When complete, the HeroWork Program Society’s program-development handbook will set out what a local organizing committee needs to do to raise funds, organize and implement a major renovation for a non-profit or charity.
HeroWork is a charity that undertakes extreme makeovers for other charities. The group calls the events Radical Renovations and likens them to a modern day barn-raising, with the support of dozens of companies and hundreds of volunteers with a common vision.
The event, which saves the recipient charity up to 80 per cent of the cost of a renovation, is always a spectacular community-style event, in which participants find life-affirming experiences.
The Victoria Foundation has funded the development of a standardized leadership and event training program. It will spell out every component necessary for community teams to put on successful Radical Renovations.
“With the funding, we are able to develop a charitable franchise model that is scalable,” said Paul Latour, founder and executive director of HeroWork. “The program is a step-by-step training manual that covers each of the necessary elements for a successful event.”
He said the program covers standardized business processes, program manuals, committee skills, matrixes and structure, leadership training and mentoring, project and team evaluation protocols, monitoring systems, branding, marketing and supply-chain development.
The program identifies three major teams that are essential in each project:
• Renovation team;
• Events management — which includes site management and feeding the volunteers; and
• Public relations — to inform stakeholders and make the neighbourhood aware of the project.
“These are all interconnected. You need to know how to tell the story and how to engage with the stakeholders,” Latour said. “But you also need a strategy on how to mobilize troops and to develop a supply chain.”
He praised the Victoria Foundation for its vision in funding the development of the program.
“The program lays out what we do at a high level, from needs assessment to developing a team,” he said. “With this document, all an organization needs to do is to reach out to find leaders to implement the program.”
HeroWork has undertaken seven renovations since 2010, with the most recent an office refresh at the Mustard Seed and a new dock at Camp Pringle this year. The current project is a $500,000 renovation of the Rainbow Kitchen.
For more information, go to herowork.com.
— Pedro Arrais
