an expansion and renovation this year that doubled the number of residents with a safe, stable home.
Each of the now-80 residents had previously experienced housing insecurity or homelessness, but now have a place of their own to call home. They have access to professional advocates, with offices in the building, to connect them to resources and work toward their own lifegoals.
At Lydia, the model of supportive housing has proven itself time and time again. There are residents who have lived here for 13, 15, or 18 years who had struggled before to keep a place for a few months. When support systems are embedded into the design and experience of home like at Lydia, residents can address barriers and thrive.
320 homes in development
83% of Beacon residents achieved at least one year of housing stability
109 homes completed
462 homes at 12 properties that provided supportive services to residents
660 homes in operation
96 guests served with emergency shelter and/or transitional housing through Families Moving Forward
$1 billion approved by the Minnesota state legislature for one-time funding for housing
20% growth in Minnesota’s housing budget
5,000 state-funded vouchers created through the passage of Bring it Home, Minnesota
“Starting when I was 19, I spent two years without a home. I remember looking around, asking myself if I’d ever be stable, wondering if I’d ever have four walls around me, and a roof over my head. That kind of wondering takes a toll on you… [but] getting my apartment at Nicollet Square has been a true blessing. It’s given me the space to focus on my art, and a place to grow into a man. It’s meant the world to me.” ~ Clifton, former Beacon resident
Community of Support
Transformational Congregational Generosity
“We feel so fortunate that our congregation is in a place to walk with the nonprofit organizations that are deeply embedded in our community – listening to the needs of those who are currently experiencing or at risk of homelessness.”
These sentiments, offered by Ginger Sisco of Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church (HAUMC), summed up the feelings of many in her congregation as they planted new seeds for home. In February 2023 following months of discernment, HAUMC voted to gift Beacon nearly $900,000 to help create new homes at Bimosedaa and Emerson Village. Their generosity will leave a legacy of more than 40 deeply affordable homes for individuals and families.
Donors Build Momentum for Gladstone Crossing
In 2022 Beacon announced its plans to develop Gladstone Crossing – deeply affordable, supportive housing focused on young adult-led families in Maplewood.
Like other Beacon developments, we invite private support for “Seeds of Home,” the $21,000 it takes Beacon to do the work necessary to create a new home.
For Gladstone Crossing, 40 homes mean we are counting on donors to help us raise $840,000 in private funds.
In addition to the extraordinary generosity of individuals and families expressed over the last year, two East Metro funders—Hardenbergh Foundation & F.R. Bigelow Foundation—made early and crucial investments.
These significant foundation grants, totaling nearly $200,000, were instrumental in Beacon’s ability to garner support from other East Metro focused foundations, including the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and the Hugh J. Andersen Foundation.
Each new gift is an investment in the future of Gladstone Crossing and the safe and stable homes it will provide to families in Maplewood.
35 organizations allied with Bring it Home, Minnesota
110 congregations engaged in Beacon’s work
7 service partners working with residents of Beacon homes
1,000 individuals advocating for Bring it Home, Minnesota
A Powerful Voice for Home
Theresa Dolata uses her experience of homelessness as a way to champion the need for more housing solutions. She testifies frequently at city, county, and state legislative hearings on the urgency to create more homes and pass transformational policy solutions like Bring it Home, Minnesota rent vouchers. Volunteering her time to serve on Beacon’s board of directors and supporting our mission financially means so much to Theresa.
“Even though I don’t have much, I am housed now. I have my basic needs met. And even though I live on disability and can only work part-time, I’m able to donate and help fund the efforts that Beacon is working on.
I donate because I believe so much in Beacon’s mission and want to help however I can. And that is where the HOPE comes in. We are building both policy-wise and actual deeply affordable housing units.”
$29.5 million in total public funding unlocked for affordable Beacon homes
6.4 times the impact created by Beacon for each dollar donated
1,000+ donors sustain Beacon’s work
1,152 individuals in our resident community
87% of residents in Beacon homes identify as BIPOC
4,000+ individuals engaged with Beacon through direct action, training, and events
Planting Seeds of Home
Did you know it takes $21,000 in private support to create a Beacon home? Each gift of $21,000 is what we call a “seed of home” and allows Beacon to do the rigorous planning and development that brings public resources to the individuals and families that need affordable homes today.
“We give because we have been so blessed in life and we want to share that with others. We also give because the need is so great. We give because we believe so deeply in the way Beacon does affordable and supportive housing and in their track record. Together, we’re giving joyfully to create a future where all people have a home.”
Julie & Brian Welch, donors and champions of Prairie Pointe homes in their community.
Growing the Power of Our Movement
8% of congregations within the Beacon collaborative self-identify as majority BIPOC
28% of Beacon board members identify as BIPOC
4 out of 9 new hires and 33% of Beacon employees identify as BIPOC
25% of Bring it Home, Minnesota allied organizations have BIPOC leadership
Beacon Consolidated Revenue to Create, Sustain, and Advocate for Home
July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023
Source of Revenue
FY23
% of Total
Contributions
$4,608,062
33%
Government Grants
$1,480,289
11%
Fee & Property Income
$7,309,551
52%
Interest & Other Income
$40,007
0%
Assets Released from Restriction
$631,462
4%
Total Revenue
$14,069,731
Beacon Consolidated Expenses to Create, Sustain, and Advocate for Home
Steve Berglund, VP Commercial Banking, Associated Bank
Daymond Dean, Community Volunteer
Laura Helmer, Community Volunteer
Rev. Michael Gonzales, Pulpit Staff, Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church
Sadia Tarannum, Senior Product Owner, Surescripts
James Gertmenian, Ex Officio Director, Retired Senior Minister, Plymouth Congregational Church
The Needs & the Gaps
The Need Is Great and the Time Is Now
While we champion the resident support and new homes that Beacon provides, the community reminds us that our efforts alone won’t scale enough to meet the enormity of the need for housing equity and stability.
For every ten families with extremely low incomes, there are only four units of affordable housing available
With today’s level of public investment, it would take 170 years to build enough homes to meet the current need for deeply affordable housing
Across the Twin Cities, 20,000 adults with disabilities, children, and families will experience homelessness this year
We envision a different future
In this future, every Minnesotan has a roof over their head and the stability and dignity that go along with it.
Will you help us build this future together?
Will you join us in our mission to ensure that all individuals and families have a safe, affordable place to call home?
