Partners for Affordable Housing
Partners for Housing will guide individuals and families on a path toward housing stability.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Southern Minnesota lacks enough affordable housing to meet the need, in fact, Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties, are designated as Severe Cost Burdened areas, meaning that 50% of citizens spend 30% or more of their income towards housing. The lack of affordable housing options means that many people are homeless in the area. Homelessness does not mean that all are living on the streets, although there are many that live in places not meant for human habitation. More likely, many in the area are doubled up or couch hopping - neither are stable or sustainable - especially when people do not have claim to the home. This issue impacts singles and families, with almost half of the people we serve who are under the age of 18. Instability impacts the mental and physical wellbeing of persons experiencing homelessness, especially children who are in their development years, and suffer in many ways while the family unit is unstable. We strive to be a safe and stabilizing force in the region
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Emergency Homeless Shelters
Shelters: Theresa House, Welcome Inn and Union Street Place. These short-term temporary homeless shelters offer a communal housing setting that is blended with case management services and programs for homeless individuals and families including people fleeing domestic violence, people of color, people with disabilities, and people whose primary language is not English. At our shelters, we offer emergency housing to individuals and families who are experiencing a temporary housing crisis and offer temporary respite for up to 90 days. The majority of our guest spaces are simple dormitory-style bedrooms with a common area of a shared kitchen, living room, laundry and bathrooms.
Where we work
Awards
Community Partner of the Year 2019
Greater Mankato Area United Way
External reviews
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Partners for Housing (P4H) is an agency that believes all human beings, regardless of their economic status, are entitled to safe, decent, affordable housing. To fulfill this mission, Partners for Housing provides critical shelter and housing to families and individuals who are experiencing homelessness, while helping them secure economically viable long-term housing in addition to other basic needs
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We prioritize serving all people who come to our door with a trauma-informed, client centered care approach.
We prioritize women (or persons identifying as females) and children, who we believe are most vulnerable.
We prioritize partnerships with government, schools and other agencies to provide a team approach.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Partners for Affordable Housing
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Christian Bailey
Nidec Corporation (Kato Engineering)
Term: 2017 - 2023
Laina Rajala
Board Vice President
Sara Dorfner
Board Treasurer
Krista Dinsmore
Board Secretary
David Cowan
Member/Past President
Mark Piepho
Member/Past President
Coralyn Musser
Member
Beth Fasnacht
Member
Jake Sherlock
Member
Brenda TeVogt
Member
Marty Duncan
Member
Allegra Henderson
Member
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/15/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.